88.1  
Journals link Search link Partners link Information link
Winter, 2007
Previous
Next
New York History

Table of Contents
List journal issues
Home
Get a printer-friendly version of this page
 
 
 

For Prosperity's Sake, Buy An Automobile:
Car Dealers and Consumer Demand in Depression Era Cooperstown

John M. Emery, Andrew County Museum, Savannah, Missouri

Automobiles can serve as ideal artifacts for understanding life in small towns during the Great Depression. In the 1920s, it had become commonplace for households to have a car, especially in rural areas, as ordinary Americans gained access to automobile ownership for the first time.1 Besides being widely owned, cars were often prized possessions, representing a major expenditure of cash, especially during hard times. For some, an automobile was necessary for doing their job. For others, driving allowed them to be connected to the community. Some used their vehicles to display personal wealth or status. For nearly all, owning an automobile had become an important part of their lives. By determining the types of automobiles that were available to and purchased by a community of consumers, in this case in Cooperstown, New York, and tracking the fortunes of auto dealerships, we can gain a clearer picture of rural and small-town life at a critical historical moment. 1
      At the time of the stock market crash, Cooperstown was a small village with a remarkably stratified population. The people who inhabited this Otsego County hamlet and the surrounding countryside represented a diverse social microcosm of occupation, class, and status. Here there was a traditional agricultural economy with farmers who made their livings on the land and merchants and professionals who provided goods and services to the farmers. Two additional groups represented in the local population set Cooperstown well apart from other places of its size. Wealthy northeastern city dwellers were seasonal residents spending their summer months of leisure around Otsego Lake. Most importantly, the Clarks, heirs to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune and the most influential family in the region, had established big city institutions in this otherwise small place, which employed a class of educated professionals. 2
      Otsego County and its village of Cooperstown were by no means insulated from the desperate conditions that gripped the state and the nation during the Depression years. In the winter of 1932–33, the American Red Cross, in conjunction with New York's Temporary Emergency Relief Administration, provided assistance to 320 Otsego County families. The towns of Otsego and Middlefield, which together contain the village of Cooperstown, ranked among the highest in the county for numbers of relief cases. Area residents recall how local farm families and the village's working class were hardest hit. According to Bill Burnett, who was a boy in Cooperstown during the Depression: "[T]here were quite a few families who were down and out on Irish Hill. A lot of farms were down and out, but working."2 3
      Throughout the 1930s, the constricted economy forced people to prioritize their limited financial resources. While many residents were able to survive by eliminating their consumption of nonessential items, those in the direst situations struggled to pay for food and housing. Still, more than twelve thousand people in Otsego County, roughly one in four, chose to own and drive cars. What made this level of demand most remarkable was the fact that multiple modes of public transportation connected the region to the world. Local rail service linked population centers within the county and connected to trunk lines that served every major northeastern city. By 1933, railroads were closing stations, including the one at Cooperstown, because people were driving automobiles. Even then, efficient bus and taxi services were available to transport people to larger cities, where they could board trains headed to more distant destinations.3 4
      In the Depression decade, no fewer than twelve different automobile dealerships did business in Cooperstown. Collectively they handled nineteen different brands of new automobiles. Cars of every price class were available in the village of fewer than three thousand people.4 Furthermore, consumers had a choice of brands at all levels, and local demand sustained this remarkable degree of availability. 5
      By 1930, nearly everyone who lived in and around the village of Cooperstown had some connection to an automobile. J. Harry Cook was one local dealer who survived the difficult times by offering products and services to meet the needs of a broad clientele. From his state-of-the-art showroom, Cook sold modest Plymouths, sporty Chryslers and LaSalles, and luxurious Packards and Cadillacs. An advertisement for Cook's Auto encapsulated the predictable relationship between cars and people: "It has always been regarded that the people who drive a certain make of automobile furnish a pretty fair indication of the kind of car it is."5 This article will illuminate how this relationship was reciprocal, that the local availability of automobiles personified the community of consumers who were present in this market—consumers who now saw car ownership as essential to their lives.

