Yuba
County
Biographies
A. R. ARNOT
A
fitting introduction to the life story of A. R. Arnot is the following article
which was printed in “The Rambler” column of a Marysville paper under the date
of March 11, 1931.
“Al R. Arnot has become so well
known that he seems to have been a Marysvillian for years. That has happened since October, 1929, when
he first located here as a Ford dealer.
Everybody calls him Al now.
Believe it or not, he is a native born Scotchman. Dad brought his big family from Edinburgh
when Al was little more than a baby, and they settled at Spokane, Washington,
Arnot senior being a builder. Ma
hankered for her native land and they went back in a little while but all agreed
that this was a mistake, so they crossed the pond once more and made it
permanent, finally locating in Oakland.
In the meantime Dad built a big stone ‘castle’ on the shore at
Carmel-by-the-Sea, which is still owned by the family.
“Al has crossed the Atlantic five
times—those three times when he was a youngster, and two times when he went to
war and returned from war. He had been
traveling so much of his life that, when he decided on locating here, he
anchored himself hard and fast. He had
Bill Gern pile up a huge monument of concrete in the form of a building in E
Street that is rated as one of the finest automobile sales, service and repair
plants in the state, and tied himself to it with a long-term lease so he could
not roam. Auto dealers and experts came
from everywhere to get pointers from this building so they can copy of some of
its features. Al’s brother, Jim,
designed the building.
“When Al started out for himself he
was a trader in automobile accessories, selling to dealers. First, in 1915, he
had a little place on Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, opening a branch in Los
Angeles the next year. He was going
strong when war was declared. He
volunteered and left his business in the hands of others. When he came back in 1919 he was cleaned
out. So he rustled a job selling
accessories to dealers in Los Angeles and was soon appointed Pacific coast
manager for a shock absorber, having charge of branches in Los Angeles, San
Francisco, Portland and Seattle. The
coast branches were later organized into a separate firm and he became president. He cut loose in 1927 and went east as sales
manager for a manufacturing company in Indianapolis, but returned west in 1928
and organized the A. R. Arnot Company, representing manufacturers of various
lines of auto accessories and supplies. This
went strong, but when the next year the Marysville Ford dealership was offered
he accepted, turned his business over to others and came here. He had formed a high opinion of Marysville
through visits, so came to stay, cutting lose from other interests. In the time he has been here, about a year and
a half, he has sold five hundred and twenty-five new Fords. His employees number about thirty. Al is identified with the Chamber of
Commerce, the Rotary Club and several fraternities, and he takes an active part
in all matters of community interest and importance. He does his part.
A. R. Arnot
was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, January 15, 1889, a son of the late John Y.
and Helen (Spalding) Arnot. His father,
a well known contractor and builder of Edinburgh and later of the Bay region,
passed away November 16, 1927, when seventy-two years of age. The mother, who still survives, lives in
Oakland, where the family home was established about thirty years ago. Nine of the twelve children of the family are
yet living. Ralph Arnot is manager for
the Goodyear Tire Company in Fresno, while the youngest member of the family,
Harold Arnot, is the manager for the Fageal Motor Sales Company in Seattle and
British Columbia.
A. R. Arnot,
who is seventh in order of birth in his parents’ family, was graduated from the
public schools of Oakland and later pursued a commercial course in the Dixon
(now Heald’s) Business College in that city.
His first regular employment was as a clerk with the Santa Fe Railroad,
in its freight office in San Francisco, but he later became the western
traveling representative for the Carey Safe Company of Buffalo, New York. When twenty-four years of age, he went into
business for himself as a dealer in shock absorbers and other automotive
supplies, conducting a small shop on Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, until
he went to France with the naval aviation service in 1917. His little shop constituted the beginning of
the Hassler-Pacific Company, of which he became president, with headquarters in
San Francisco and branches in Seattle, Los Angeles and other coast cities, its
sales transactions in the seven western states, the Hawaiian Islands and Alaska
amounting to millions of dollars. A. R.
