Mr. Goodman was born in Iceland on April 17, 1873 and came to the United States in 1878. He settled in Bemidji in 1898 and as a contractor had a part in building most of the sidewalks in Bemidji. He was in the cement contracting business for many years with the Nels Loitved. Mr. Goodman also owned and operated the Bemidji Brickyards for many years and in later years operated a garage and cement block manufacturing business on the Bemidji- Park Rapids highway.
In 1907 he was married to Ethel May McTaggart. They had one son, Curtis, who was born December 17, 1910. They lived at 503 Bemidji Avenue until 1923, when he sold it to the Masonic Lodge 233 for $1.00. They then moved to 611 Bemidji Avenue, and later to 1203 Lake Boulevard.
Before becoming a leading contractor in Bemidji, Goodman was a partner in the first drug store to be built in the city, A. Gilmour & Co., founded about 1899. After that he was a partner in the E. N. French drug store and the George T. Baker jewelry store which was operated in conjunction with French’s.
About 1918, Mr. Goodman turned to contracting, forming a partnership with Nels Loitved. The contracting company built some of Bemidji’s first sidewalks and roads in the vicinity. I remember playing hopscotch on sidewalks branded with the names Goodman & Loitved.
Mr. Goodman was a volunteer member of the first fire department here and worked with the fire department most of his life in Bemidji.
Mrs. Goodman was born in Canada, the daughter of George McTaggart. She died in 1974.