Working on Christmas Day - Piquette Plant, 1905

[Rob]

The employees were off for Christmas, and the Ford Motor Co. Board of Directors voted to give employees a $10 Christmas bonus (over $300 today). Interesting to note A. Y. Malcomson made the motion. Only weeks earlier Malcomson had been "outed" for starting Aerocar, and asked to resign from the board of directors.

However, FMC CFO James Couzens was evidently hard at it. This letter (courtesy of G. Anderson, MN), revealed Couzens was writing potential agents on Christmas Day. Below, the Rice Brothers, Mason City, IA, had requested Ford agency appointment, and it appears on Christmas Day Couzens is writing the brothers to let them know "that negotiations have been conducted in a way that has been pleasing to you."

Below, 1906 photograph of Mason City's Main Street. The photo indicates city's population is 10,000:

Thank you Mr. Anderson for the informative string of correspondence between the Rice brothers and FMC in late 1905 through 1906.
Happy Holidays to all,
Rob

[Steve Jelf]

Today very few towns that small, if any, have an agency of any make. As recently as 30 years ago there were dealerships in Newkirk OK (population about 2200 and Pawhuska OK (almost 3000). One of my dad's brothers was the Chevrolet dealer in Cottonwood Falls KS (under 1000). Over the past 120 years there has been constant consolidation of businesses and concentration of populations. Many of us remember little neighborhood markets, two or more local lumberyards and hardware stores, drug stores, etc. The population shift from rural to urban and suburban has been ongoing for well over a century, and many little towns once thriving have shrunk, and even wasted away. In most cases a shrunken little town with empty and collapsing buildings and many empty lots headed down that road long, long ago.

[John kuehn]

So true Steve.
And then along came Wal-Mart and we know what happened to the smaller towns after that. The Mom and Pop small grocery stores dwindled and maybe the smaller chains like A&P lasted a while longer.
BUT what is surprising is the emergence of the Dollar General, Dollar Stores and etc coming on stronger as time goes on. Those stores are filling in the void of the local 5 and Dime stores.
Ace hardware is becoming a major player in the South also.

But as far as Automobile dealers the big towns and cities are where they are located.

[Duey_C]

The work never ends, Mr Couzens doing his job, wishing hearty support to a new concern, even on a very special day.
Ten bucks was nothing to sneeze at then nor 300 today.
Thank you for your digging and hope your Christmas was very good Rob.
I took a phone call from a fellow working in Singapore quite late at night to help him. We gotta do what we do.

[OilyBill]

When I drive from Tucson to Chickasha, I pass through MANY small towns on the backroad route I take through New Mexico, Texas and into Oklahoma. It is stunning, the number of towns where virtually nothing is left open, just rows of empty, abandoned businesses and homes. Next year I will take my camera, as these places should be documented before they disintegrate.