Congratulations to Studebaker on 100 Years

[BobPalma]

On Sunday, February 17, 1952, The South Bend Tribune published a Studebaker's 100th Anniversary Special Edition. It was 56 pages(!) of normal newspaper size and entirely Studebaker in content; no other news was in this particular commemorative issue.

I had seen these before but never had the opportunity to read one of them. Dale "Lark Parker" McPhearson had a copy and bequeathed it to me last Sunday (March 16, 2014) at our Indy Chapter SDC White Elephant auction to raise funds for the chapter. It is in poor condition, very fragile, but still readable. However, the only way to read it is to lay it flat on a large surface and carefully and gingerly turn the pages. It is too weak to hold up in front of you like a fresh newspaper; if you tried to do so, it would tear and crumble.

Anyway, I was struck with the number and variety of advertisers in this special edition, all congratulating Studebaker on the company's 100th birthday. I thought it would be fun to list those advertisers here so forum members could reflect on those they might know, those they don't, and any familiarity with those who have since passed from the scene.

Some are full-page ads, others barely the size of a business card. You may recognize many companies, but if a business is a local enterprise (say, a South Bend shoe retailer), I will identify it with the notation SBAB (South Bend Area Business) to clarify.

Here goes in groups of five, in the order in which these businesses bought space in the South Bend Tribune's 100th Anniversary of Studebaker Special Edition:


1. Goshen Rubber Co., Inc.
2. South Bend Awning Company (SBAB)
3. Motor Service & Parts, Inc. (SBAB)
4. Fram Filters
5. Long Manufacturing Division, Borg-Warner Corporation

6. Diversified Products Company (SBAB)
7. Woodall Industries, Inc.
8. Slick Ideal Laundries (SBAB)
9. Edwards Trailer Company, Division of Edwards Iron Works (SBAB)
10. Radio Furniture Mart (SBAB)

11. Arvin Industries, Inc. (full page)
12. The Singer Manufacturing Company
13. Frank D. Saylor & Sons, Saylortube Loom (Detroit)
14. Van Horne & Company (SBAB; jewelry)
15. Borg & Beck Division, Borg-Warner Corporation

16. Max Adler Co. (SBAB)
17. C. R. Campbell & Sons, Inc. (SBAB; heating)
18. Roth Plating Corporation (SBAB)
19. Reliance Division, Eaton Manufacturing Co.
20. Excel Corporation (Elkhart)
Excel's ad included this ditty:
"Beyond the first 100 years, they say the skies are blue,
Here's hoping we'll be on hand [sic] your next centennial, too."

21. Avon
22. Colip Bros. (SBAB; General Contractors)
23. Chrysler Corporation (almost a full-page ad!)
24. Hans-Rintzsch Luggage Shop (SBAB)
25. Wheelocks International Store (SBAB)

26. Univex Die Cast & Engineering Company (Dearborn MI)
27. The Ball-Band Plant
28. The National Bank & Trust Co. (SBAB)
29. Sollitt Construction Company, Inc. (SBAB; full-page ad!)
30. The Cozy Theatre (SBAB)

31. White Swan Launderers-Cleaners (SBAB)
32. City Awning Company (SBAB)
33. W. T. Grant Company
34. United Specialties Company (air cleaners)
35. J. W. Mortell Company (Kankakee IL; sound deadeners)

36. Wagner Electric Corporation
37. Philco Custom-Built Auto Radios (full-page ad)
38. Sonneborn's Sport Shop (SBAB)
39. Whitcomb & Keller, Inc. (SBAB; real estate developers)
40. Willard Batteries

41. Muehlhausen Spring Division, Standard Steel Spring Co. (Logansport IN; Studebaker Spring Supplier)
42. Robertson's of South Bend (full-page ad; "largest department store in South Bend")
43. Inwoods (SBAB)
44. Gil-Bros Shoe Store (SBAB)
45. The Dole Valve Company (thermostats)

46. Jessop Steel Company (Washington PA)
47. Englewoood Electrical Supply Company (SBAB)
48. Sandock's Furniture (SBAB)
49. United States Spring & Bumper Co. (Los Angeles)
50. Wyman's (SBAB)

51. American Wheelabrator & Equipment Company
52. The Oliver Corporation
53. American Auto-Felt Corporation
54. The General Tire & Rubber Company (full-page ad: Akron OH and Wabash IN)
55. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Inc.

56. Goldblatt's (SBAB)
57. The Light Company, Inc. (SBAB; appliances)
58. The Philadelphia (SBAB; candies)
59. South Bend Dowel Works
60. Supreme Products, Inc.

