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Julius 'Julie' Bell, Deli Manufacturing Executive
b.10 Jan 1919 Brooklyn, Kings County, New York
d.18 Sep 2003 Los Angeles County, California
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[edit] About Julius "Julie" BellJulius "Julie" Bell was born 10 January 1919 in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, son of Joseph Bell (b. abt. 1886) and Anna Mikelberg (b. abt. 1890), both immigrants from Russia that emigrated just after the turn of the century. A few years after his birth, his family re-located to Southern California, where the climate was better suited to his father's health. Julie was a child prodigy that learned to play the violin at a young age. Later he joined the Boy Scouts at age 13 and had an enthusiasm for hiking and camping. Julie attended Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, graduating in 1936. He played baseball, football and was a school cheerleader. His first job was working in the circulation department of the Los Angeles Herald-Express newspaper. Julie got his college education at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), where he studied accounting, business administration and marketing, and graduated in June of 1941. Two months after his graduation, Julie's number came up on the draft lottery and he was inducted into the United States Army, where he entered the Finance Officer Candidate School at Ft. Harrison, Indiana. After World War II broke out, everyone in Julie's OCS was re-classified as "1-A", and Julie found himself aboard a troop-ship bound for Europe. He spent more than two years overseas, 18 months of it was spent in the thick of combat. His unit, the 26th Battalion of the First Division, landed in France on "D-Day" +2 and fought its way to Marburg, Germany. Julie's unit also fought in the "Battle of the Bulge" and at the end of the war, only 60 of the original 220 men were still alive. Luckily, Julie came out of the war relatively unscathed, and his unit was one of the first to be discharged early in 1945.After his return, Julie went into the garment manufacturing business, but quickly lost interest, selling the business a year later. Shortly thereafter, Julie met his future wife Arlene Cohen at Santa Monica Beach. They met when Julie "accidentally" stumbled upon her as she lay sunbathing on the sand. They fell in love and got married. Arlene's father, Samuel Cohen and his brother Leo Cohen had started a restaurant the "Rye and Roll" Sandwich Shop, which opened at 5th and Hill in downtown Los Angeles in 1947. The restaurant occupied the entire basement of the Pershing Square Building and quickly became a popular luncheon spot for downtown shoppers. It did a thriving business for the next six years, with a crew of 15 employees and feeding about 1,600-1,700 people a day - mostly between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Later, with the experience they gained from operating the "Rye and Roll" Sandwich Shop, Julie joined Sam and Leo Cohen in a start-up company in the deli manufacturing business, Leo's Quality Foods with his brother, Leo Cohen, making packaged deli products which were carried by many supermarkets in the western United States. Julie joined Samuel and Leo Cohen and quickly rose to become Leo's Executive Vice President and General Manager, overseeing the purchasing of raw product and Leo's quality control department. Leo's became one of two largest sliced meat producers, developing packaged, sliced, sandwich meats. Leo's later became a casualty of intense competition in the sliced meat category in the 1980's and was later sold in November 1984.While working at Leo's Quality Foods, Julie was an active member of the Southern California Deli Council, which later was re-named to the Dairy/Deli/Bakery Council of Southern California (DDBC), a local Food Industry Trade Association, and attended many of its meetings, seminars and functions. Julie was awarded the Deli Council's "Big Cheese" Award in July 1969 for his leadership and support of the Council. Julie was an accomplished golfer, collected oil paintings for his home and was a member or supporter of the Shriner's Club, the Brentwood Country Club, the United Jewish Welfare Association, the American Civil Liberties Union, the United Nations Organization, the University of Judiasm and the City of Hope. Julius Bell passed away on 18 September 2003 in Los Angeles County, California. He and his wife Arleen had two sons together, Bobby and Mitchell, who were both accomplished tennis players in high school and college. Julie's contributions and support of the food industry will always be remembered, and his friendships will not not soon be forgotten. Image Gallery
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