 6
      During the first decade of the twentieth century, the automobile was a novelty on American roads. Expensive automobiles were crafted in limited numbers and regarded as playthings for wealthy sportsmen, not replacements for horse-drawn vehicles. In 1905 just two automobiles were registered in Cooperstown.6 This changed rapidly in 1913 with the introduction of the assembly line-built Ford Model T. The mass produced "Tin Lizzie" sold for just $525, a price that continued to drop in subsequent years. Ford's network of seven thousand dealers made the utilitarian Model T available in nearly every American town of at least two thousand people, including Cooperstown. Local businessman Fred Lettis signed on as a Ford dealer in 1916 with an annual goal of selling fifty cars. By 1924, his agency was selling more than 150 Model T's per year. In that year, almost every household in and near the village of Cooperstown owned a car.7 7
      Spurred by the increased demand for cars, scores of automakers sought to capture market share by creating vehicles that appealed to the tastes and needs of Americans at all economic levels. Competition resulted in a flourish of technological advancements and the production of cars that were convenient, reliable, and safe. Standard-equipment electric starters eliminated the difficult task of hand cranking; hydraulic brake systems enabled cars to stop more surely; synchronized transmissions allowed for smoother gear shifts; and safety glass greatly reduced the risk of serious injury. By the end of the twenties, even the most modest new automobile was capable of transporting its occupants comfortably at legal highway speeds. 8
      Within each price class styling became an increasingly important factor in differentiating a car from its competitors. Automotive Industries Magazine wrote in 1923: "The present day motorist takes the excellence of the chassis for granted but satisfies his individual taste by shopping for the body he likes."8 Styling motivated the decisions of Depression-era automobile consumers. Success or failure of a model became increasingly dependent on the efforts of designers, whose importance surpassed even that of engineers. 9
      Although consumer demand for new cars did not end after the comparatively lush economic times of the twenties, the number of dealerships that changed hands or ceased operation in Cooperstown during the Depression suggests how difficult the automobile business became. Selling cars of a single price class could not sustain a dealership here. Four dealerships that concentrated on popular low-priced brands either failed or were sold. Only two agencies endured the entire depression. Cook's Auto and Supply Company and Mohican Garage both succeeded by offering products and services that appealed to the wide range of consumers that existed in Cooperstown, and significantly, both handled new cars in several price classes. 10
      J. Harry Cook's career in the automobile business spanned five decades and deserves special attention. His business philosophy, marketing methods, and experiences in identifying different groups of local consumers all provide insight into the character and pervasiveness of car ownership during the hard Depression years. As a businessman and neighbor, Cook was well known in Cooperstown. When asked about Harry Cook, some who remember him chuckle and suggest that there should have been an "R" immediately following the "C" in his last name. Long-time acquaintance Harlo Beals was much more subtle in describing Cook as an "enterprising automobile dealer."9 No matter how he was perceived, Harry Cook was attentive to local needs and desires.10 11
      When Cook began business in 1912, horse-drawn vehicles were still the primary mode of transportation of the day. Automobiles had been driven on America's roads for barely two decades, and prices for cars remained beyond the reach of the average consumer. Cole, the first brand of cars handled by Harry Cook, was no exception. The well-equipped and handsomely appointed touring cars sold for $1,885. Cook, a man with a business education and five years' intimate knowledge of the village's finances, did not come to sell these cars accidentally. He anticipated that he would have a clientele for quality high-priced machines. Cook also recognized a local market for more affordable cars and made no delay in adding the new popularly priced Ford Model T to his lineup in 1913. The new mass-produced Fords were simple and durable machines that were well suited for both town and country driving.11 Some of Cook's earliest advertisements featured the Cole, "a car that is always remembered for its beauty and dignity," and the Ford, "one car whose low price does not indicate its high worth." From early on, Harry Cook employed the marketing strategy of offering new cars in all price ranges. While the particular brands of cars he carried changed with the times, Cook adhered to this business model throughout his long career. 12

 
Figure 1
    Cook's Auto advertisement for Cole and Ford cars. Freeman's Journal, March 19, 1913.
 
