Bert Bookham Meek (September 2, 1883 - September 28, 1937) was a California engineer, agricultural entrepreneur, and public official. He is credited with the careful planning and expansion of California's water management and transportation infrastructure while serving as the state's Director of Public Works from 1927 to 1931.

Early career

After completing high school in Redlands, CA, Meek studied civil engineering at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

at Berkeley, interrupting his studies several times with survey work to pay for his education. He joined a team with the Western Pacific Survey. He then worked with the Edison Electric Company in Los Angeles, the North California Mining Company in

Butte In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...

and Plumas Counties, and the Gigante Mining Co. in

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

. From 1908 to 1910, he was the assistant engineer for the

Feather River The Feather River is the principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. The river's main stem is about long. Its length to its most distant headwater tributary is just over . The main stem Feather ...

Canal Company.

Agricultural enterprises

After researching the potential for

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

cultivation and commercialization, Meek built up a holding at the foot of

Table Mountain Table Mountain (; ) is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, cableway or hik ...

in Northern California, where he planted 1000 acres of olives. With business partners Judge John Carleton Gray and Orville C. Perry, he organized the Olive Products Company, with Meek serving as president and general manager. The plant crushed olives for oil and also canned pickled olives which were sold under the brand name Mt. Ida. A third generation farmer, he was active in studying and promoting methods to improve productivity. His contributions to the farming sector included serving as Vice President of the Butte County Farm Bureau. He was also an enthusiastic proponent of 4H clubs, and presided over the State Junior Livestock Show in 1934.

Public service and legacy

In 1914, Meek was elected a member of the

State Assembly State Assembly is the name given to various legislatures, especially lower houses or full legislatures in states in federal systems of government. Channel Islands States Assembly is the name of the legislature of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The Baili ...

for Butte County. He initiated legislation for the abatement of mosquitos causing malaria, and for the convict labor bill, which provided for paid employment of convicts to build public roads. He was a commissioner on the state board of prison directors from 1916 to 1927. Meek was appointed as state Director of Public Works in 1927 under Governor C. C. Young. In this post, he implemented reforms including: competitive bidding on highways and bridges; a system of preparing detailed itemized budgets for roadways; introduction of long-term planning and engineering studies for the orderly development of California's state highway system; and, requirements for roadside beautification including recreation areas and restrictions on billboard permitting. He was involved with obtaining federal approval and funding for the California Water Conservation Act in 1929, and oversaw the completion of an in-depth State Water Plan in 1930. The completion of the

Gateway Bridge was a milestone under his administration. Meek was a strong advocate for dedicating full resources to construction of the

Oakland Bay Bridge Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, which opened in November, 1936.

Business career

In 1931, Meek served as president of the California Lands Inc, the subsidiary of the

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...

set up to liquidate farm holdings of borrowers who were unable to pay their mortgages. Then in 1932 until his death, Meek was executive vice president of the

Hearst Corporation Hearst Corporation, Hearst Holdings Inc. and Hearst Communications Inc. comprise an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate owned by the Hearst family and based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan in New York ...

Personal life

Meek was the son of Richard B. Meek, a native of Missouri, and Anna Susan Wilshire of Salt Lake City. In 1921, he married Laura Hanlon in Berkeley, CA; they had five children, and resided in Oroville, Sacramento, Stanford, and then in Atherton, CA.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meek, Bert 1883 births 1937 deaths University of California alumni American civil engineers Butte County, California Members of the California State Assembly 20th-century members of the California State Legislature