Book Release: “Portrait Of An Automobile Dealer” Third Edition
In September 2012, I created a self-published book version of this blog, entitled “Portrait of An Automobile Dealer”. In short, it’s an updated and chronologically ordered version of this blog. A second edition was published in place of the first edition, which was released in 2013. Now, after five years, the third, and final edition, is available through Blurb.com print-on-demand bookstore. Overall, since the second edition, “Portrait Of An Automobile Dealer” Third Edition has expanded to 224 pages and is enhanced by over 600 photographs, some of them more than 100 years old, taken by Lewis Reed, founder of Reed Brothers Dodge. The third edition again has loads of small updates, including a new chapter: “Celebrating a Legacy”.
In this book, readers will find an historic timeline that showcases the company’s 95-year history, how Reed Brothers Dodge came into being, and how the company overcame the inevitable changes and challenges throughout almost a century of being in business. “This book is of interest not only to those of us who remember Reed Brothers Dodge, but to others who wish to get to know Rockville as it was before they arrived”, said Jane C. Sween, former librarian at the Montgomery County Historical Society.
The author puts the former Dodge dealership in perspective by demonstrating that the dealerships influence continues to this day on the site of its former location, now the Bainbridge Shady Grove Metro Apartments. “Honoring the rich historical legacy of this site was extremely important to us,” said Tom Keady, President & Chief Executive Officer of The Bainbridge Companies. “With the sculpture and the floor plan names, our residents and visitors feel a real connection to the site’s past, and we pay tribute to Reed Brothers Dodge’s role in creating a vibrant Rockville.”
Blog creator and book author, Jeanne Gartner, received the 2016 Arthur M. Wagman Award for Historic Preservation Communication from Peerless Rockville for documenting the history of Reed Brothers Dodge in both blog and book format. This distinguished honor recognizes outstanding achievement by writers, educators, and historians whose work has heightened public awareness of Rockville’s architectural and cultural heritage, growth and development. The book is an “exemplary effort to inform, establishing a virtual commemoration of a landmark, which lacks surviving tangible form”, noted Peerless Rockville.
The book “Portrait Of An Automobile Dealer, Third Edition” is available through Blurb.com print-on-demand bookstore. If you would like to check out the hard copy book or purchase a copy, please visit: http://www.blurb.com/b/8514165-portrait-of-an-automobile-dealer-third-edition
As a special thank you to all the readers of this blog, this book has been placed online for everyone to enjoy for free. A complimentary eBook available for Amazon Kindle Fire, Apple iPad, Android devices, and Mac or PC computers is also available through Blurb: http://www.blurb.com/b/8514165-portrait-of-an-automobile-dealer-third-edition?ebook=653481
Note: It’s worth noting that Print-On-Demand (POD) books, are usually more expensive per copy than a book printed via offset printing. That’s because offset printing (the method used for most mass-produced books found in bookstores) requires a minimum order of 500-1,000 copies. Print on demand, on the other hand, needs only a minimum order of one copy. The smaller scale and different workflow results in a higher cost per book, since the books are only printed when they are ordered. This book is not marked up for profit; but sold at base price.
Circa 1920s: Rockville Fairground Ferris Wheel
Ferris Wheel at Rockville Fairground, circa 1920s. Photo by Lewis Reed
Forget Valentine’s, Happy Ferris Wheel Day!
Did you know that February 14th is not only Valentine’s Day, but also Ferris Wheel Day? This unofficial national holiday is held on this day to honor the birth of the inventor of the Ferris Wheel, George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. What better way to celebrate Ferris Wheel Day than enjoying this old photograph of the Ferris Wheel taken at the Rockville Fairgrounds, courtesy of Lewis Reed. The fairgrounds were just outside Rockville, about where Richard Montgomery High School is today. The Fair lasted four days, from August 21st to the 24th, and drew visitors from local counties, Washington, and Baltimore.
For the singles and the “enough already with the Valentines”, here is your perfect alternative excuse. Go wish all your friends and family a Happy Ferris Wheel Day!
Rockville 1912: Vinson’s Drug Store
1912 – Vinson’s Drug Store, Rockville, Maryland. Photo by Lewis Reed
This 1912 photograph taken by Lewis Reed depicts Vinson’s Drug Store in downtown Rockville. This post is a part of the blog feature called, “Rockville’s Past Through the Lens of Lewis Reed”. Lewis Reed was a well-known photographer in the county and many of his early photographs are now part of the Montgomery County Historical Society photo archives. I wanted to share this photograph, because it offers a visual history of a part of Rockville’s past taken more than 100 years ago.
Previous to Edgar Reed’s enlistment in World War I, he had been employed as a clerk by R.W. Vinson Drug Store for eight years. In 1919, Edgar became a partner with his brother, Lewis Reed, in the firm Reed Brothers Dodge.
The drugstore was built in the 1880s and was run by Robert William “Doc” Vinson from 1900 until his death in 1958. A document on the Rockville website says the drugstore was also a popular gathering place for city politicians, and that President Woodrow Wilson once personally traveled there to buy Wolfhound tablets. The building was torn down in 1962, and replaced with an office building during Rockville’s “urban renewal”.