 
      Cook's Auto and Supply Company outgrew its original location at 126 Main Street in Cooperstown, and early in 1919, Harry Cook purchased a livery stable on a nearby side street. While the former horse barn provided much needed space for expansion, it did not have as highly visible a presence as his first store. Within a few months, Cook purchased a hotel building on Main Street and moved his dealership to the more prominent location. 13
      After occupying the hotel for several years, Cook had it demolished and built a spacious, state-of-the-art automobile retail facility in its place. The public was invited to attend the "Gala Opening" event on November 21, 1928. Festivities included tours of the 20,000-square-foot structure, displays of new cars, and a dance with music performed by the ten-piece WGY Radio Orchestra.12 The plate-glass display windows of the red brick facade were emblazoned in gold leaf with the logos of Cook's automotive offerings. The trio of Packard, Chrysler, and Plymouth represented all price classes of new cars. The local press described the new dealership as "an ornament to the business section ... one of the finest automobile establishments in this part of the country." In seventeen years, Cook's Auto and Supply had grown from a pioneering sales and service operation into a "big city" dealership. 14
      Advertising with the slogan, "We Sell Everything Automotive," Harry Cook held firmly to the belief that each time someone had a positive experience making even a small purchase, the likelihood of that customer returning increased, and eventually he or she would need to buy an automobile. Besides motor vehicles, the dealership carried bicycles, radios, phonographs, tires, gasoline, and every imaginable gadget or tool used in the operation and maintenance of a car. In the summertime, Cook's even sold fireworks for Fourth of July celebrations. In 1931, before the crippled economy forced him to cut staff, Cook employed twenty-one people.13 15
      In addition to small-town wisdom, modern advertising methods were fundamental to Harry Cook's business plan. "Late to bed and early to rise," he told a reporter in 1924, "work like Hell and advertise."14 Regular newspaper ads promoted all lines of merchandise, and in the 1930s, Cook provided press releases that educated local readers about the advantages of new Plymouth, Chrysler, and Packard automobiles. A promotional postcard mailed to area residents in 1934 showed the owner in front of his dealership. With shirt-sleeves rolled up, he stood behind a Packard sedan pumping gas. Motor oil in glass bottles and a water can for topping off radiators were handy. Sieberling tires and a new Plymouth were visible in the showroom window. Cook's appeal to potential customers was for the small sale, specifically service: "Whether it's your battery, tires, accessories or even air and water—just remember us. Just as a starter, why not let us fill your tank with Blue Sunoco."15 16

 
Figure 2
    Invitation to the grand opening at Cook's Auto and Supply Company, November 21, 1928. Florence Peaslee Ward Collection, Special Collections, New York Historical Association, Cooperstown, New York.
 
 

 
Figure 3
    Showroom of Cook's Auto and Supply Company, 1931. Smith and Telfer Collection, Fenimore Art Museum, New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, New York.
 
 

 
Figure 4
    Cook's Auto and Supply Company advertising postcard. Cook Family Papers, Special Collections, New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, New York.
 
