Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Cohen, Edward E. January 25, 1881 - 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com June 6, 2010, 10:53 pm

Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 400 - 401
Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     EDWARD E. COHEN.  The distinction of being the oldest exclusive 
Oldsmobile distributor in the world belongs to Edward E. Cohen, of Portland, 
who is one of the successful motor car dealers in the Columbia River Valley 
and stands high in the business circles of this city and state. Mr. Cohen was 
born in Portland, on the 25th of January, 1881, on a farm, the house standing 
about where East 28th and Harrison is today. He is the son of Nathan and Rosa 
(Wittenberg) Cohen. His father and mother were among the real pioneers of 
Portland, having crossed the plains in 1849. Nathan Cohen was a native of 
Bavaria, Germany, having come to the United States at an early age. He 
conducted a real estate business in Portland. The present site of the United 
States National Bank building was the family home for several years. Nathan 
Cohen served as a soldier in the Indian wars of 1855-56 and in every way 
proved a loyal and dependable citizen. He and his wife are both deceased.

     Edward E. Cohen began his work in automobiles with a garage and repair 
shop which was located in the old Bishop Scott Academy in Trinity Place, near 
Twentieth and Couch streets. At that time he had as a partner C. B. Miner, to 
whom he sold his interest in the business in 1907. He and his brother Arnold, 
now deceased, then engaged in the garage and repair business, opening at 16th 
and Alder streets, the first garage without pillar or post. They also took the 
local agency for the Maxwell-Brisco car, which they sold until 1913 when the 
factory went out of business. Later they took the Marion car which followed a 
similar course in 1914.

     Mr. Cohen and his brother Arnold had faith in the automobile future, and 
at a time when many of the beginners had dropped out of line, they took on the 
agency for the Oldsmobile. In 1915 in a total space of forty by forty square 
feet at Broadway and Couch streets, they began with an allotment of fifty cars 
for the state of Oregon and Columbia river counties in Washington. Today the 
firm occupies a full half block of a two-story building between Burnside and 
Couch. The present allotment is fourteen hundred Oldsmobiles for the original 
territory, which now includes a branch at Bend and dealers throughout the 
territory. Much of the firm's success has been due to careful planning and 
their tireless execution. Another contributing factor has been the requirement 
placed on each employee to render a service which is both conscientious and 
zealous. In 1925 group life insurance was placed into effect for each employee 
who had been with the firm for a period of one year or over. One-third of the 
sixty employees have been with the company for over ten years. This bond of 
comradship which has naturally grown up is reflected in the quality of service 
rendered by this firm.

     In 1921 Mr. Cohen was united in marriage to Miss Lela Haskins, of 
Portland, and they are the parents of a daughter, Phyllis Jane. Mr. Cohen is a 
republican in his political views and during all the years of his residence 
here has shown the right sort of interest in matters affecting the welfare of 
the community. He is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the 
Lions Club, the Advertising Club, the Realty Board, the Tualatin Golf and 
Country Club, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Automobile Dealers Association, 
of which he is a director. His religious connection is with the Beth Israel 
congregation. In referring to the early history of the automobile business, 
Mr. Cohen recalls that in 1908 a speed of fifteen miles an hour was regarded 
as excessive, and Mr. Cohen served as a member of a committee of auto dealers 
who demonstrated to the police authorities and council committee of Portland 
that this speed was not too fast for public safety.

     Mr. Cohen is a man of reliable judgment in practical things. His 
progressive spirit, being tempered by a proper conservatism, has given him a 
combination of qualities that has enabled him to accomplish much in a business 
way. He is a man of cordial and unaffected manner and all who know him hold 
him in high esteem. 

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