Howard O. Cone is the senior member of the firm of Cone & Miller, manufacturers of awnings and tents in Utica, who in 1919 took over the business of Hugh D. Farley at No. 132 Genesee street, that had been established more than a half century prior to that time. The firm has developed and broadened the scope of the business very materially, and a gratifying measure of success has attended the efforts of the two partners.
Howard O. Cone was born at Constableville, Lewis county, New York, on the 23d of September, 1880, and obtained his early education in the public schools of his native town, while subsequently he pursued a high school course at Westfield, Massachusetts. The line of business in which he is now engaged has claimed his attention since the time when he put aside his textbooks. The year 1899 witnessed his arrival in Utica, where he first entered the employ of H. C. Baerne and later worked for M. A. Havens and for Hugh D. Farley, whose business he and his associate, E. Parke Miller, took over in 1919. The Blue Book of 1920 said:
"Already the new proprietors have indicated what youth and energy will accomplish in any business. Messrs. Cone and Miller do not confine themselves to the beaten track. They are men of ideas, progressive and original. Perfection in any field is difficult to attain, but the firm promise their best efforts to any patron entrusting work in their line to them. Cone & Miller manufacture all their own awnings and tents from the best of materials and furnish only the best of workmanship in anything they undertake. They also manufacture truck, automobile and boat covers of all kinds, crash and canopies for weddings and other functions, camping outfits, folding cots, etc. One of the secrets of the almost immediate success of this new firm is the fact that both gentlemen connected with the management give to the business their entire personal attention at all times. There is no task in their line too large or too small for them to undertake."
Mr. Cone is a worthy exemplar of the teachings and purposes of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Turin Lodge No. 184, A. F. & A. M., of Turin, New York; Ziyara Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Utica; and Mohawk Valley Consistory, A. A. S. R., of Utica. He is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In the city of Utica, where he has made his home for the past quarter of a century, he enjoys an extensive acquaintance as a representative business man and respected citizen.
Ellis Parke Miller, the junior member of the firm of Cone & Miller, was born in Henderson, New. York, on October 10, 1881, and attended the public schools in the acquirement of an education. He early learned the tent and awning business and had become thoroughly familiar with the practical phases of manufacture when in 1919, upon the death of his employer, Hugh D. Farley, he purchased the latter's business in association with Howard O. Cone, a fellow workman. His well directed efforts have constituted a potent element in the success which has placed the firm of Cone & Miller among the representative industrial enterprises of Utica.