 
      As with all Cook's business activities, the choice of setting for the postcard photo was deliberate. Gasoline sales provided an excellent prospecting opportunity, as it was customary for the station attendant not only to dispense fuel, but also to check a vehicle's oil, coolant, and tires while the customer remained behind the wheel. With the gas pumps located only a few feet from Cook's showroom window, patrons could hardly resist admiring the new models on display. 17
      In 1930 parts, labor, and accessories accounted for one-third of the dealership's profits.16 As the Depression wore on, even customers with enough money to have their older car repaired were scarce, let alone those who could afford to buy a new one. Not surprisingly, service became increasingly critical to Cook's bottom line. He explained this to his son Bob: "Mr. Bissell was here today and we did $35 worth of work on his Packard. That helped as he paid for it. So many want work done but don't want to pay for it."17 18
      Cook's Auto and Supply Company did not feel the weight of the Depression immediately. In fact, with gross sales totaling $289,000, 1930 went down in the books as the company's best year ever. In September 1931, the dealership received national publicity when Motor magazine ran a feature story on Cook's small-town success. In the article, Cook attributed his positive position to the recently added lines of trucks and boats. The piece also described his clientele, which included local governments and affluent summer residents:
The truck sales have included a few private commercial units but largely business has been done with the county and township, which purchased vehicles and auxiliary equipment for road work and snow removal. The busses have been sold to the district school for transportation of children to a central school from the outlying hamlets and farming country. Boat sales are possible in Cooperstown because the village is a summer resort on Otsego Lake.18
 		19
      In the summer months, residents of large northeastern cities arrived in Cooperstown to live in vacation homes or "camps" around Otsego Lake. They still expected to find elements of refinement in a more rustic setting, and Harry Cook catered to the needs of these seasonal visitors:
We have taught the summer people to expect us to do what they want done, whether it's to meet their friends at the train or get them a gardener. Such service brings us business.19
 Cook built close relationships with the summer people and many of them became year-round customers. He went to extraordinary lengths to impress these clients. In one instance, he drove a new car all the way to Boston and returned to Cooperstown with the trade-in.20		 20
      Cook's sales volume for 1931 was lower than it had been in the previous record setting year. Still, at a time when other dealers were losing ground and failing, Cook's business remained profitable.21 In September of 1931, he was just beginning to feel the effects of the lagging economy. As he made arrangements for a visit to see his son at school, Cook was noticeably concerned about economizing. He asked his son to look for a tourist motel where he and his wife Grace could stay other than the more posh local hotel where they had stayed on a previous occasion. At that point, there were other residents in Cooperstown whose situations were much worse. Harry Cook recounted a business transaction that had resulted from a neighbor's financial misfortune:
Bob + Sandy Huddleston were here at camp last night. He is out of a job + guess they are pretty well up against it. I bought his Chrysler Coupe this morning for $400. I can sell it for about $700 I think.22
 		21
      But it was not long before Harry Cook felt the pinch himself. Slow business in September and October of 1931 prompted the laying off of salesmen. He wrote of his predicament: "You know business is not so good and it's beginning to worry me a lot. I'm letting Dave go Saturday nite and I'll have to get rid of more as bad as I need them. There just isn't any money coming in."23 Financial frustration and anxiety over what lay ahead caused Cook to consider an exit from the automobile business, and the dealership was listed for sale in November of 1931. He told his son:
No we haven't sold the garage yet ... Lord only knows what I'd do if we did. I am kind of sick of chasing old junk cars around the country ... It would be a lot of satisfaction in telling a lot of people to go to He__.24
 		22
      In line with national trends, Cook's business was best from spring through September. The cold winter months were the most difficult.25 "How I dread the winter," he complained, "as it means little business and lots of worry to get by and keep going."26 Yet Cook's Garage was able to hang on, selling automobiles of all price classes and all body styles. In over fifty letters written between September 1931 and January 1936, Harry Cook accounted for approximately eighty-six automobile sales. Three quarters of this inventory were new vehicles. Of the new cars, 56 percent were Plymouths, 17 percent were Chryslers, and 13 percent were Packards. Considering the sum of Chryslers and Packards, one-third of Cook's business was for automobiles of the middle price class or higher. Seven of the new cars were specified as convertible models. 23
      By the 1930s, the majority of automobile customers were not buying their first car; they were replacing an older one. Like all dealers, Cook credited the value of a trade-in toward the purchase of a new vehicle. When business was slow, having assets tied up in a used-car inventory was a significant hardship. In order for a dealer to realize full profits, the used cars had to be liquidated for cash, but it was not uncommon for someone to exchange livestock for a cheap old car. Harry Cook often made note of the source of his meal: "Well supper's over and I'm full of broiler. Tony brought in 7 yesterday on a car deal."27 New York market price for chickens in 1932 was 26 1/2 cents per pound. Assuming dressed broiler hens weigh four to six pounds each, the value of seven birds would have been approximately ten dollars.28 24
      By October of 1935, Cook estimated that his dealership had lost $16,000 over the previous four years.29 He complained often in his letters about the challenges of running a retail business, yet despite his financial anxiety, Harry Cook's position remained relatively secure through the darkest days of the Depression. At a time when others suffered the loss of jobs and homes, the Cooks continued to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. Other than the brief consideration of selling the dealership in late 1931, there was no serious discussion of personal or financial crisis in any of his correspondence.

