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Between 1919 and 1959, Reed Brothers Dodge sold more than just cars. In addition to automobiles, the dealership also sold a wide variety of vehicles outfitted with the equipment necessary for various trades, such as farm tractors, delivery trucks, firetrucks, and school buses.
Bates: Steel Mule Tractor, 1919
In the early 1900s, mechanization profoundly changed farming methods. Tractors revolutionized the agriculture industry, eventually freeing farmers from using oxen, horses, and manpower. In addition to automobiles, Rockville Garage was an agent for the Bates Steel Mule Tractor. As sold in 1919, the “Steel Mule” was designed to replace horses or oxen for every farm operation from plowing to harvesting. Its development in the first half of the 20th century fundamentally changed the nature of farm work, rivaling the automobile and the truck in its economic impact. Rockville Garage had a tractor expert on hand to give demonstrations of the Bates Steel Mule Tractor right at a prospect’s property or job site.
The Steel Mule was a product of the Joliet Oil Tractor Company of Joliet, Illinois. First produced about 1913, the Bates Steel Mule was an odd-looking tractor with two wheels set wide in front but only a single, low, crawler track centered under the rear. Joliet was one of dozens of small companies vying for a spot in the lucrative small tractor market between 1910 and 1920. One of its key selling features was that a farmer could use it to more efficiently pull his formerly-horse-drawn equipment. The Bates Steel Mule originally sold for $1,500, the equivalent of more than $27,000 today.
Ad from the Sentinel: April 18, 1919
Ad from the Sentinel: November 28, 1919
Dodge Brothers Screenside Business Car, 1919
Dodge’s first venture into commercial vehicles consisted of light truck-type delivery bodies mounted on slightly modified Dodge passenger car chassis. The resulting vehicles were referred to as Commercial Cars or Business Cars.
Dodge Brothers did not yet have a truck line, though Dodge would later be known for their trucks. Horace and John Dodge reluctantly agreed to develop a commercial vehicle in 1917 after their sales associates lobbied for a work vehicle that could be sold to small businesses that delivered fruit, beer, and other goods. This design eventually evolved into the screen-side Dodge Business Car, with a thousand-pound payload, selling for $885.
Pictured: Montgomery County Sentinel advertisement for business cars available at Reed Brothers: 1920-1921
One of the earliest known trucks sold by Reed Brothers was one of the 1919 Dodge Brothers Screenside Business Cars, purchased by Offutt’s General Store in Rockville and pictured below (notice the screens on the side with roll up canvas covers). Commercial users of these units preferred Dodges because they had an all-steel body. The Offutt store's Class D beer and wine license, numbered 001, was the first issued in Montgomery County, Maryland after the end of Prohibition.
Offutt’s General Store and filling station was originally located in the building that is now called Hank Dietle’s Tavern on Rockville Pike. Edward Offutt first constructed the building in 1916, where he ran a general store selling groceries, animal feed, penny candy, food and drinks, and later (as pictured below) Gulf gas.
Kensington's First Fire Engine: Dodge-Graham Fire Truck, 1925
Kensington Volunteer Fire Department's 1925 chemical pumper (left )and a chemical/ladder truck acquired in 1927 (right)
(Courtesy of the KVFD Archives)
In 1925, the town of Kensington purchased its very first fire engine--a Dodge-Graham combination chemical pumper and hose truck supplied by Reed Brothers Dodge. Built on a Dodge-Graham Brothers passenger-car chassis, the truck’s body was constructed by the U.S. Fire Apparatus Company of Wilmington, Delaware, and mounted on the Graham Brothers chassis delivered through Reed Brothers. This innovative design allowed customers to build trucks to suit their needs, a concept pioneered by the Graham Brothers and marketed by Dodge.
When delivered in mid-1925, the new Dodge-Graham pumper (above, left) was considered one of the finest in Montgomery County. Capable of speeds between 40 and 50 miles per hour, it was painted a rich battleship gray with gold striping and proudly bore the name "Kensington Volunteer Fire Department." Funded by donations, carnivals, and community support, it gave Kensington a modern firefighting tool and marked a turning point in local public safety.
This article in the Evening Star, August 16, 1925, describes the fire engine ordered by Kensington.
Delivery photo from the US Fire Apparatus Company, featuring a painted backdrop. (Courtesy of the KVFD Archives)
As the regional Dodge Brothers dealer, Reed Brothers played a pivotal role in securing the new truck for Kensington. Correspondence between Reed Brothers and the fire department in early 1925 confirms their involvement in coordinating the order. Reed Brothers even waived their sales commission to help the department afford the apparatus, a gesture of community spirit that allowed Kensington to acquire a first-rate fire engine at a considerably lower cost.
A surviving letter dated January 20, 1925, from Edgar Reed to Assistant Chief Eugene J. C. Raney of the Kensington Fire Department, reflects the close relationship between the dealership and the community. While the letter notes a cancellation of an earlier order, it also underscores Reed Brothers’ ongoing commitment to working with the department whenever future needs arose. When approval was later granted to proceed with the purchase, the department re-ordered the same apparatus configuration originally specified.
The acquisition of the new fire truck represents a spirit of community collaboration between local businesses and civic organizations that helped shape public safety across Montgomery County.
School Buses, 1920s-1950s
From the MCHS's 1931 yearbook "The Rocket" (Montgomery History)
Many of the first school buses used around Rockville (and in Montgomery County) were furnished by Reed Brothers Dodge. Shown above left is a photo of the first school buses for the county, delivered to Reed Brothers in 1922. The bare-back chassis would arrive from the Dodge factory, then the passenger compartment would be built to spec. Above right is a 1931 photo of the Montgomery High School's "Travel Club," pictured with an early Montgomery County school bus that may have been one of those provided by Reed Brothers. Clearly the tires had been replaced with more modern versions by this time.
1950s Dodge “Job-Rated” School Bus Chassis Brochure cover
In the 1940s, the school bus started to become a profitable trend, so other companies began to jump on the bandwagon to create their own versions. Fifty years prior, Wayne Works and Blue Bird were the main producers, but around this time mainstream companies like Ford and Dodge used their vast resources to further innovation.
Following the end of WWII, the number of children exploded in America, and that necessitated another redesign for buses. This time they didn’t get wider or safer; this time they got a lot longer. Adding all that length increased overall capacity to around 100 students. It was around this time that the traditional yellow paint job became a national standard as well, looking more similar to the school buses we know today.
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