Waco, in the early part of the 20th century, was home to many enterprising entrepreneurs who flocked to the city to open businesses big and small. Today, we will explore a slice of this activity by looking at two familiar types of businesses, the grocery store and car dealership!
Starting off with the largest store for its time, this photograph of Fairway Groceries from 1936 demonstrated the type of grocery we are familiar with today, also known as your “one stop shop”! Located on the south side of the Square, Fairway Groceries was founded by Will Copeland, Charles Young, and John Greves. As can be seen from both the large signage and the amount of goods stacked outside, a customer could purchase nearly everything here, from meat to tobacco. They could even get a bottle of Dr. Pepper’s rival, Coca Cola! Sadly, Fairway Groceries did not last long after this photo was taken, closing soon after as national chains began to come to Waco and push local competition out.
Despite its more humble appearance, the William Reese Grocery Store still served its customers well. Located on Elm Street in East Waco, one can see from its signage that it was serving a slightly different customer base than Fairway. While Fairway advertised candy and Coca-Cola, William Reese offers goods for blue-collar workers and farmers such as animal feed, wood, and hardware. An early version of the ice machine can also be seen on the front porch. The number of horse-drawn carriages around the building also give us insight into who was shopping here, although the presence of both an automobile and the train car in the distance speak of an encroaching urbanization.
Although nationwide chains often have the resources necessary to supply their own stores, local businesses like those in Waco needed assistance in meeting their customer’s needs. This is where wholesale companies like the Shear Company come in. They would purchase goods in bulk and then distribute those goods to other businesses for a price. Looking at this photo, it is clear that the Shear Company is in a location to do just that as it was located on South 5th Street & Jackson Street right next to the train tracks.
In a town filled with competition, business needed to be eye-catching with their marketing. In this photograph, we can see E.F. Bauman Grocery, an early Waco grocery store and pharmacy located at 309 Franklin Ave, advertise one of its products. In this case, the product was Armour & Company’s Bottled Grape Juice, an interesting product from a company that was known primarily for being one of Chicago’s meat-packing giants. This display is a fantastic one, displaying a young girl paddling down a river in what could be the scenic Italian countryside. Perhaps she is surrounded by vineyards which are the source of the fine product being sold here at E.F. Bauman’s!
In competition with Shear Company, the Cooper Grocery Company was another wholesale grocery company. It was located on the southwest corner of South 4th Street and Mary Avenue, also strategically situated near the train tracks. A proof of the Cooper Grocery Company’s success is its fleet of delivery trucks stacked high with products, ready to be shipped. These trucks, just like today, also served as mobile advertisements. In this case, Blue Bonnet Coffee can be seen displayed on the sides of the trucks themselves.
Now moving on to the early car dealerships of Waco, we first must stop by the early ancestor of the car lot, the carriage shop! In this photograph of the J.F. Hopkins Carriage, located on South 5th Street between Franklin Ave and Mary Ave, we can see the diversity of services offered here. J.F. Hopkins offered everything from construction, paint jobs, repairs, and horse shoeing to even some early services for automobiles. They also catered to variety of customers, from owners of town carriages to farmers with wagons. The success of the shop can also be implied from the large staff present for the group photo. Something of interest to note is the age of some of the employees.
Leaping forward in time, we can see the clear differences between between the age of the carriage and the age of the automobile. Graham Cole’s offers a similar diversity of services, such as tire replacement, battery services, oil changes, and oil plating. In particular, U.S. Tires seems to be the main brand on sale, although used tires were an option for those customers looking for a cheaper deal. A person could also fill up the tank here with gas costing $0.13 a gallon! The transition from carriage to car can also be seen in the environment surrounding Graham Cole’s store. Not only have the roads transitioned from dirt to pavement, but a traffic light now hangs in the center of the photo where it helps guide traffic along Franklin Ave.
Operating in a similar market as Graham Cole’s, Burch Rubber & Motor Company was both a tire shop and car dealer. The neon sign on the left advertises them as distributor of Dayton Tires, while the banner above the garage shows off newly arrived vehicles from Wisconsin-based company Nash Motors. The namesake of the shop, Barney Burch, stands underneath the Dayton Tires sign. What should be noted is what is being advertised just beyond the shop, a sign for the Waco Chevrolet Company. Perhaps this is foreshadowing of the coming of national companies that will soon replace local businesses like Burch Rubber & Motor Company.
Duncan-Smith Company represents another of the small local car dealers that dotted Waco during this period. It was located on North 5th Street. In the photo, the shop advertises two brands that are familiar to us today. Duncan-Smith is authorized to sell both Ford automobiles and Firestone tires. They also sold used cards, a service familiar to us today.
Our last photograph serves as a glimpse into both Waco’s commercial history and a look into one of the most famous Waco families, the Sangers. The Sanger brothers were two Jewish businessmen who moved to Waco to open up a department store. They became widely successful and soon expanded into other markets. The Sanger Motor Company is an example of one such venture. It was opened up by Asher Sanger, son of Samuel Sanger, and was located on 9th Street and Austin Ave. However, it did not last long, as Asher did not inherit his father’s business skills. The financial woes were only worsened by the Great Depression and Sanger Motor Company was forced to close. The photograph here was taken in 1931 sometime after its closing.
Gildersleeve’s photos offer a fascinating look into Waco’s cultural and commercial past. The following photos explore other facets of Waco and Texas history not covered in this part of the exhibit.
