Mr. David Stokely Etheridge This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. 2/6/2005 - Selling Tenn. Lizzies - Part Three - Memories - Chattanoogan.com

   www.chattanoogan.com/articles/ - [Cached]

   Published on: 2/6/2005   Last Visited: 2/6/2005

   Down in Chattanooga, it's possible that Cherry Street photographer and picture framer David Stokely Etheridge had seen promotional material for the new car. In 1909, Mr. Etheridge became exclusive agent for Ford cars at his business at 10 West Sixth Street. He was the first Ford dealer south of the Ohio River.
   
   During Mr. Etheridge's initial years in business, automobiles were still considered a novelty, and were owned primarily by wealthy gentlemen who drove them as a hobby. However, both the affordability of the Model T and D. S. Etheridge's marketing skills helped to change that.
   ...
   After car sales had accelerated, D. S. Etheridge moved in 1916 to a new facility at 401-403 Broad Street. Like many Americans, the automobile helped Mr. Etheridge to put distance between his residence and his place of work. The 1920 city directory listed his address as being in the new Ferger Place subdivision. He later moved even farther away to Chattanooga Valley.
   
   Though the car was becoming entrenched, the purveyors of old forms of transportation weren't giving up. The May 1, 1920 Chattanooga Times ran an advertisement for National Bicycle week - "It is one of the most healthful forms of exercise. Ride a bicycle to work and save time and money." An automobile-based business countered with an advertisement for a sight-seeing trip that made a loop of Signal Mountain (descending the "W" Road), Lookout Mountain, Fort Oglethorpe, and Chickamauga Battlefield.
   
   In 1925, D. S. Etheridge moved again, this time to a site on the west side of the 300 block of Market Street. By then, the Etheridge products include Ford cars, trucks, Fordson tractors, and Lincolns. He also ran a full-service garage, as well as a gas station with the classic "gravity-flow" pumps.
   ...
   After the stock market crash of 1929, automobile sales everywhere plummeted. . In the 1930's, D. S. Etheridge ran an advertisement of used cars for "$25 and up." Conditions favored fixing up old cars by any means possible, including baling wire. I recall that my father said that he would buy old Model T's for as little as $5.00, fix them up, and sell them at a modest profit.
   ...
   Entering the 1940's, D. S. Etheridge found a new pursuit as Hamilton County Manager from 1941 to 1942. By then, he was selling boats, outboard motors, and house trailers in addition to cars. In 1941, he sold his dealership to Furlow-Cate. Forrest Cate, Sr. had been a sales executive with Mr. Etheridge.
   ...
   The Lincoln representation in Chattanooga moved in 1940 to the Lawrence brothers - Paul, Harry, Joe, and Etheridge "Pep" - who were nephews of Mr. Etheridge.
   ...
   The buildings which once housed the showrooms of D. S. Etheridge are also still standing in downtown Chattanooga.
   ...
   David Stokely Etheridge thus left quite an automotive legacy in Chattanooga. Mr. Etheridge, along with the Burk Brothers, the Forstners, and many others, were Chattanooga entrepreneurs who marketed the new mode of transportation, one that changed how we moved about in the 20th Century and today.
   
   If you have memories of David Stokely Etheridge and his Ford/Lincoln business, please send me an e-mail at jolleyh@signaldata.net.

2. 2. 2/6/2005 - Selling Tenn. Lizzies - Part Three - Memories - Chattanoogan.com

   www.thechattanoogan.com/articl - [Cached]

   Published on: 2/6/2005   Last Visited: 2/28/2005

   Down in Chattanooga, it's possible that Cherry Street photographer and picture framer David Stokely Etheridge had seen promotional material for the new car. In 1909, Mr. Etheridge became exclusive agent for Ford cars at his business at 10 West Sixth Street. He was the first Ford dealer south of the Ohio River.
   
   During Mr. Etheridge's initial years in business, automobiles were still considered a novelty, and were owned primarily by wealthy gentlemen who drove them as a hobby. However, both the affordability of the Model T and D. S. Etheridge's marketing skills helped to change that.
   ...
   After car sales had accelerated, D. S. Etheridge moved in 1916 to a new facility at 401-403 Broad Street. Like many Americans, the automobile helped Mr. Etheridge to put distance between his residence and his place of work. The 1920 city directory listed his address as being in the new Ferger Place subdivision. He later moved even farther away to Chattanooga Valley.
   
   Though the car was becoming entrenched, the purveyors of old forms of transportation weren't giving up. The May 1, 1920 Chattanooga Times ran an advertisement for National Bicycle week - "It is one of the most healthful forms of exercise. Ride a bicycle to work and save time and money." An automobile-based business countered with an advertisement for a sight-seeing trip that made a loop of Signal Mountain (descending the "W" Road), Lookout Mountain, Fort Oglethorpe, and Chickamauga Battlefield.
   
   In 1925, D. S. Etheridge moved again, this time to a site on the west side of the 300 block of Market Street. By then, the Etheridge products include Ford cars, trucks, Fordson tractors, and Lincolns. He also ran a full-service garage, as well as a gas station with the classic "gravity-flow" pumps.
   ...
   After the stock market crash of 1929, automobile sales everywhere plummeted. . In the 1930's, D. S. Etheridge ran an advertisement of used cars for "$25 and up." Conditions favored fixing up old cars by any means possible, including baling wire. I recall that my father said that he would buy old Model T's for as little as $5.00, fix them up, and sell them at a modest profit.
   ...
   Entering the 1940's, D. S. Etheridge found a new pursuit as Hamilton County Manager from 1941 to 1942. By then, he was selling boats, outboard motors, and house trailers in addition to cars. In 1941, he sold his dealership to Furlow-Cate. Forrest Cate, Sr. had been a sales executive with Mr. Etheridge.
   ...
   The Lincoln representation in Chattanooga moved in 1940 to the Lawrence brothers - Paul, Harry, Joe, and Etheridge "Pep" - who were nephews of Mr. Etheridge.
   ...
   The buildings which once housed the showrooms of D. S. Etheridge are also still standing in downtown Chattanooga.
   ...
   David Stokely Etheridge thus left quite an automotive legacy in Chattanooga. Mr. Etheridge, along with the Burk Brothers, the Forstners, and many others, were Chattanooga entrepreneurs who marketed the new mode of transportation, one that changed how we moved about in the 20th Century and today.
   
   If you have memories of David Stokely Etheridge and his Ford/Lincoln business, please send me an e-mail at jolleyh@signaldata.net.