Silver Anniversary (1915-1940)
In 1940, Reed Brothers Dodge celebrated its 25th Anniversary.
1940 – Lewis Reed (2nd from right) receives Dodge Silver Anniversary Award
The inscription on the plaque below reads as follows:
Know All Men By These Presents That
Reed Brothers
has, for 25 years remained in continuous business association with Dodge, in recognition whereof we have caused to be issued this 25th Anniversary token.
Signed by Forest H. Akers, Vice President & Director of Sales. The seal on the bottom is the Dodge Brothers Motor Cars logo. The top of the plaque displays a vertical panel bearing a male figure facing rear with a hammer cutting the word “Dependability” across; below the arm, A Word, A Fact, A Tradition. In the background is an image of the Dodge Brothers Hamtramck factory.
Plaque is a silver scroll mounted on highly polished wood
Update: Light Dodger Sculpture
Here are some shots of the Light Dodger sculpture fully assembled with all of the glass and lamps. The sculpture is slated to be installed in 2015 at Bainbridge Shady Grove Apartments at the entrance to the Shady Grove Metro Station. It is a part of a project that will commemorate the history of Reed Brothers Dodge.
Reed Brothers Dodge Featured in May 2015 Norris-Banonis Automotive Calendar
Reed Brothers is very proud and honored to be featured in the month of May 2015 Norris-Banonis Automotive wall calendar, “Broken Down Heroes”. “Broken Down Heroes”, a name that comes from the Jack Kerouac novel “On the Road,” is a product that Bob Christy has been working on since 1998, and has an extensive collection of images, ranging from a 1918 Willys-Overland to a 1969 VW Bug.
2015 Broken Down Heroes Cover
The top part of the calendar features Bob Christy’s photo of an old abandoned 1952 Dodge Coronet resting under a tree just south of Columbus, Ohio. (click on calendar image below twice to enlarge). The main part of the calendar features a photograph of Lewis Reed and a small snippet of history.
1915: Lewis Reed opened a Dodge Dealership in Rockville, Maryland. When his brother Edgar returns home from WWI, he gives him 1/3 interest. Eventually, the Reed Brothers will carry Hudson, Oldsmobile, Goodyear Tires, and General Electric Appliances. They will also open the first Gulf brand gasoline station in the area.
At the bottom of the calendar, there is a photo of the 1936 Reed Brothers Dodge canopied Gulf Gas Station and Lewis Reed’s original 1915 Rockville Garage.
For the trivia buff and historians, special dates in automotive history is included throughout. For each featured vehicle, the period dealership information and advertisements are included. These unique calendars also include the Norris-Banonis Group trademarked “U-Auto-Know” facts and details that set them apart from any other calendar on the market.
The calendar is available for purchase on Norris-Banonis.com or on Amazon.com.
Feature – “On the Go: Rockville Pike and Car Culture” by Peerless Rockville
It was 100 years ago that Lewis Reed signed a franchise agreement with brothers Horace and John Dodge in Detroit. Since then, the business that Lewis Reed founded grew and transformed into Rockville’s oldest family-owned and operated Dodge dealership.
As a part of Peerless Rockville’s “On the Go: Rockville Pike and Car Culture” lecture series, Peerless Rockville Historian, Dr Teresa Lachin offered a glimpse into the history of Reed Brothers Dodge as one of the City’s oldest and longest lasting automobile businesses. Reed Brothers Dodge operated from two locations on Rockville Pike for 97 years.
Pictured below is the brochure of the “On the Go: Rockville Pike and Car Culture” lecture series. (click images to enlarge)
Update: “Light Dodger” Sculpture Project by Tj Aitken
“Light Dodger” is close to completion. Here are shots from the lighting tests. The large glass pieces should go in next week (shown with surrogate panels). For scale, note Sculptor, Tj Aitken’s face in the smaller opening!
Street Hemi Lamps are complete and ready to go to the east coast for installation. The lamps are 8 feet high with concrete cam bases case with a custom formula that should not be taken for granite. The rods are powder coated steel. The aluminum clad, 1/2 inch thick, glass globes on top have been re-purposed from an old manufacturing facility. A row of these will grace the promenade near the Light Dodger sculpture. This grouping of 6 is 18ft x 4ft x 8ft high.
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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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