PAGE 6—THE HERALD, Ahoskie. N. C.—MILESTONE YEAR 1959
eu)ck im
Selling Era Snorted Early;
Pioneer Hertford Auto Merchants
■ -Motk'! ■&'••• V-Oi W!
.’i" p»oduc9ti tjr 50 eisi-
pwye.', fvjmo'.'S sioij'i/*:' 'Whtn. faa!>^r
«« built Suick vi(i bviit/
■ Lcr,e,i in i905. ’^ucleii^
Cl- Gftnftic! Motcci Cp’f/;,- foetnad m
, SepseoiOKs, WOS- First jix-syiindef,-
1«!5; vt-Gigti! o'.gh!, 1P3(. Alt
motsoi; ■/,'•,ti} tiUY« bKO'! aighfi. r>«(
V.8. !9i3.
AHOSKIE — Roanoke-Chowan
merchants beat the “good roads"
movement in 1915 to the punch.
Several of them were in the van
guard, selling automobiles in the
days when there was a fine for
frightening horses on the streets.
One of the earliest was young
Charlie Jenkins of Aulander, who
spun into town in a “motor” the
same year that the Hertford County
HERALD started its career. Ear
ly issues of The Herald carry stor
ies about young Jenkins, demon
strating the latest of the General
Motors line of cars.
By November, 1914, Tlie Herald
carried a weekly ad from E. 0.
Hines, local agent for the Hupp
Motor Company of Detroit.
The HupmobOe was featured a'
one of the first of the large cars,
complete with self-starter. Th(-
were priced at a staggering $1,20.
(f.o.b. Detroit) in 1915.
^ Perd T903
F'rsl cor, !?0a Mexisi J/OSi
Ufoducssi, tis* pfks ri/nobocjf w!th^
ionr.eou, $-930. ‘ B" and "’C",'
1904; M/xJyt "f, l^CS;
' U ' H" ond ''5'’. f907- !«! Model)
"T". I'KiS. Torgot ol SeteJen palenf?
inftlagemeni tu/f, !903; coled cgoinjl,
; 1909. fo'd aopeaicd, won i/i 1911
'Model "A", 1927; V-8 o.nd Model.”8'
kiawc-cylinden 1932.. . .
iSfedal Weaposioe
»6-ai Ho»we-i>ow«r $im)
-jn—aa Jtoreir-powBr S2SOfi
34—30 Mcij^c-power (3800
40—30 (350W
Herstr-pewBr
The A«e.ssible WIMTQN
Chevrolet 1912 '
loul.t Che-i'roi«T faegan wo-rk an a
>U-cyflnd«r engine in 1909 tn his sbep
on Ocand River Ave., Delrolf; pfoduced,
expe/iraenkti cars in 19(1. First zar},
. I9!2 Clottic Si* touring; 2,999 toEd;
to ricolorv; liif price. $2,1^. Secorn*
o division at GM on «jy 2, 1918.
Also rornnMtnced monutactwre of trucks
i» the same yewr. Predated itt first
Y-S, 19!/. -
•k Pontiec 1926 !
Roniiot Soggy Co., tormed IS^. •
entered ovto field with sofajEdiory^
i Ooklond Motor Co. oj 4id*lin«, GM i
• occHiired Oakland fn 1909, Rrslf
Ponlioc was 1926 ii*-.yrinder, listed at,
$825 5895, cjs conspentao r.or to Qok-
iaad,' production, 77.134, Dropped Or:*--
'iand, brought out PoBtiac V-S, 1932;'
ichanged to sfraighl eight, 1933; SilYBir
.Slreok introduced, 1934.
CARS DON'T GIVE MILK—Back in hard times of 1933, auto
mobile dealers took anything they could get in trade for new
cars. On the preferred list were this handsome milk-producer,
held at bay by Cecil McCoy, and the diamond ring wh^h “Way-
land Jenkins is sporting. In return for the cow and ring, Charles
H. Jenkins and Company traded the car shown.
Visit Our
Stores in
SUFFOLK
ELIZABETH CITY
FRANKLIN
NORFOLK
VIRGINIA BEACH.