Arnot disposed of his Hassler-Pacific interests in 1927, going to Indianapolis
as sales manager for a manufacturing concern, but in 1929 returned to the
Pacific coast and organized the A. R. Arnot Company, manufacturers’
representatives for automobile parts and accessories. This business, located 1054 West Sixth Street,
Los Angeles, has since been turned over to one of his associates.
While still a mere boy A. R. Arnot had
become greatly interested in automobiles and the mechanics pertaining thereto,
particularly the putting of extra equipment on cars, and from that time to the
present he has kept in close touch with every phase of the business. In 1930, when it became known that there
would be a change in the Ford agency at Marysville, he was importuned by the
Ford Motor Company to become the Ford dealer for the Yuba-Sutter district. As president of the Hassler-Pacific Company,
as well as through his Los Angeles business over a period of many years, he had
become well known to the automobile interests of the coast, being widely
acquainted with dealers, and his general popularity and his personal friendship
with the district manager of the Ford Motor Company doubtless led to his
selection to his present agency. On July
5, 1930, the Arnot agency moved into the new Ford building at 420 E Street, Marysville, which is noted far and wide as the most
beautiful and best arranged plant in the west and probably is the equal of
anything of the kind in the United States.
This has been emphasized by the fact that dealers from other cities have
come here to admire it and secure data concerning it. It is of steel and concrete fireproof
construction and is strictly up-to-date in all its appointments. The building was designed and the plans drawn
by Arnot’s brother, James S. Arnot, architect of San Francisco, while of the
owner of the structure in William V. Gern, who spared no expense in making it
the last word in Ford garage construction.
It contains thirty-two thousand square feet of floor space. The front of the building is one of the most
attractive in the city and its location in the heart of the retail business
district gives it great prominence. The
entrance is on E Street and the building extends clear through to the
alley. The ground floor is devoted to
the sales, servicing, repairing and parts departments, and a two-pump gasoline
station is included. A ramp leads up to
the second floor, which is devoted to the storage of cars, painting and body
work, etc. Eighty cars can be stored
there and still leave room for any one of them to get in or out.
Arnot adheres
strictly to Ford policies, making satisfied customers of all his patrons. In the month of June, 1930, when there was a
great slump in the general sales of automobiles, his sales kept right up to the
average. One leading feature of his
establishment is the well equipped machine shop, containing the best machinery
and manned by a corps of experienced mechanics, who give prompt and efficient
service to the public, at regular Ford prices.
The stock of Ford parts and accessories is large and complete, and a
supply of all Ford models is kept on hand.
In this community the new Ford truck is particularly adaptable, filling
the needs of growers and shippers. The
Arnot Motor Company also handles the Lincoln car and is prepared to furnish
Lincoln parts and do repair work the same as on the Ford.
A. R. Arnot
is a veteran of the World war, for which he enlisted in the naval aviation
service. He was in training at
Pensacola, Florida, and in November, 1917, was sent overseas as a member of the
first aeronautical detachment, being among the first from this country to see
service in France. He was detailed as an
airplane mechanic and later became an observer and instructor at the Naval
Flying School at Montchic, France. After
the signing of the armistice he returned home, by way of New York City, and was
honorably discharged in February, 1919, at Pelham Bay Naval Station, New York,
with a confirmed rating in the air service.
Mr. Arnot is a member of the American Legion in Marysville, the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at that place, and the Chamber of
Commerce and the Rotary Club. He has
long been a member of the Masonic order, in which he has received the degrees
of the Scottish Rite, and belongs to Ahmees Temple of
the Mystic Shrine at Oakland. He
possesses a strong personality, is candid and straightforward in all of his
relations with his fellowmen and is uniformly respected by all.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Wooldridge, J.W.Major History of Sacramento Valley
California, Vol. 3 Pages 288-291. Pioneer Historical
Publishing Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Yuba County Biographies