6 Years, 214 Posts & Thank You
Today marks the 6-year anniversary of this blog. It’s been an honor to share the history of Reed Brothers Dodge – whether you’ve read our blog, followed us on Twitter, or “liked” us on Facebook. I would like to thank those mentioned below, and many others, for their kind words and the visibility they have provided.
To help review the past year I thought I’d search around on the Internet and see what others have been saying about us.
Included among the posts on our Facebook page:
“So neat to be part of Reed Brothers History!“
“ What great memories. Thanks so much for sharing.“
“What a great piece of history.”
“The photos are amazing!”
“What a wonderful thing you are doing with these photos.”
“Thank you ever so much for all these RBD History posts. I certainly am enjoying them.”
” Thank you for your many fine and historic posts to this site.”
Online and in print:
- Curator of the Dodge Brothers exhibit at Meadow Brook Hall:
Thank you so much for your support of Meadow Brook and out Dodge initiatives this year. I’ve admired your wonderful blog and the history you share. As we continue to build a Dodge museum, I truly hope to be able to collaborate with you to have an exhibit about your family.
- Meadow Brook Magazine, Fall 2017: To show support to preserving the Dodge legacy, the author of this blog has “adopted” a Dodge car — a 1925 Dodge Brothers Depot Hackney — one of the historic vehicles in the Meadow Brook Hall Dodge Brothers automobile collection.
Meadow Brook Magazine, Fall 2017
Reed Brothers Dodge Featured in Montgomery Magazine: Reed Brothers was very proud and honored to be featured in the month of April/May 2017 Montgomery Magazine, historic landmarks “Then & Now” section. The black and white photograph is Reed Brothers Dodge located at its original location in Old Rockville at the triangle at Veirs Mill Road and Rockville Pike – close to 100 years ago – with “That Good Gulf” gasoline drive-through filling station and Dodge Brothers Motor Car and Graham Brothers Truck signage.
Reed Brothers Dodge located at its original location in Old Rockville at the triangle at Veirs Mill Road and Rockville Pike. The photo was taken by Lewis Reed in the late 1920s.
This is the dealership’s location today, now known as Veterans Park.
On National Television!
- Lewis Reed Photo in PBS Documentary: The Archival Producer for television’s most-watched history series, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE on PBS, found a photograph of the interior of a 1920’s trolley car taken by Lewis Reed and asked permission to use it in the documentary, “The Great War,” a six-hour, three-night event, that premiered Monday, April 10, through Wednesday, April 12, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of America’s entry into WWI.
Rare peak of the inside of a 1920’s trolley car and passengers featured in PBS documentary “The Great War”. Photo taken by Lewis Reed
Screen shot of credits from The American Experience series, “The Great War” on PBS
Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank YOU for stopping by. I appreciate your patronage, whether it be via our blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or other social media.
Meet Lester Wilson, Reed Brothers First Service Manager
W. Lester Wilson, Reed Brothers Dodge First Service Manager 1921
Reed Brothers Dodge started Sales and Service operations in October 1915 with a handful of key employees. Lester Wilson was the dealership’s first Service Manager. W. Lester Wilson of Rockville, started employment in 1918 and stayed with Reed Brothers for 28 years.
U.S. Capitol Then & Now… 108 Years of Change
You might not realize how much Washington DC has changed until you look back and see what it looked like in the past. I thought it would be fun to revisit an historic location using one of Lewis Reed’s original photographs for “then” and a stock image from today for “now” to see what differences are visible. In the following photographs, you can see how the United States Capitol looks both the same and completely different from a century ago.
U.S. Capitol (THEN): Seen in the black & white photograph taken by Lewis Reed in 1910, is the United States Capitol in Washington, DC. Visible in both photos is the white marble Peace Monument that stands in the circle to the west of the U.S. Capitol at Pennsylvania Avenue and First Street, NW. A streetcar can also be seen in the black & white photo. The Pennsylvania Ave streetcar line ran from Georgetown, across Pennsylvania Avenue, past the White House, up to Capitol Hill, and then down to the Navy Yard. With no stop signs, speed limits, or lane lines, the streets of the early 1900s were completely different.
U.S. Capitol as seen from Pennsylvania Ave in 1910. Photo by Lewis Reed
U.S. Capitol (NOW): The same view over a century later hasn’t changed much… except for the traffic and Segway riders with fanny packs.
On Pennsylvania Ave and U.S. Capitol building today. A Segway tour is stopped along the bike lanes.
Meet Edgar Reed
Meet Edgar Reed, partner with brother Lewis Reed, in Reed Brothers Dodge.
Edgar Reed as a young man
Edgar was born in Darnestown, Maryland on October 17, 1890. He was a veteran of World War I and an active citizen of Rockville. He served as a Sergeant in the Army Medical Corps and had been posted to General Hospital No. 11 in Cape May, New Jersey. Previous to his enlistment he had been employed by R.W. Vinson, Rockville druggist for eight years. In 1919, Edgar joined his brother Lewis Reed in the business and the name changed to Reed Brothers Dodge. Edgar was in the automobile business with his brother for 35 years.
As a prominent businessman active in local commercial, civic, and religious institutions, Edgar was a respected community leader. For many years, he served on the Town Council and was Chairman of Stewards at the Rockville Methodist Church. Edgar was an original incorporator and charter member of the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department when the fire company was organized in 1921. He was a charter member and Past President of the Rockville Rotary Club and was a director of the Farmers Banking & Trust Company in Rockville until the time of his death. He was the first President and one of 30 original members of the Dealers Automotive Association of Montgomery County.
Edgar was the executive of Reed Brothers and handled all of the technicalities of the business. He was generally in charge of new car and truck sales. Edgar Reed passed away on October 24, 1951 after a prolonged illness.
Warning For Driving Faster Than a Walk
Photo by Lewis Reed
This undated photograph from Lewis Reed’s Collection evokes a sense of nostalgia for slower-paced times. Literally slower: The sign over the bridge entrance reads – “$10 fine for driving faster than a walk” — quite a hit to the money pouch in those days.
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Copyright Notice
Reed Brothers Dodge History (1915-2012) by Jeanne Gartner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915 – 2012 
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