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Max Fleischmann spearheaded the Bond campaign and contributed extra funds
for the completion of the Santa Barbara breakwater
(Courtesy Montecito Association History Committee)
Spanish-American War broke out. Afterwards, it was back to business as
superintendent of the manufacturing department, a position that allowed
him plenty of time to pursue outside interests.
Max was the consummate sportsman, outdoorsman and adventurer. In
1902, his love of baseball led the brothers, together with George B. Cox
and August “Garry” Hermann” to buy the Cincinnati Reds from John T.
Brush for $150,000. In 1905, he found a traveling companion and fellow
adventurer when he married Sarah Hamilton Sherlock. Fascinated by
flight, he became a hot-air ballooner and won an Aero Club-sponsored
race in 1909 from St. Louis to the Atlantic coast.
Fleischmann and Sarah traveled to some of the most primitive regions
of the world. His safaris were elaborate affairs; one manifest listed 64
natives: 4 gun-bearers, 1 cook, 4 askaris (native soldiers), 6 horse-and-
donkey boys, 3 servants and 46 porters. He witnessed an epic battle
between a rhinoceros and a crocodile and captured a lion cub and sent it
to the Cincinnati zoo. Trophies from that 1907 expedition numbered fifty
including 3 rhinos, 9 waterbucks, 4 kongoni, 2 zebras, 1 silver jackal, 3
impala, and 1 lioness.
Arcadia near Los Angeles and supervised similar programs in Sacramento
and San Diego, as well. The time was right to move to Santa Barbara,
so in 1919 he purchased 20 acres belonging to Arthur E. Bingham in
Montecito as well as 23 acres on Lambert Road in Carpinteria from
Arthur E. Ogilvy.
The Fleischmanns had been visiting Santa Barbara periodically since
that first sojourn in 1911 and had made their presence felt. When
the
Daily News and Independent
heard he had finally purchased land,
his impending residency was met with a great deal of excitement. The
reporter wrote, “The expectation is that with his enthusiastic backing
of Santa Barbara’s big plans to develop the ocean resort, this city will
not long wait for work to start on the breakwater, that yachting will
Santa Barbara
Arriving by private rail car in 1911, Max C. Fleischmann showed up
in Santa Barbara with a string of polo ponies for a competition at the
Santa Barbara Polo Club. Liking what he saw, he decided to establish
a residence here, but World War I intervened. He served overseas with
the Balloon Section of the Army Air Corps, achieving the rank of major.
Afterwards, he became commandant of the U.S. Army Balloon School in
Known as a multifaceted, multitalented man, Fleischmann was a manufacturer,
explorer, naturalist, conservationist, capitalist, aviator, yachtsman, hunter, author,
banker, outdoorsman, sportsman and philanthropist
(Courtesy Santa Barbara Historical Museum)