RICHMOND
You Are Always
WELCOME
at
Styles May Change
... but not friends
Styles in Footwear change every
year but good old friends ore
always right in style. We
value our friendship with
the good people in the
Roanoke - Chowan
area and we ap
preciate their
patronage
over the
years.
We Salute the
Citizens of
Hertford
County
On Your
200tli
Anniversary
Russell & Hoi
mes
I WHERE SHOPRINO IS A PLEASURE'
“Suffolk's Leading Shoe Store"
Nationally Advertised Brands for Men, Women and Children
Winton Meet
Pushed for
Good Roods
(Continued from Page 1)
layers of different-sized rock, they
were aptly suited to the piedmont
and western sections of North
Carolina. In 1899, the “Good Roads
Association of Asheville and Bun
combe County” was formed, and
raised money to build macadam
roads from Asheville to Biltmore.
With the turn of the 20th cen
tury, a new era dawned in North
Carolina road building. The North
Carolina Good Roads Association
was formed in Raleigh in 1902. At
the same time, the Federal De
partment of Agriculture establish
ed the Office of Public Road In
quiries, the forerunner of the Fed
eral Bureau of Roads. Its pri
mary purpose was to assist the
extension of mail service, since
the Rural Free Delivery system
:iad been set up in 1896.
Gov. Locke Craig, who shovel-
'ad part of the road from Asheville
to Biltmore himself, was called
the “good roads governor.”
He set up what might be term
ed the third highway commission
n 1915, with Col. Joseph Hyde
Pratt as chairman. A previous
commission, appointed in 1901, in-
, eluded the commissioner of agri-
’ culture, the state geologist, and a
third person to be named by them.
This group served for two years
as advisers to counties who want
ed advice on road building, but
had no part in a statewide system
of roads.
It took the federal government
to give this state, and others, the
impetus needed to go into the
road-building business. President
Woodrow Wilson signed the first
federal aid bill providing road
monies in July, 1916, setting up
the U S, Bureau of Roads as ad
ministrative body. From that bill,
North Carolina was to receive up
to $6 million, on a matching-funds
basis.
Big Bailie
The big battle over how to
spend money on roads came in
North Carolina in 1921. Head of
one faction was Miss Hattie M.
Berry of Chapel Hill, secretary of
the N. C. Good Roads Association,
who advocated a five-cent ad
valorem tax and issuance of $5
million in bonds yearly by the
state to finance construction. On
the other side were Frank Page,
chairman of the State Highway
Commission from Aberdeen, and
Gov. Cameron Morrison.
After heated debate, the Gen
eral Assembly followed the Gov
ernor’s lead by authorizing a state
bond issue of $50 million. In ad
dition, they placed a one-cent tax
on each gallon of gasoline, and
raised inotor license prices sharp
ly. Out of the 55,000 miles of roads
in North Carolina, the state as
sumed responsibility for build
ing 5,500 miles of primary roads
with the 1921 funds.
Locals Against
Among those hard in opposition
to the “good roads bill” were Sen.
Samuel Winborne and Rep. David
Collins Barnes of Hertford Coun-
ly, and Sen. W. H. S. Burgwyn of
Northampton County.
Like many others, they felt that
:t was foolhardy for a state which
iiad been conservative in its bor
rowing to take the plunge into
debt, just for better roads.
On the other hand, there were
those who cited the statement of
A. T. Byrne: “If the community
is stagnant, the condition of the
roads will indicate the fact; if
I See WINTON, Page 7
Compared to this was the self-as
sured favorite, the Ford automobile
sold by George J. Nembern of
Vhoskie.
The Ford was within “everyone’s
e a c h,” according to a message
•om Henry himself. The Ford
runabout cost $440, and for $50
more you could have a Ford tour
ing car. With a self-starter, the
Ford’s total cost was $510.
