San
Joaquin County
Biographies
RODNEY C. BRIDGE
On January 1, 1920 R. C. Bridge took
over the Chevrolet agency in Stockton, and the business is now located in the
new, modern garage built expressly for the company at 815 East Weber Avenue. A native of Wisconsin, Mr. Bridge has been
connected with the automobile industry since 1904 an early date in the history
of this great business. For seven years
he was traveling agent for the Studebaker, traveling west from Chicago, and
later he was district manager for the company at Salt Lake City. For three years before coming to Stockton he
was Pacific Coast manager for the Willard Battery Company, with headquarters at
San Francisco. Since locating in
Stockton, Mr. Bridge has firmly established himself among the representative
business men there, and is popular in the ranks of the Elks and of the Rotary
Club of Stockton. He is also prominent
in Masonic circles, belonging to all the branches, including the Shrine and
Knights Templar. An enthusiast over the
line he is handling, Mr. Bridge contributes the following:
Chevrolet began in July, 1921 to
build a better product and every part of the car that had given trouble was
re-designed. The total number of changes
between July 1, 1921 and July 1, 1922 was sixty-eight, and twenty-six
additional changes were made in the 1923 model.
Three men stand out prominently in
the Chevrolet resuscitation, though each denies his part. They are Pierre S. du Pont, Colin Campbell
and W. S. Knudsen. Mr. du Pont, thought
not generally known, has been and is the acting head of Chevrolet. Mr. Campbell, vice-president in charge of
sales, began July 1, 1921 one of the most intensive campaigns in the history of
merchandising. He traveled over
forty-eight states holding meetings, appointing distributors and agents. In the sixteen months between July 1, 1921
and November 1, 1922 the number of Chevrolet dealers and parts depots increased
from 3,200 to 12,080 and sales jumped 250 per cent. When Mr. Knudsen, vice-president in charge of
production, was asked about his part in reviving Chevrolet, he said: “The public is quick to recognize a good car
now-a-days. All I did was jump in here
and say, ‘Come on, boys!’”
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
1355-1356. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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