Creed of A Dodge Brothers Salesman
The man responsible for much of the early Dodge Brothers advertising was George Harrison Phelps. Among other things, George Phelps wrote “The Creed of A Dodge Brothers Salesman” which embodied the Dodge Brothers philosophy in manufacturing and selling cars:
from Newspaperarchive.com – Spirit Lake Beacon Thursday, May 13, 1915
Dodge Brothers advertising was renowned for its simplicity. Sales brochures in 1914-15 and 1916 used the slogan, “It Speaks for Itself.”
Advertisements in 1916 emphasized the growing acceptance of Dodge Brothers care by the public. The campaign began with “A Year’s Growth of Good Will”, published on January 1, 1916.
Source: “The Dodge Brothers”, The Men, The Motor Cars, and The Legacy
“Oilfield Dodge” – 1920s Off-Roading
This 1920′s promotional film shows a Dodge Brothers sedan doing some serious off-roading to get to an oil well. It’s amazing to see what the car can do.
A 1920′s vintage Dodge Brothers sedan with “Oil Field Dodge” painted on it’s side shows us how the old timers four wheeled it through muddy fields and roads. This Dodge is on a mission to get to the gushing oil well in this film which was apparently some sort of promotional video for the car. It certainly looks like the Dodge was a well built car that was rugged enough to survive some terrible off road driving conditions. The car drives carefree over rocky and mountainous terrain and when it flips over on its side, it takes nothing more than a few people to roll it back over and, ‘vroom’, off it goes.
The video ends when the car reaches an oilfield where a group of drillers have struck an oil deposit, sending black gold shooting through the air next to the parked Oilfield Dodge.
You will watch this more than once I am sure.
Meet Our Founder: Lewis Reed
Lewis Reed
Lewis Reed was born in Darnestown, Maryland on November 25, 1887 and attended school in Montgomery County. He went to work for the fore-runner of the IBM Corporation at about the time it was founded in 1913. In 1915, he founded Reed Brothers Dodge. In 1920, he married the former Ethlene Thomas of Frederick County and moved to Gaithersburg. He had one daughter, Mary Jane, who later married Ernest Lee Gartner in 1944.
Before becoming interested in automobiles, Lewis Reed was one of the original employees of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company, a Georgetown-based manufacturing firm that eventually became International Business Machines, Inc. He received his training at the Pierce Arrow factory at Buffalo, New York, the Dodge and Hudson factories at Detroit and the Washington Auto College. Pierce-Arrow was once one of the most recognized and respected names in the automobile industry. For 38 years, the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company in Buffalo, New York, produced some of the finest automobiles made.
Lewis Reed was just a young man when he started selling cars built by brothers Horace and John Dodge in Detroit
When World War I broke out, Lewis Reed along with many other patriotic men joined the war effort. He did his bit in World War I by working at the Navy Yard in Washington DC as a torpedo tester.
Lewis Reed (left) as Chauffeur with unidentified family circa 1914
Prior to World War I, Lewis Reed’s love of automobiles led him to becoming a chauffeur. Chauffeurs were trained to be proficient with their driving skills, but they also had to keep the luxury automobiles in tip top shape which is where his mechanic training would have come into play.
Lewis Reed was a member of the Gaithersburg Grace Methodist Church where he served as a member and Chairman of the Board of Stewards, a lay leader and President of the Men’s Bible Class.
He was also a charter member and Past President (Feb.1933 – Feb. 1937) of the Gaithersburg – Washington Grove Volunteer Fire Department and a member of the advisory board of the Rockville branch of the First National Bank of Maryland.
Lewis Reed belonged to the Masonic Lodge of Rockville, the Pentalph Chapter of the Eastern Star and the Rockville Rotary Club. He was a Rotarian for 34 years and also had served as President of that group.