 25
      The fact that Cook's garage was able to survive the Great Depression indicates that even during the hard times of the 1930s, automobile ownership was a priority for people in Cooperstown. Local consumers did not limit their spending to service and maintenance, but continued to buy new cars, of which a large percentage were medium and high price class models. The everyday correspondence of the Cooks also reveals the diversity of occupations, social classes, and levels of prosperity in Cooperstown during the 1930s. Agriculture was the historical root of the local economy. During the later half of the nineteenth century, Otsego County boomed as the country's largest hop-producing region. At its center, the village of Cooperstown was an important marketplace. By the early 1900s, hop farming was replaced with dairying, but Cooperstown remained a conventional agricultural community with a population of farmers, merchants, and service professionals.30 26
      During the first decades of the twentieth century, however, the character of Cooperstown began to deviate from that of an ordinary rural crossroads. In the opinion of Grace Cook, Cooperstown was: "a one horse town with a beautiful lake."31 The scenery of Otsego Lake and the surrounding hills drew an increasing number of seasonal visitors to the village. Even after the stock market crash, a well-to-do leisure class continued to enjoy their summers in this quaint and picturesque place. Local businesses, including Cook's Garage, realized profits in catering to the desires of the summer people. 27
      Above all, the enterprises and philanthropy of the Clark family set Cooperstown apart from the surrounding central New York region. In much the same way that the "X" family contributed to the prosperity of the Lynds' "Middletown," the Clarks established big-city institutions that elevated the stature and diversified the economy of the village as a whole.32 According to Nancy Dunn, the Clarks made the village unique: "They hired people, gave jobs, and kept the economy good."33 Cooperstown benefited in many ways from the presence of the Clark family. In the thirties, their model farms employed managers and engineers. Physicians and other skilled medical professionals practiced at the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital. The Otesaga Hotel served as a luxury resort in the fair months and an elite prep school for girls during the cold season. Not only were the Clarks responsible for providing local employment, but their business enterprises drew wealthy outsiders to Cooperstown. 28
      Without the enterprises of the Clarks, the economy in Cooperstown would likely have been similar to that of other small rural villages. As evidenced by the selection of higher-priced cars offered by local dealerships, however, many consumers in Cooperstown had the desire and the means to indulge in extravagances that the typical farmer or merchant could not. 29
      One group, the professionals who were employed by the Clarks, owned better-than-average cars. William C. Burnett, for example, worked for the family as a civil engineer on an array of projects, including construction on the estates and the relocation of historic buildings to the site of The Farmers' Museum. In the late twenties, Burnett purchased a Willys Knight coupe, a medium-to-high-priced brand. Mr. Burnett used the car primarily for work, and kept it a long time. In 1939 he was able to buy a new Nash sedan, which his son remembers as a larger car and more appropriate for transporting a family.34 Leon Ellsworth, who managed the Clark's Fenimore Farm, bought a new red Packard sedan from Harry Cook in 1935.35 Most likely a model One Twenty, the junior Packard was considerably more modest than the company's top of the line twelve-cylinder cars, and at just $1,060, it could be owned for one-third the price. Its appearance was characteristically Packard and it embodied the cachet associated with the brand.36 Cook promoted this "step down" Packard aggressively, suggesting that Cooperstown was a good market for selling a medium-high-priced class car with a luxury car reputation.37 30
