One of Huntington’s premiere defenders
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JERRY PERSON
It’s said that justice must be served no matter what the cost or
circumstances.
This was sure true in the case of a car accident between Frank
Froley of Beverly Hills and Sam Talbert. Froley ran into a house
being moved by Talbert, damaging both house and car.
Froley sued Talbert and a trial was set for 6 p.m. on March 10,
1933 at the Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana.
Everyone arrived for the trial in Judge Frank Collier’s courtroom,
Froley with his attorney Franklin West and Talbert and his attorney
Ray Overacker.
But five minutes before the trial was to begin, Mother Nature
stepped in as if to say, “I’m boss here” and when she shuddered, it
was felt from Inglewood to Newport Beach.
The 6.25-magnitude earthquake emptied the courtroom and the trial
was held outside the courthouse under Judge Collier’s spotlight, as
it was now night when the two attorneys began pleading their cases.
This week we are going to look back at the life of one of those
attorneys.
It all began in Tulare, Calif., on March 29, 1891. Sarah Marie
Oliver married Sylvester Overacker. The newlyweds moved to Pixley,
Calif., a short distance south of Tulare to live.
In 1892, our future City Atty. Ray Overacker was born. For five
years, the Overackers farmed the area until 1897 when the family
moved to a small ranch three miles northeast of Fountain Valley.
That area was then known as Newhope and the young Overacker
attended Newhope grammar school.
In 1911, the family moved to Huntington Beach where Ray would
graduate from Huntington High School in 1912.
For a couple of years, Ray worked for the Holly Sugar Co. in
Huntington Beach and in Santa Ana. In 1914, he entered Leland
Stanford University in Palo Alto where he took a law course.
While in Palo Alto he met Irma Bradley, she was from Watsonville,
Calif., but was working in Palo Alto at this time near the
university.
It was at the First Christian Church in San Francisco on July 18,
1916, that the Rev. D.A. Russell married Ray and Irma. After their
marriage, Ray continued his education at Stanford.
In 1917 and all during World War I, Ray worked in the shipyards
for the Los Angeles Shipbuilding Co. and later he worked for Standard
Oil Co.
At this time, Ray attended Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles
where he graduated with a degree in law in 1929. It was during this
year that Ray’s father died and his mother Sarah moved to Santa Ana
to live.
It was on June 3, 1930, after taking a refresher law course that
he was admitted to the bar.
Deciding that Huntington Beach would be the best place to practice
law, he opened an upstairs law office at 112 1/2 Main St. and began
his practice on Oct. 1, 1930.
In early 1932, there was a rift between the City Council and then
City Atty. Lewis Blodget when the city settled a lawsuit without
consulting Blodget.
Bad blood resulted and the council declared that office vacant.
The City Council appointed Ray as the new city attorney of
Huntington Beach on March 23, 1932. He would hold that office for the
next 18 years except for a six-month period in 1937 when Tom Kuchel
temporarily held it.
Irma and Ray had three children: Ray Jr., Gladys and Clifford.
In 1939, the City Council asked Ray to draft a charter amendment
increasing the number of school board members from three to five. It
was also the year that Ray’s mother returned to Huntington Beach to
live.
Ray joined the Orange County Bar Assn. and in 1941 was elected its
president.
As World War II raged, their son Clifford was killed in action.
During those trying times his mother, Sarah, also passed away on Feb.
4, 1944.
Ray was a member of the Huntington Beach Toastmasters Club, a
member of the State Bar Assn. and a member of the California League
of Cities.
While Bill Gallienne served as secretary and manager of the
Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce, Ray became its legal advisor
and later a director.
By 1950, Ray had moved his office to 412 Olive Ave. and had his
residence at 1206 Delaware St. Within a short time Irma and Ray moved
their residence next to the office at 412 1/2 Olive Ave.
It was in April 1950 that Ray handed the reins of city attorney to
another great man, Charles Bauer.
As to that outdoor trial between Froley and Talbert back in 1933,
Judge Collier ruled in favor of Talbert and his attorney Ray
Overacker and gave Talbert $100.
* JERRY PERSON is a local historian and longtime Huntington Beach
resident. If you have ideas for future columns, write him at P.O. Box
7182, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.
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