Andy Arnold Farmers Insurance Agency
A Brief History-
The first agent for the company in Huntington Beach was Charles J. Peurrung in 1933. His office was inside what was then Terry's Garage at 610 Main Street. This was less then five years after the company was established in 1928.
In May 1941, William Cheney, Art Gillespie and my uncle Robert Stricklin Jr. opened a branch office of their firm at 119 1/2 Main Street. This "Broom Closet" sized office, minus the agency, can still be found sandwiched between two larger stores.
When Robert Jr. went into the service in WW II, my grandfather Robert Sr. took over the agency. He operated the agency out of his home at 412 - 7th St. in 1950. By 1952, he moved the agency to his new home at 1102 Main where he continued through the 1950s. In those days you were both an agent and an adjuster and on one Christmas Day he had to go out after Christmas diner and adjust an accident. By 1962, the agency became known as Stricklin & Merritt and now located at 326 1/2 Main Street. During the late sixties the office was relocated two doors to 324 Main Street.
While working as secretary for her father, my mother Eileen Stricklin Arnold decided after becoming an agent in 1973 to continue the agency when her father retired, thus becoming a second generation insurance agent.
In October of 1991, I purchased the agency from my mother and became a third generation to sell and service insurance in downtown Huntington Beach. In October of 2003, I had to move from downtown due to the changing character of Main Street to my current location on Beach Blvd.
You may remember I mentioned William Cheney, a founder of Farmers, well in 1928, he sold the very first policy, Policy #1, to Charles C. Brisco.Mr. Brisco had been for years a shop instructor at Huntington Beach High School.
*must click on address below to get correct map location*
