In the previous article in this series, 1913 to 1923 Ð The ÒMeat MarketÓ Ford Garage, Rex told about his dadÕs acquisition of the Ford Agency and the Òmeat marketÓ facilities to house it in Spring Valley. He also gave us some details on his position as the designated ÒSpring Valley Ford Assembly PlantÓ in the Ford GarageÕs early years.
The next phase, starting in1923
began as a result of the business outgrowing that location. Cassius bought property up the street
(north) from the Òmeat marketÓ location.
It was on the corner and had been a Òfurniture storeÓ (and possibly a
Studebaker or Chevrolet dealership, as he recalls it). He remodeled that building and added
the main garage portion on the lot just to the south. This then was the final location of the Ford Agency and
Garage, as well as the associated Skelly gas station.
Rex continues with his story:
Assembly Plant in Twin Cities:
ÒIn 1923 dad (Cassius) bought a furniture store up the block on the corner and moved the Ford agency and garage from the location in the middle of the block on Main Street. As I recall it, it had been converted to a garage, Studebaker and probably a Chevrolet dealer. Anyway, your granddad bought that building. He made it into a display room with plate glass windows, and a door. The back part, going back to the alley, was the shop.
ÒThen he bought the property just to the south of that building and built the big brick building to expand the garage part of the agency. There had been a grocery store on that site at one time.Ó
Figure 1 -
Expansion of the Ford Agency in 1923
(AuthorÕs note: the picture in Figure 1 above showing Ò19 PENCE AUTO CO. 23Ó carved in stone above the door was taken by Chris Hinzman, who graciously volunteered to provide some graphics for these articles. That marker, attesting to the buildingÕs 81 years of age and its place in the history of Spring Valley, can still be seen on the building today.)
Rex continues: ÒAfter awhile, oh, I donÕt remember just when Ð it was probably around the 20s, that we used to go up to the Ford Motor Company and get them all assembled and drive them down. Once the new Model-A cars came out with enclosed bodies, we had to drive them down from the assembly plant in the Twin Cities.
ÒYou didnÕt need a driverÕs license in those days. We used to hire two or three fellows hanging around town who didnÕt have anything better to do, and we would get on the train and go to Minneapolis (later St. Paul) to pick up the new cars. The assembly plant used to be over in Minneapolis (before its present location on Ford Parkway in St. Paul). It was over on Fifth Street out on the northwest corner of Minneapolis.
ÒThe Ford Motor Company had a ten-story building - high for those days. The assembly plant moved to its present location in the mid-twenties. The plant made its own glass right there using sand from the cliffs of the Mississippi River. The dam and the power generating plant on the river by the Ford assembly plant were owned by the Ford Motor Company and that generated the electricity for the glass making operation.
ÒSo, we would catch the train there at the Valley in the morning. It would come up at seven oÕclock from the end of the line (Weston), and we took it to Woodville, and we caught the mainline there into St. Paul. Then we took the street car out to the plant where we got the cars.
(Russ: What station did you go into up in St. Paul? ItÕs in St. Paul, right?) ÒOh, ya - we went into the Union Depot there.Ó (Russ: That must have been a busy place in those days.) Oh, it was. Yah. (Russ: Well, thatÕs where you used to go when you went up and got cars later on, right?) ÒYes. We used to stop off there, and then we had to Ð we walked up from the Union Depot, we would walk up to, oh, I donÕt remember - was it Roberts Street? There was a certain corner there we used to catch the right street car to take us out to the Ford plant.
ÒAnyway, sometimes we would get the cars the same day, and once in awhile we had to stay over. Of course that was kind of fun, but, we would have to go back down town on the street car and get a hotel room. Then the next day we would have to go out again, and sit around and wait and wait for that car to come out of the assembly line.
ÒThen we would drive them home and in those days they werenÕt broken in. They would get so hot and stiff that sometimes they would stop. In fact I had one stop right on one of the corners in downtown St. Paul. It was steaming and I had quite a time getting it started. So a cop came along and we pushed it off the streets. We had a lot of experiences that way.
ÒWe kept them filled with water, of course, so they didnÕt get too hot. Another time we were coming around through River Falls, coming home, and Ð that was dad and I Ð he was driving one and I had one of the others. But anyway we got over east of River Falls and all at once one of the rear wheels came off, and I saw it rolling down through the field. I was sliding along on the brake drum, the rim. Well we went down and picked up the wheel. They were just put on with one nut on the axel. ThatÕs different than the way they are put on now, of course. Anyway we got the wheel back on the axel and away we came for home.
ÒThen another time we had had a hard rain, and of course in those days they probably just had a plank bridge over some of those dry runs. The water was running over this bridge, and dad made it across alright with his car, but I missed the edge of the bridge and dropped one wheel off the edge of the bridge. So we had to get that back up on the bridge.
ÒWe would store cars in a barn outside of town for our winter supply, because it wasnÕt always possible to get them in the winter on account of the weather and road conditions. Our supply sometimes dwindled fast. I remember we sold 17 cars one day, so we had to replenish our winter supply. I recall driving back in on Highway 12 from the Twin Cities through Woodville. We would usually cut down across French Creek, where the lake is now. We had to detour all the way around through Downsville because of drifting snow in French Creek. That was a long trip, and kind of cold, too.Ó
In the next article in the series, 1942 Ð The Ford Garage and the Flood in Spring Valley, Rex will relate some of his experiences in the Ford Garage during the floods of 1938 and 1942. Stay tuned É
The Spring Valley Kid
Russell Pence
pence@asu.edu