Ahoskie’s automobile salesmen
quickly expanded in the decade
from 1910 to 1920. By 1918, The
HERALD carried ads for Overland,
sold by C. Greene: the Patterson
6-46, sold by Hobbs Motor Com
pany; and Dodge Brothers busi
ness cars, sold by H. M. Burden
and Co. of Aulander.
In 1922, according to the “Auto
mobile News," there were 67,697
new cars registered in the United
States. The automobile buyer had
a wide choice in that pbstw'ar era.
He could choose from 60 makes'of
cars—rernember thern?
The list included:'Apperson, Au
burn, Buick, Cadillac, Case, Chaim
ers,' Chandler, Chevrolet, Cleve
land, Cole; Columbia, Dodge, Dort
Durant, Earl, Elgin, Essex, Ford
Franklin, Gardner, Grant, Haynes
Hudson, Huprriobtle, Jewett, Jor
dan. King, lOssel, LaFayette, Leix
ington, Liberty, Lincoln, Marmon
MaxweU, Mercer, Mitchell, Moon,
Nash, National, Oakland, Oldsmo-
bile, Overland, Packard, Paige,
Peerless, Pierce-Arrow, Reo, Ric-
kenbacker, Saxon, Stearns-IOiight,
Stephens, Studebaker, Stutz, “Valie
Westcott, West Sainte Claire, Wii-
lis-Knight, Winton, electrics and
gas.
Sales of new automobiles since
1922-makes a good record of the
prosperity of the times. From 1922
to 1931, a steady flow of about one
and a half million cars were sold
yearly. This rose to a peak of three
and a half million by 1941.
War production cut sales of non-
service automobiles and trucks
»P’
UP TO DATE—Both the building and the cars were the latest thing in Au-ander, back in the late
1920’?.. Charles H. Jenkins and Company was already one of the oldest automobile dealers in the
area, featuring Buicks, as the sign says. This building later burned and was replaced with the
present structure.
AHOSKIE'S FIRST AUTO DEALER—This big
Newbern Ford agency in Ahoskie. The first auto
began selling the popu’ar Tin Lizzie autos in 19
noke-Chowan roads in the days when mud and
hardtop roads opened a new era in transportation,
and Rhue streets. The building is still occupied
business of auto-selling in 1937, after 23 years as
utomobile agency was the heme of the George
dealer in the booming town of Ahoskie, Newbern
14. Hundreds of Newbem-sold Fords traveled Roa-
dust were the rule, and in the latter days when
The Newbern agency stood in the comer of Main
by several businesses. Newbern retired from the
a pioneer in the business.
down to an unbelievable 139 in
943, and 610 in 1944. By postwar
946, however, the figure jumped
ack to one and a half million.
Peak sales in this decade were in
935, when seven and a half million
new cars were sold. This simmered
lown to five and a half million with
he “recession” of 1956.
The output of 1956, also, was
limited to 18 makes of cars, as con
trasted to 1922’s 60 makes. The
956 buyer chose from Hudson,
Nash, Chrysler, DeSoto, Dodge,
Plymouth, Imperial, Ford, Lin
coln, Mercury, Continental, Buick,
Cadillac, Chevrolet, Oldsmobie,
Pontiac, Packard, or Studebaker.
The automobile looks like it’s
here to stay, unless replaced by
space transportation. In 1956, the
latest year for, which figures have
been compiled ,at this time, there
were 52 million cars in the United
States. Even British Somaliland
had 100 automobiles!
Your Safety Is Our
Chief Concern...
We take a great deal of interest in the condition of
your Tiies . . . We hope you share our interest . . .
Sometime your very life may depend on the condition
of your tires. Our Brand New Treads will give your car
a firm grip on the road in all kinds of driving conditions.
Thank You...
For Your Confidence and Patron
age During the Past? Years. We
Appreciate the Business and We
Enjoy the Friendship.
AHOSKIE
TIRE SERVICE
Roanoke-Chowan's Largest Tire Market