Gaston, Joseph.  "The Centennial History of Oregon, 1811-1912."  Vol. 4. 
Chicago, Clarke Publishing Co., 1912. p. 373.
 
REUBEN H. MAST

     was one of the founders and organizers of the Farmers & Merchants Bank of
Coquille and since 1909 has held the office of cashier in this institution .  He
is well known as an able financier and a banker of more than ordinary ability,
who has promoted the success of the enterprise with which he is connected by
systematic and progressive work.  He has been a resident of Oregon since he was
fourteen years of age and from the beginning of his active career has been
interested in various important local enterprises, being essentially
public-spirited and eager for the progress and growth of Coos county.  He was
born in North Carolina on November 14, 1858, and is a son of William Penn and
Charlotte H. Mast, of whom further mention is made elsewhere in this work.  The
parents of our subject were natives of North Carolina and representatives of the
paternal branch of the family have lived in that state since 1800.  William P.
Mast came to Douglas county in 1872 and rented land in that section, which he
improved and operated for one year, going to Coos county at the end of that
time.  Here he purchased a squatter's right in the wilderness and evolved from
an uncultivated tract of land one of the most highly developed farms in the
section.  His wife is still living upon the homestead and is making her home
with two of her sons.  She had five children:  Reuben H., the subject of this
review;; William L. and James W., both of whom reside in Bandon; and Webb and
Hardy, who reside on the home farm with their mother.
     Reuben H. Mast was still a boy when he came with his parents to Oregon.  He
was educated in the public schools of Coos county and by the utilization of
every opportunity and outside reading and study he fitted himself for teaching,
following that profession in the district schools for four years.  He remained
upon the farm until he was twenty-one years of age, aiding his father in the
work of improvement and development during the summer months.  In 1888, however,
he left home and went to Portland, where he took a course in a local business
college.  He afterward came to Bandon, where he entered the employ of George M.
Dyer as clerk and bookkeeper, doing work until Mr. Dyer sold his interests and
retaining his position under the new management.  At the end of three years he
purchased an interest in the business but after a short time disposed of his
holdings, going to Hood River in November, 1898.  There he worked in a general
merchandise store for four months, resigning his position in 1899 in order to go
to Portland, where he kept books in a large auction house for a short time.  In
February, 1900, he returned to Coos county to accept a position as deputy county
clerk, serving in this capacity for about ten years.  At the end of that time,
in association with several prominent men of Coquille, he organized the Farmers
& Merchants Bank and was elected to the position of cashier.  The bank is
capitalized at twenty-five thousand dollars and is one of the important
financial institutions in Coos county.  Mr. Mast owns a one-fifth interest in it
and has done able and efficient work as cashier since the 10th of March, 1909.
He is well versed in the details of modern banking and his knowledge is guided
and directed by his general business ability.  He is shrewd, systematic and
unquestionably honest and these qualities have gained for him the respect and
confidence of the men who do business with him and have consequently influenced
the prosperity of the enterprise with which he is connected.  He also helped
organize the Coquille Lumber Company and owns stock in the Coquille Land and
Improvement Company and also in the Coquille Valley Creamery.  He is extensively
interested in farm lands, being the proprietor of one hundred and thirty acres
on the Coquille river, which he purchased in 1884 and which he has rented out
since that time.  He owns four hundred acres of timber land in the same section
and is interested in city property.  He is a firm believer in the future of the
city in which he resides and always does his utmost to promote the growth and
development of his county.
     On August 12, 1890, Mr. Mast was united in marriage to Miss Lola M. Leabo,
a native of Oregon and a daughter of James R. and Charlotte (Hawes) Leabo, who
were among the pioneers in the settlement of the state, coming here in 1852.
The father was a native of Tennessee and the mother was born in Iowa.  In their
family were five children:  Elizabeth, the wife of Amos Cliff, of Portland; Lola
M., the wife of our subject; Sterling, a resident of Astoria, Oregon; Roland,
whose home is in Portland; and Predetta, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.  Mr. and
Mrs. Mast are the parents of three children.  Leta R. received her primary
education in the district schools of Coos county and later took a course in
music and art at the University of Oregon, in Eugene.  She was also a student
for one year in Mills College at Oakland, California, and is now employed in the
Farmers & Merchants Bank of Coquille.  Reuben H., Jr., and James are both
attending school.
     Reuben H. Mast is a democrat and is one of the public-spirited citizens of
his community and a dominating factor in the promotion of its welfare and
advancement.  He is prominent is the Masonic order and holds membership in the
Knights of Pythias.  He is one of the leading and important business men of
Coquille.  He has made the various enterprises with which he is connected
successful by seizing always any favorable opportunity for expansion and by
adhering faithfully to high standards of commercial honor.


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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in December 2006 by Diana Smith. Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.