7 Years, 296 Posts & Thank You
Today marks the 7-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:
“I love pictures, especially the old ones. People, places and things…the pictures bring such cool history and personal ones, the fond memories.
Online and in print:
Antique Motorcycle Club of America, Forum: “Reed Brothers was a pretty important local business owners in my area. The Reed Brothers, shown in the photo attached, are the two center riders with touring caps and ties started a garage in Rockville in 1915 and received a Dodge Motors contract to sell and service the new automobile….. Lewis was a pretty extraordinary amateur photographer.”
Meadow Brook Hall: For the second year, to show support to preserving the Dodge legacy, the author of this blog has “adopted” a Dodge car — a 1915 Dodge Brothers Touring Car — one of the historic vehicles in the Meadow Brook Hall Dodge Brothers automobile collection. Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester Hills, Michigan was the estate of one of the world’s wealthiest and influential women of her time, Matilda Dodge Wilson. Matilda was the wife of John F. Dodge, co-founder of the Dodge Brothers Motor Car Company.
Photo courtesy of Meadow Brook Hall
The inscription on the Adoption Certificate reads:
adopted by Jeanne Gartner in memory of her grandfather, Lewis Reed, who founded Reed Brothers Dodge in Rockville, Maryland in October 1915.
The vehicle was adopted for a period of one year, beginning November 14, 2018 through November 13, 2019 (November 14 is the anniversary of the day John and Horace Dodge revealed their first car in 1914). The adoption will help Meadow Brook make necessary repairs, provide preventative maintenance and pay insurance for the Depot Hack, ensuring it’s there to inspire, educate and “drive” this and future generations. Lewis Reed is a perfect and most fitting parent.
“Just A Car Guy”: It’s pretty cool to see a well-known car blog like “Just A Car Guy” has noticed our history blog and has been sending visitors our way via a link on their page under, “Sites I recommend for their quality”: Reed Brothers Dodge History. I am proud and honored to be regarded among these terrific automotive websites.
On National Television!
- Lewis Reed Photo Featured on Maryland Public Television (MPT): Lewis Reed’s aerial photograph of entire original Reed Brothers Dodge dealership at the intersection of Veirs Mill Road and Rockville Pike was used in the Maryland Farm & Harvest series which was aired on December 18, 2018 at 7:00 pm on MPT. The photo illustrated what Rockville Pike looked like at the time, during a segment about 97-year-old farmer Charles Koiner who grew up in the Rockville area.
Screen shot of credits from Maryland Farm & Harvest video on MPT
- Lewis Reed Photo on Discovery’s Science Channel, Impossible Engineering: A Lewis Reed’s photo from the 1923 Rockville Fair Auto Races was a part of the Episode 4 ‘London Array’ Series of Impossible Engineering that was broadcast on Thursday, January 24, 2019 on Discovery’s Science Channel. The photograph was used on the program that featured a segment on the development of the race car.
Lewis Reed’s photo extracted from the Science Channel Impossible Engineering DVD
Last, but certainly not least, many thanks to all of you who have visited, followed, shared, or commented on this blog. I appreciate all of you for your continued support and making Reed Brothers Dodge History one of the places you visit during the course of your day.
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.
Adopt-a-Dodge: Supporting the Preservation of the Dodge Brothers Legacy
Meadow Brook Hall purchased the 1925 Dodge Brothers Depot Hack from a Dodge Brothers Club member in 2014. Photo courtesy of Meadow Brook Hall
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.
The inscription on the Adoption Certificate reads:
adopted by Jeanne Gartner in memory of her grandfather, Lewis Reed, who founded Reed Brothers Dodge in Rockville, Maryland in October 1915.
Depot Hackneys, later called station wagons, were designed to transport tourists and luggage from train stations to area hotels. Several companies made the wooden bodies, which would be installed on the chassis of different brands of cars. This truck is a very rare piece of Dodge history. Today, we call this type of vehicle a Taxi, which is what the word Hackney means. “Hack” is an abbreviated form of Hackney.
Madelyn Rzadkowolski, Curator at Meadow Brook Hall added, “The 1925 Depot Hack needs some work so your contribution in memory of your grandfather will really make a difference. Among other things, it needs new tires… two of them went flat last weekend when we were winterizing the cars.”
The vehicle was adopted for a period of one year, beginning November 14, 2017 through November 13, 2018 (November 14 is the anniversary of the day John and Horace Dodge revealed their first car in 1914). The adoption will help Meadow Brook make necessary repairs, provide preventative maintenance and pay insurance for the Depot Hack, ensuring it’s there to inspire, educate and “drive” this and future generations. Lewis Reed is a perfect and most fitting parent.
1925 Dodge Brothers Depot Hack. Photo courtesy Meadow Brook Hall
Meadow Brook Magazine, Fall 2017
MEADOW BROOK HALL in Rochester Hills, Michigan was the estate of one of the world’s wealthiest and influential women of her time, Matilda Dodge Wilson. Matilda was the wife of John F. Dodge, co-founder of the Dodge Brothers Motor Car Company. Named a National Historic Landmark in 2012, MEADOW BROOK HALL strives to preserve and interpret its architecture, landscape, and fine and decorative art so that visitors may be entertained, educated and inspired by history.
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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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