61. Scherman-Schaus-Freeman Co. ("Studebaker dealers for 25 years")
62. Shidler's (SBAB)
63. South Bend Lathe Works
64. Colpart Realty Corporation (SBAB)
65. Inland Steel Company

66. Joseph Pollack Corporation / Aetna Motor Products Company (Boston MA; electrical switches)
67. Edward J. XXXX [sorry, illegible] Plumbing Company (SBAB; see Tim's Post #9 below.)
68. South Bend Electric Company, Inc.
69. Supratest Safety Glass / American Window Glass Co. (Gen'l Offices, Pittsburg)
70. The American Trust Company (SBAB; bank)

71. Mason's Furniture Company (SBAB)
72. Borden's Ice Cream Co.
73. South Bend Hotels Assn.
74. Motor Products Corporation (Detroit, Chicago)
75. Warner Gear Division of Borg-Warner Corporation (full page ad)

76. The B. F. Goodrich Company
77. Hancock Manufacturing Co. (metal fabricators; Jackson MI)
78. Standard Oil Company (full-page ad)
79. The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company ("A&P" half-page ad)
80. Wilton Woolen Co. (Wilton, Maine)

81. Meyer's Hardware (SBAB)
82. Sheller Manufacturing Corporation
83. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation (Pittsburg)
84. Joliet Wrought Washer Co. (Joliet IL; "supplying steel washers since 1914.")
85. LaSalle Photo-Engraving Corporation (SBAB)

86. Studebaker Local No. 5, AFL-CIO
87. Northern Illinois Public Service Company
88. Bingham-Herbrand Corporation (Fremont OH; automotive forgings)
89. The McCaffery Co. (SBAB; electrical equipment)
90. Baer's Home Outfitters (SBAB)

91. Collins & Aikman (New York; "fine upholstery fabrics.")
92. Interstate Glass & Paint Co., Inc (SBAB)
93. Bendix Products Division / Bendix Aviation Corporation
94. Borg-Warner Corporation
95. Gustin-Bacon Manufacturing Company (Detroit & Kansas City; thermal & acoustical insulation)

96. MacGregor Electric Service Co. (SBAB)
97. The Cleveland Cap Screw Company
98. J. Trethewey (SBAB; jeweler)
99. American Home (SBAB; floor coverings)
100. Marvin Jewelers (SBAB)

101. Albert McGann Securities Co., Inc (SBAB)
102. Grand Leader (SBAB)
103. American Federation of Labor
104. Houdaille-Hershey Corporation (Detroit)
105. B. L. Mass (SBAB or private individual? No clues!)

106. Industrial Rubber Goods Company (St. Joseph MI)
107. Elco Tool & Screw Corporation (Rockford IL)
108. South Bend Wood Parts, Inc.
109. Greenes (SBAB)
110. Sorens Manufacturing Corp. (Shiller Park IL; "world's largest manufacturer of solenoids")

111. Redmond Co. Inc. (Owosso MI; electric wiper and heater/defroster motors)
112. Auto-Lite
113. Walnut Machine Co. (SBAB)
114. National Automotive Fibres, Inc. (Detroit)
115. Midwest Sales & Service, Inc. (SBAB; York A/C & Refrigeration equip.)

116. The Perry-Fay Co. (Elyria OH; screw machine products)
117. Detroit Gear Division of Borg-Warner Corporation
118. Kuehn's Footwear of Fashion (SBAB)
119. Marlin-Rockwell Corporation
120. Tower Federal Savings & Loan Association of South Bend

121. Office Engineers (SBAB)
122. Bermans Sport Goods
123. Robin Products Company (East Detroit MI)
124. Precision Castings Company Inc.
125. Gilbert's ("South Bend's Largest Store for Men.")

It's kind of ironic, methinks, that Gilbert's was the last advertisement in this Special Edition of The South Bend Tribune, although he did spring for a full half-page ad. Barely ten years later, when it was announced Studebaker was ceasing production in South Bend, clothier Gilbert was widely quoted as having proclaimed, "This isn't Studebaker, Indiana, this is South Bend, Indiana!" in defiance to all the gloom and doom associated with the closing.

Those are the 125 advertisements I can identify. There is about one fifth of one page missing where Dale had cut out a Studebaker photo he wanted for something many years ago, so I can't say what one or two additional advertisements were on the other side of that photo. If there were any, they would have been small.

It is telling that only Chrysler Corporation bought an advertisemnt to congratulate their competitor on the competitor's 100th birthday. GM, Ford, Nash, Kaiser, Packard, Willys, Hudson, etc., were AWOL.

