Joel Charles Cohen

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JOEL C. COHEN, Theatrical Magnate. Across the darkening snow fields where the shadows of great Wisconsin pines lengthened as daylight waned, a youth urged his team to greater speed. A pack of wolves followed his fur-laden sleigh.

 Since those days, in the early 80’s when he braved the winter perils of the  Northwest, Joel C. Cohen, president and manager of the Consolidated Amusement  Co., Ltd., has eluded other wolves which have beset him in the form of  financial failure, and, with three fortunes lost in past business struggles,  he now ranks among the successful men of Hawaii.

 Born in Buffalo, N.Y., June 12, 1862, Mr. Cohen is the son of Charles and  Clementine (von Lichtenstein) Cohen. He spent his early years traveling in  Europe with his grandparents, his maternal grandfather being a Prussian noble  and cavalry officer under William I of Prussia. Mr. Cohen studied in Italy and  France. Upon returning to the United States, he joined his parents, who had  removed to Wisconsin, then considered as part of the “far west.” His trip was  marked by a dramatic incident. Reaching Chicago the travelers were stopped by  the great conflagration of 1871, when trains were halted for days in their  westward journey.

 Mr. Cohen’s early youth was spent doing odd jobs for his father, a dry goods  merchant and extensive land holder in the Middle West, and making expeditions  into the northern wilds for furs. At the age of 16 he went to Chicago,  entering a commission house and later went to Sterling, Ill. At the age of 21,  he took charge of a large creamery and in 1884 became owner and manager of the  establishment which then ranked as one of the largest makers of butter in the  country. It was in this venture that Mr. Cohen lost his first fortune through  the collapse of the New York butter market.

 While in Sterling Mr. Cohen first turned his attention to politics, and  became prominent in the Republican party, organizing the Young Men’s Blaine  Republican Club, supporting James G. Blaine for the presidency. He went to  Ashland, Wis., in 1885. There another business opportunity presented itself in  iron mining and he became one of the outstanding figures in the iron boom  which made and unmade fortunes in Wisconsin during the latter part of the  80’s. He organized more than eighty stock companies interested in iron mines,  amassing another fortune, but with the Cleveland administration came passage  of the Mills Bill, permitting foreign iron ore to enter the United States duty  free, and once more Mr. Cohen’s fortune was shattered.

 Profiting by his political affiliations, he became sheriff of Ashland in  1889, serving two years, and then became a traveling agent for Easter  manufacturers. It was during this period that he was led into the theatrical  business. Traveling in northern Michigan in the early 90’s, he “adopted” a  stranded theatrical troupe, and through his efforts the company appeared  before packed houses in the Northwest.

 In 1893 Mr. Cohen went to Salt Lake, spending one year there as a  manufacturers’ representative. While there he was present at the opening of  the great Mormon Temple. From there he went to San Francisco, where he  alternated his residence between that city and Los Angeles until 1898.

 Hearing of opportunities offered in Hawaii, he became agent here for various  American firms, arriving in the islands in August, 1898. He soon undertook the  management of the old Orpheum Theater in Honolulu, organizing the Orpheum Co.,  Ltd., in 1899. In 1906, he took the Royal Hawaiian Band on a tour of the  United States, a venture which was marred by unforeseen financial disaster,  the result being that an indebtedness amounting to thousands of dollars was  met by Mr. Cohen upon his return to Hawaii.

 In 1911 he was instrumental in the organization of the Honolulu Amusement  Co., Ltd., in which were consolidated a number of moving picture houses. He  became president and manager of the Consolidated Amusement Co., Ltd., in 1913,  which later sponsored the construction of the Hawaii Theater, one of the  finest theater buildings in the United States, and which, as organized and  developed under Mr. Cohen’s direction, operates a number of motion picture  houses in Honolulu and a motion picture exchange which supplies all the  theaters of the Territory with films.

 Always active in politics, Mr. Cohen was a member of the legislature in 1909  and was candidate for nomination to the senate in 1911. He was chairman of the  Republican Central Committee during the county campaign in 1923 and was twice  a candidate for mayor of Honolulu.

 Mr. Cohen married Genevieve Cathan, in 1883. They had three children, Harry  Blaine Cohen (deceased), Abram Earl and Edward Scott Cohen. Mr. Cohen and  Ethel Mable Ruth were married in California, April 23, 1895. Mr. Cohen is an  Elk and a member of the Order of Phoenix, Chamber of Commerce, Pacific Coast  Exhibitors’ Association, Ad and Commercial Clubs of Honolulu. From http://lists.maggie-sz.org/pipermail/hi-footsteps/2011-February/000...