About

Sixty years ago, when men wore hats and flappers drank bathtub gin, Edmund J. Krause roamed the wilds of Wyoming collecting unpaid taxes for the state treasury. The countryside was untamed in 1926, as were the oil explorers and shotgun-wielding cattle ranchers with whom the 25-year-old from St. Louis tangled. Although the guns have long since rusted and the oil explorers are now multinational corporations, Krause still tangles with taxes and government–as a councilman for the City of La Canada Flintridge. At 84, he apparently is the second-oldest councilman in California, says the League of California Cities and the Southern California Assn. of Governments. Ironical-y, Krause, who has been a councilman since La Canada Flintridge incorporated in 1976, presides over a city that is less than one-eighth his age. But then age, Krause says, is relative. By his own admission, Krause, a retired licensed public accountant, has been known to scrutinize city phone bills, and often carries a camera to take shots of fire hazards, open trenches and roads in need of repaving, which he then presents to city staff and county fire officials. Krause also serves as a Los Angeles County Fire Department commission chairman. Krause decided to leave Wyoming for Los Angeles in 1926 during a weeklong blizzard when temperatures plummeted to 48 degrees below zero. When his train pulled into Los Angeles’ Union Station, Krause could only marvel at the warm climate and gape at the city’s many orange groves, he recalled.

He soon landed a job in finance with a bank consortium, which he kept until 1944, when he went to work as a senior tax representative for the state Board of Equalization. The board administers state business-tax programs, assesses utilities and controls property-tax assessors, among other things. Krause worked for the Board of Equalization until 1971, when he retired. Krause moved to La Canada Flintridge in 1950 from the Los Feliz hills. In 1976, he participated in La Canada Flintridge’s successful fight for cityhood. He also helped the fledgling municipality franchise public utilities and helped secure state tax revenues. He served as mayor from 1981 to 1982.(Abstracted from a story in the Los Angeles Times published on February 27, 1986, and authored by Denise Hamilton, Times Staff Writer)

1940 Census:
3525 Griffith Park Boulevard (Value $12,500): 1) Edmund J. Krause, head of household; white married male 39 years of age; born in Missouri; insurance inspector; earns $1,800. 2) Ethel L. Krause, wife; white married female 40 years of age; born in Idaho; not working. 3) Jean E. Krause, daughter; white female 9 years of age; born in California; in school.