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 land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Fran ...

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 __NOTOC__ 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 a F ...

and Plumas Counties, and the Gigante Mining Co. in

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de 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 ...

. 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 R ...

Canal Company.

Agricultural enterprises

After researching the potential for

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

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

Table Mountain Table Mountain ( naq, Huriǂoaxa, lit= sea-emerging; af, Tafelberg) 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 ...

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 Clement Calhoun Young (April 28, 1869 – December 24, 1947) was an American educator and politician who was affiliated with the original Progressive Party and later the Republican Party. He was elected to five consecutive terms in the Calif ...

. 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 The state highway system of the U.S. state of California is a network of highways that are owned and maintained by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Each highway is assigned a ''Route'' (officially ''State Highway Rout ...

; 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 the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the B ...

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

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.

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