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.
Not Just a Dodge Dealer
Lewis Reed’s Rockville Garage sold more than just Dodges. During the early years, Reed Brothers represented several franchise nameplates along with Dodge, including Oldsmobile, Hudson and Essex. The Hudson and Oldsmobile were sold at Reed Brothers from roughly 1917 through 1921.
In 1930. Reed Brothers added the Plymouth line. The first Plymouth was built in 1928 and Plymouths were sold at Reed Brothers until 1969, when the brand was given to the Chrysler dealers.
This photograph of the original 1916 Rockville Garage shows a 1916 model 44 Oldsmobile with V8 and sedan body parked in front. The original owners of Rockville Garage are standing in front. From left: Roy Warfield – Lewis Reed – Griffith Warfield.
Below is new car showtime as fair-goers get their first glimpse at the latest models that Rockville Garage had to offer. Identified by the triangle logo on the grill and the number of passengers seated in it, the car below appears to be a 1918 Hudson Super Six Seven Passenger Touring.
Anybody for a demonstration drive? 1918 Hudson Super Six Seven Passenger Touring
Hudson Super Six, Oldsmobile, and Dodge Brothers Motor Cars on display
Rockville Garage, 1918 – Hudson Super Six, Oldsmobile, and Dodge Brothers Motor Cars on display at Rockville Fairgrounds. Lewis Reed is seated in the drivers seat of the Rockville Garage Service Truck.
1918 Rocvkille Fair Grounds
The first advertisement below, distributed by the Oldsmobile Sales Company in the Sunday, June 29, 1919 edition of The Washington Post is probably one of the first ads in which the Rockville Garage appeared. Dealers are listed in fine print at the bottom: note Rockville Garage, Rockville, Md, highlighted in yellow. (click on image to enlarge)
Washington Post 1919
Reed Brothers Dodge Featured in Norris-Banonis Calendar
I was delighted to provide Kevin Banonis of Norris-Banonis Group with several photographs that will go into the month of May 2015 wall calendar which features a 1952 Dodge Coronet.
The calendar is entitled, “Broken Down Heroes”, which showcases twelve months of old abandoned, but not forgotten vehicles found in fields across the U.S. The calendar is in high resolution black and white and highlights the artistic nature of the photographs by noted photographer Bob Christy. Also included throughout are significant and unusual dates in automotive history. The inside back cover features a 2-page “The EDSEL is on its way!” photo essay.
The top part of the calendar features a photograph of Lewis Reed and a snippet of history. At the bottom of the calendar there is a photograph of the 1936 Reed Brothers Dodge canopied Gulf Gas Station and the original 1915 Rockville Garage. (click on image twice to enlarge)
This amazing calendar like no other – it’s more like a coffee table book than a calendar and a must have for old car enthusiasts. The 2015 printed calendar is available now for purchase on norris-banonis.com.
Fisk Tires
Reed Brothers was founded and franchised as a Dodge dealership in 1915; only one year after the first Dodge automobile was made. Initially, Reed Brothers sold Oldsmobile and Hudson, along with Dodge. Reed Brothers was a successful company, combining car sales, auto accessories and repair service. They also sold Fisk Tires which were made in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts.
After seeing the Fisk Tire signs in the photos below, I was curious to learn more about the company and the tires that they made. The history of the Fisk Tire Company is relatively obscure, but as far as is known, Noyes W. Fisk purchased a failing rubber manufacturing company in 1898. Fisk continued the company under his own name and branched out to sell automobile tires. By 1904, most of the country’s major car manufacturers were buying Fisk tires. The tire business, along with many other businesses, fell upon hard times during the great depression. Despite all the country’s hardships, Fisk survived and introduced its new Safti-Flight tire in 1930, and it proved to be an impressive success. (click images to enlarge)
This photo was taken by Lewis Reed across from Reed Brothers Dodge, circa 1915. Old St Mary’s Church is in the background.
Original 1915 Rockville Garage located at the intersection of Veirs Mill Road and Rockville Pike. The small sign on the right side of the Garage advertises Gasoline, Fisk Tires and Supplies.
Below is an ad I found in the September 18, 1915 edition of Automobile Topics that gives you an idea of the cost of tires at the time, which was considerable.
Source: Chicopee (Google eBook)
Featured Photo: Hand-Cranked Car
Lewis Reed hand cranking an old car. The license plate is MD 10307 dated 1913.
Today, we take the starting of automobiles for granted. Simply place the key in the ignition, turn, and VROOM, the engine starts.
However, this was not always the case. Cars in the early parts of the century had to be started by hand. This was accomplished by turning a crank, usually located in the front of the automobile. When the crank was turned, it moved the pistons in the automobile’s engine until enough momentum was built up to keep the engine going on its own. Hand cranking was also physically demanding making it very difficult for anyone with a small stature to start the engine.
By 1920, nearly all manufacturers were producing cars equipped with starters making it easy for anyone, regardless of physical abilities, to start a car by pressing a button mounted on the dash or floor. An ignition on and starter engage switch operated by a key was introduced by Chrysler in 1949.
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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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