Lewis Reed Printing Pictures
With photography for a hobby, one that began even before automobiles were around Montgomery County, he had amassed a large library of photographs of buildings, farm carts drawn by oxen, and other historic spots in Montgomery County. Lewis Reed expanded his hobby to include movies, and made them not only of his family, but on his trips to various parts of the world. Many of his photographs are now part of the Montgomery County (Maryland) Historical Society photo archives.
Lewis Reed was not only passionate about automobiles and photography, he also enjoyed riding motorcycles. This is Lewis Reed on his Harley Davidson overlooking the countryside somewhere outside Frederick Maryland circa 1915.
Lewis Reed was a Charter Member and Past President of the Gaithersburg-Washington Grove Volunteer Fire Department. This is a photo of Past Officers of the Gaithersburg-Washington Grove Fire Department. (Lewis Reed far right)
Lewis Reed was a Rotarian for 34 years and had served as President of the Rockville Rotary Club. This is a Rotary get-together held on June 14, 1955. (Lewis Reed, 3rd from right)
The story of how Lewis Reed was chosen for a Dodge Brothers Motor Car franchise is lost, but his legacy continued until 2009 as the oldest Dodge dealership under the same family ownership in Maryland, and one of the oldest in the entire nation.
Featured Photos: 1917 Texaco Tanker Trucks
A Texaco Petroleum tanker is delivering its load of fuel to Reed Brothers Dodge in this circa 1917 photo. The delivery driver seems to be wearing his best suit on this job, something that you don’t see these days at all.
A circa 1917 Texaco Petroleum Truck sits in front of Reed Brothers Dodge after delivering its load of fuel.
The most essential vehicle of the early 20th century (and today) had to have been the tanker truck. In the pioneering period of tanker trucks, 1910 to 1920, The Texas Company was among many that were fitted with tanks to carry refined products such as gasoline, kerosene and fuel oil.
All that remains of some models are vintage photographs in an archive somewhere. A few restored tank trucks are in transportation museums.
New Car Showroom, c. 1920s
1920 Dodge Showroom
This new car showroom at Reed Brothers Dodge is filled with late 1920s Dodge Brothers new car models. The high ceilings and mezzanine floor gives an air of elegance to the showroom and the expanse of windows on the front extends the full width of the building. The showroom faced the triangle at Veirs Mill Road and Rockville Pike (now known as Veterans Park) which gave the dealership maximum visibility to the largest volume of cross traffic. Behind the large plate glass windows and an awning above was the product — the new car. (click image to enlarge)
In the background under the column arch is the Bookkeeper’s desk, who at the time was Arthur Watkins. The upper floor mezzanine housed the dealership’s Parts Department and storage area. Leo (Pat) Murray started in 1925 and was the Parts Department Manager. Pat worked at Reed Brothers for more than 21 years. To the right of the stairs was Evelyn Beane’s desk, Reed Brothers’ administrative secretary.
To the left of the stairs is the Gulf Gasoline service counter displaying various supplies. Reed Brothers Dodge was the first Gulf gasoline dealer in the Washington, D.C. area. In 1915, they began selling gas at their original location at the triangle at Veirs Mill Road and Rockville Pike. In addition to gas, they carried a full line of Gulf lubricants, Goodyear tires, Willard batteries, complimentary road maps, free air and water, and many other well known brands of merchandise.
The showroom led to the Service Department at the rear of the building which was how new cars were moved in and out of the showroom. There were 2-3 additional offices in the back of the showroom. One belonged to Edgar Reed (Lewis’ brother) who was generally in charge of the “front end” of the business; new car and truck sales. The other office belonged to Lewis Reed, who was never known to spend a lot of time in his office sitting behind a desk. He could always be found in the “back end” of the business; Service, Parts and Body Shop.
There were no salesman’s desks in the 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. Three of the four salesmen at the time were Francis O. Day, Raleigh S. Chinn and Benjamin J. Thompson. Benjamin Thompson of Colesville joined Reed Brothers in 1917 as Salesman and stayed for 30+ years. Raleigh S. Chinn of Rockville started as Salesman with Reed Brothers in 1920.
Books
Related Resources
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 
Recent Comments