Dr. Charles K. Hyde - The Dodge brothers : the men, the motor cars, and the legacy

GREAT LAKES BOOKS

A complete listing of the books in this series can be found online at http://wsupress.wayne.edu.

Editors:

Philip P. Mason

Wayne State University

Dr. Charles K. Hyde

Wayne State University

Advisory Editors:

Jeffrey Abt

Wayne State University

Sidney Bolkosky

University of MichiganDearborn

Sandra Sageser Clark

Michigan Bureau of History

John C. Dann

University of Michigan

De Witt Dykes

Oakland University

Joe Grimm

Detroit Free Press

David Halkola

Hancock, Michigan

Richard H. Harms

Calvin College

Laurie Harris

Pleasant Ridge, Michigan

Susan Higman

Detroit Institute of Arts

Norman McRae

Detroit, Michigan

William H. Mulligan, Jr.

Murray State University

Erik C. Nordberg

Michigan Technological University

Gordon L. Olson

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Michael D. Stafford

Milwaukee Public Museum

John Van Hecke

Wayne State University

Arthur M. Woodford

St. Clair Shores Public Library

THE DODGE BROTHERS

The Men, the Motor Cars, and the Legacy

CHARLES K. HYDE

WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS
DETROIT

2005 by Wayne State University Press,

Detroit, Michigan 48201.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced

without formal permission.

Manufactured in the United States of America.

ISBN-13: 978-0-8143-3246-7 ISBN-10: 0-8143-3246-3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hyde, Charles K., 1945

The Dodge brothers : the men, the motor cars, and the legacy / Charles K. Hyde

p. cm. (Great Lakes books)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-8143-3246-3 (cloth : alk. paper)

1. Automobile engineersUnited StatesBiography. 2. Dodge BrothersHistory. 3. Dodge, John F. (John Francis), 18641920. 4. Dodge, Horace E.

(Horace Elgin), 18681920. I. Title. II. Series.

TL140.D63H93 2005

629.222'092'2dc22

2004023802

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.

ISBN 978-0-8143-3780-6 (e-book)

To the Memory of John Francis Dodge (18641920) and Horace Elgin Dodge (18681920)

CONTENTS

TABLES

PREFACE

The roots of this book extend back to late 1980, when I wrote a brief history of the sprawling Dodge Main plant in Hamtramck, Michigan, before its demolition. This was my first venture into Dodge history and I quickly learned of the absence of any comprehensive history of John and Horace Dodge and the automobile company that bore their names. I discovered that Chryslers historical archives contained a great deal of material on Dodge Brothers before the Chrysler Corporation bought the firm in 1928. Once I finished a history of the Chrysler Corporation, I turned my attention back to Dodge Brothers. This has been a difficult research effort because many Dodge Brothers business records, especially the correspondence, have not survived. Some business and family records have found their way into more than a dozen archives, but other materials are in the hands of private collectors and are not easily accessible.

Any serious work of history depends in large part on the cooperation and assistance of archivists and librarians. I owe a great debt to Barbara M. Fronczak, now retired, whose responsibilities as manager of the DaimlerChrysler Information Resource Center included the DaimlerChrysler Historical Collection. Brandt Rosenbusch, the current manager, graciously allowed me to return to the collection to focus on the Dodge story.

The archives at Oakland Universitys Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester, Michigan, were another source of much valuable information about both brothers and the Dodge Brothers firm, but mostly related to John F. Dodge. Lisa Baylis Ashby, former executive director at Meadow Brook Hall, and Maura Overland, a former curator of collections, encouraged me to examine the materials held there. I am grateful for the enthusiastic cooperation and encouragement of Sally Victor, former acting executive director of Meadow Brook Hall, and Brandy Hirschlieb, curator of collections, when I spent several months in the archives in 2003.

I am also grateful for the help and guidance of many other archivists. Mark Patrick of the National Automotive History Collection of the Detroit Public Library deserves special thanks. Tom Featherstone, photo archivist at the Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University, helped steer me through his institutions massive collection of photographs and scanned the images that appear in this book. The patient, professional staffs of the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library, and the Benson Ford Research Center, the Henry Ford, offered invaluable assistance. Patricia Zacharias, manager of the Catlin Library of the Detroit News, guided me through that newspapers indexing system.

My research took me to several cities where the Dodges worked and lived before settling permanently in Detroit. Several reference librarians and museum professionals were extremely helpful: Michelle Klose at the Niles (Michigan) Community Library; Carol Bainbridge at the Fort St. Joseph Museum in Niles; Barbara King at the St. Clair County Library, Port Huron, Michigan; and George Livingstone at the Willard Public Library, Battle Creek, Michigan. I would particularly like to thank my colleague and friend Alan Douglas for helping me navigate through the historical records of Windsor, Ontario.

Several members of the Dodge Brothers Club were also extremely generous in sharing photographs and other materials with me. I am especially grateful to John W. Parsons, Jr., who graciously allowed me to examine his large collection of Dodge Brothers materials, and to John Bittence, who helped me better understand the various Dodge Brothers offerings of the period 192529. Other Dodge Brothers Club members who shared materials with me include Mel Bookout, Thomas Jack Carpenter, and John Velliky. Several Dodge Brothers Club members read earlier versions of this book and offered countless suggestions and advice. I am particularly grateful to John C. Bittence, John W. Parsons, Jr., and Harry M. Trebing. Ron Fox, owner of a rich collection of Dodge family materials, generously allowed me to examine his collection. I am deeply indebted to all of the individuals I have named above, and I hope I have not forgotten anyone. Naturally, any errors or omissions that may be found in this book are my responsibility alone.

INTRODUCTION

Automotive historians are familiar with the lives and accomplishments of John and Horace Dodge, but most general readers are not. The Dodge brothers were relatively obscure figures to their contemporary public when they worked as manufacturers of parts for the Olds Motor Works and the Ford Motor Company from 1901 through 1914. They then manufactured their own automobiles for only six years, but by the time they both died in 1920, they had earned considerable recognition and respect for their work and their contributions to the Detroit community. Unlike Henry Ford, who developed an apparatus to promote and control his public image, the Dodge brothers preferred that people knew them through the Dodge Brothers automobile. They were an important force in Detroit society, mainly in the 1910s, when they both played an active role in politics, civic service, and philanthropy.