"Do ya' think" Studebaker had a significant presence in South Bend on its 100th birthday? BP

[warrlaw1]

Selling print advertising was a good job (and still is, although not quite as lucrative, now). When a business was launched or celebrated a milestone, the advertising department usually first asked that company for a list of it's suppliers, contractors, etc., and put the squeeze on 'em. "Don't you want to support this business that supported you?" Then they would go through their own "dog" accounts that only advertised once in a blue moon. Then they would go through the yellow pages and do the same. A good phone guy with the right pitch could fill double truck after double truck with paid congratulations. The Tribune must have had some good people on board to get that issue out.

[rockne10]

Glad to see Jessop Steel from my hometown got in on that action!

[Lark Parker]

For what it's worth, it may have been a coal company ad (Black Diamond?) on the back of that clipping.
I'm pleased the paper was still readable though not fit to wrap your sandwich in.
"methinks, Bob?". Verily I say.

[StudeRich]

Isn't it just amazing how many Large and Small Co's a Large Manufacturing and assembly operation like an Auto Mfg. or Aircraft etc. will support?

I am sure a large number of those were suppliers to Studebaker some obvious, some not so much, Plus many others not mentioned. There sure were A LOT of Borg Warner Divisions that they used.

That is why it is such a big deal for a Co. like the Boeing Co. Wide Body Division, Everett, WA my former employer, that move or threaten to move to another US City or worse, out of the Country.

[clonelark]

Boeing is who i get my retirement from, McDonnell Douglas (Bought out by Boeing) was my bread and butter for 19 years, sure miss working there.

[Stu Chapman]

Funny how when Bob Palma turns up historic mementos, I seem to be doing the same thing. I have just spent the afternoon going through
all my Studebaker memorabilia which includes so much of Studebaker's history. Then I log on to the Forum and there's Bob basically doing
the same thing.

Stu Chapman

[BobPalma]

For what it's worth, it may have been a coal company ad (Black Diamond?) on the back of that clipping.

I'm pleased the paper was still readable though not fit to wrap your sandwich in.

"Methinks, Bob?". Verily I say.

Dale: I should have publicly thanked you for the newspaper in the course of the OP, so here's a formal thanks for it.

I have it spread out flat in hopes of reducing the further deterioration, but I'm afraid it is an ideal piece of kindling.

As to the little missing piece and Black Diamond: Wasn't Black Diamond an abrasives company? If so, perhaps they sold grinding material (wheels, abrasives, etc.) to Studebaker. BP

[tjanowia]

The unreadable one is Edward J. White Plumbing who are still in business here. I remember so many of those places growing up in town of which a number are still around.

[BobPalma]

The unreadable one is Edward J. White Plumbing who are still in business here. I remember so many of those places growing up in town of which a number are still around.

Excellent; duly noted. Thanks. BP

[9echo]

Bob, I believe Black Diamond was a coal company. In my collection of Old Time Radio broadcast I remember them sponsoring one of the shows.
Been a long time since I have listened to it.

[BobPalma]

Bob, I believe Black Diamond was a coal company. In my collection of Old Time Radio broadcast I remember them sponsoring one of the shows. 'Been a long time since I have listened to it.

Cool beans, Jim; that's what Lark Parker also thought.

This question can be easily answered, because I can't be the only person who has a copy of this February 17, 1952 South Bend Tribune Special Edition.

If anyone else has a copy, would you please check the upper right corner of Page 23, which is backed by (i.e., the same as) the upper left corner of Page 24?

Is there a reference to Black Diamond, as Lark Parker thinks he remembers? If so, what is Black Diamond?

Thanks. BP

[Lark Parker]

Cool beans, Jim; that's what Lark Parker also thought.

This question can be easily answered, because I can't be the only person who has a copy of this February 17, 1952 South Bend Tribune Special Edition.

If anyone else has a copy, would you please check the upper right corner of Page 23, which is backed by (i.e., the same as) the upper left corner of Page 24?

Is there a reference to Black Diamond, as Lark Parker thinks he remembers? If so, what is Black Diamond?

Thanks. BP

Now I'm wondering what was on the reverse side part that I cut out for the chapter newsletter. If someone finds it -- please take a look at both sides. I wouldn't have cut the paper up but it was already in an advanced crispy critter state. I figured the historian Palma might like to look at the remains.

[BobPalma]

Dale: Do you have a set of the Chapter Newsletters you edited? If so, I'd help you go through them, looking for whatever it is you used. BP

[Lark Parker]

Dale: Do you have a set of the Chapter Newsletters you edited? If so, I'd help you go through them, looking for whatever it is you used. BP

It's kind of doubtful that the newsletter set is complete, I don't make a point of saving much of what I write -- but the newsletters might have made it. Example: I had to find an index to Turning Wheels in order to find copies of the stories I had there. I'm an example of a large slipshod organism.
Let's give the forum members a chance to find it and save me once again before we search.