Source: County Seat to Satellite City of the Nations’ Capital: 1931
A Different Way of Selling Cars
Lewis Reed (right) in new car showroom talking with a customer
Ask anyone who has been in the car business for a while how they create lasting customer relationships. They’ll tell you it’s through conversation. The benefit of an actual conversation is that it builds engagement, which ultimately builds a relationship between the salesman and the customer. Engagement fosters relationships, which build trust.
Selling cars in the 40’s and 50’s was very different than what it is today. Growing up in the car business, one of my favorite things to do as a kid was to go to the dealership with my grandfather on weekends. My grandfather was always on the showroom floor or walking around the dealership talking with customers and the employees. What I didn’t know at the time, was that by being accessible and not spending a lot of time in his office behind a desk, he was actually building rapport and trust with his customers and employees.
In Lewis Reed’s day, a customer would come into the showroom and sit for hours and talk about local sports teams, the weather or family. But they’d never mention an automobile. Then, the customer would come back, maybe talk a second day. And on the third day, they’d get down to dickering about a car. But it was all cautious, deliberate and very polite.
In the those days, it was unheard of for a salesman to spend the whole day in the showroom. There were no salesman’s desks in the Reed Brothers showroom until after World War II. Lewis Reed allotted specific sales territory to his salesmen in four different directions from the dealership. The salesmen spent all day in the outlying areas of Poolesville, Rockville, Barnesville and Spencerville demonstrating cars to potential customers. At that time, Reed Brothers was selling about eight new cars a month and most sales resulted from knocking on people’s doors. It was direct person to person sales contact, relationship building and trust – all built and sealed on a handshake.
Meet Marvin Shultz, Reed Brothers Longest Tenured Employee
Marvin Riggs Shultz Sr holds the distinction of being the longest tenured employee in Reed Brothers Dodge history, from 1941-1984. Photo courtesy of the Shultz family.
The year was 1941 — Franklin D. Roosevelt was President, the United States officially entered World War II, a first class stamp was five cents, the average price of a new Dodge car was about $800, and for 15 cents, you could buy a gallon of gas.
Things were quite different back in 1941 when Marvin Shultz started working at Reed Brothers Dodge. As Reed Brothers longest tenured employee, Marvin worked for 43 of the company’s 97 years of existence before retiring in 1984 as a new car salesman. Marvin began as Manager of Reed Brothers full service Gulf Gasoline and Service Station when it was located at its original location at the intersection of Veirs Mill Road and Rockville Pike. The service station carried a full line of Gulf lubricants, Goodyear tires, Willard batteries and many other well known brands of merchandise to meet their patrons needs. In fact, the company was the first Gulf gas dealer in the Washington, D.C. area.
Circa 1957, Marvin pumps gas into a construction truck at Reed Brothers full service Gulf Gas Station. In 1953, the dealership expanded to make room for a new free standing Gulf Service Station and a new car showroom. Photo courtesy of the Shultz family.
Marvin’s four-plus decades at Reed Brothers spanned some major and minor bumps in the road for the business. The U.S. entry into World War II had led to rationing of gasoline, rubber and anything else critical to the country’s war effort. During that time, Reed Brothers had no new cars to sell for three and a half years. When manufacturers halted car production and many dealers went bankrupt, Reed Brothers converted its car showroom into a display room and sold GE washing machines and other large appliances to fill the gap. At the end of the 1940s a gallon of gas cost 26 cents. After the war when new car production started back up, and Reed Brothers once again had new cars and trucks to sell, it continued to grow.
Marvin’s 43 years of tenure puts him among a handful of employees who have worked at both Reed Brothers’ locations, at the triangle at Veirs Mill Road and Rockville Pike and at 15955 Frederick Road Rockville Maryland. He was with Reed Brothers through three renovations and expansions, including demolition of the 1953 service station to make room for a new free standing Gulf Service Station and a new car showroom. At the time, Reed Brothers employed twenty-two people to assist in the operation of the business.
Marvin became a new car salesman in 1965, the same year that Reed Brothers celebrated its 50th Anniversary. He began selling new cars when the average sticker price of a new 1965 Dodge Coronet was about $2,600. When the state widened the roads in 1970, he relocated with Reed Brothers to its new location at 15955 Frederick Road Rockville Maryland. Marvin stuck with Reed Brothers through three recessions, two energy crises and the first Chrysler Bailout and resurgence under Lee Iacocca.
Sales Meeting left to right: Dorsey Howes (Sales Manager), Dale Reed (Salesman), Marvin Shultz (Salesman), Lee Gartner (CEO). In the 1970s, the sales staff wore red blazers with the Dodge emblem on the pocket.
A lot of my memories include fond recollections of Marvin. For us to be able to say that we’ve had anyone work for our company for 43 years is a milestone that is unsurpassed. We should all aspire to do what we love in our work, and I think Marvin’s long history with Reed Brothers is a testament to that.
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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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