      Local businesses that provided recreation and entertainment, especially to summer visitors, also fared well in the thirties. As a group, these business owners demanded more expensive automobiles that reflected their success. Sammy Smith, for example, owned the boat-yard on Otsego Lake. In 1931 he traded his one-year-old Chrysler 77 Roadster in on a new Chrysler 8 convertible coupe.38 The top-of-the-line series 77 was representative of the sports cars of the day. The 1931 Chrysler 8 convertible coupe was a very similar machine, and priced identically to the 77 roadster. The major difference between the two cars was styling. Even during the Depression, Sammy Smith had the luxury of replacing his car for the sake of style.39 Also in that year, Harry Cook demonstrated a Packard to the Larwoods, who owned a summer camp for children on the lake, in hopes of selling them a high-priced automobile: "Had Mrs. Larwood out in the green Packard today. I had him out Sunday and almost sold him. Hope to finish it up Saturday p.m. I certainly will be glad if I can get rid of that one."40 Packards for 1931 were large and powerful luxury cars, ranging in price from $2,150 up to more than $5,000.41 Indeed, the Larwoods must have been in the financial position to afford a high-priced car for Harry Cook to have invested so much time into the sale. 31
      Not surprisingly, members of Cooperstown's year-round and seasonal leisure class typically purchased higher-priced cars. An accident reported in the Freeman's Journal provides us with evidence of the make of car favored by one prominent local citizen. In early July of 1930, George Hyde Clarke, gentleman farmer and resident of Hyde Hall (a notable mansion on the lake), narrowly escaped harm when he was driving on the lake road just north of Three Mile Point and his Packard car "skidded on the wet pavement, crashed through the fence, and plunged down the bank into the lake."42 In October 1935, Harry Cook noted the sale of a well-equipped, mid-high-priced LaSalle to a summer resident:43 "Sold Mr. Flanders a new LaSalle this morning ... A six-wheel job with all the dodahs!" A six-wheel job referred to a car with two side-mounted spare tires, with painted or chromed steel covers that were installed more for show than for practical reasons.44 32
      The presence of Bassett Hospital, meanwhile, concentrated a group of highly educated and trained medical professionals in Cooperstown, yet another important group of consumers who sustained automobile demand during the Depression. Local physicians overwhelmingly chose cars that reflected their status as successful individuals. In letters, Harry Cook mentioned showing or selling cars to four different physicians in the early thirties. With one exception, the cars were higher-priced models. Dr. Owens visited the dealership in June of 1932 to consider the purchase of what Cook referred to as a "big Chrysler." New Chrysler Eights were very stylish and well-equipped automobiles. Prices started with the rumble-seat coupe at $1,435, nearly a thousand dollars more than a Ford. Two other doctors bought convertible model Chryslers from Cook.45 Where previously soft-topped cars represented both modesty and safety, by the 1930s, advances in automotive technology had transformed the meaning of a folding canvas roof into something entirely different. Open-bodied autos, especially those in the higher-priced classes, were now considered ostentatious. Ownership of a new convertible model was visible proof that a person could afford to spend more money for a less practical car. 33
      Among successful professionals there was a ready market for even the most extravagant luxury cars. Dr. Cruttenden of Cooperstown and Dr. Windsor of Laurens reportedly traveled in chauffeur-driven Packards.46 Limousines and town cars, the models specifically designed to be operated by a chauffeur, were some of the most costly automobiles available. Besides the expense of such a large and powerful machine, the owner also paid to hire a man to drive and maintain it. Chauffeur-driven cars were far more than transportation. Like the sporty convertible cars, they were a statement—if not an exclamation point—of personal wealth.47 34
      For the majority of area merchants, meanwhile, the Depression was a time of great uncertainty. Investment losses, high unemployment, and the disappearance of disposable income translated into a tremendous drop in sales for local retailers, while overhead costs remained the same. Harry Cook lamented this scarcity of income: "[T]here are so many places for every dollar we can get a hold of that they don't go around."48 Yet maintaining the appearance of stability was critical to business survival, making ownership of at least a modest late-model automobile essential. In his correspondence, Cook mentioned three Cooperstown merchants, all of whom drove low-priced Plymouth automobiles. 35
      To the frugal merchant, Plymouth was a sensible choice. As a line of well-engineered, attractively styled cars, the Plymouth brand represented value, offering many features in the low-priced class that were normally reserved to more expensive automobiles. As with Chrysler Corporation's pricier Dodge, Desoto, and Chrysler products, all Plymouths were equipped with hydraulic brakes and the patented "Floating Power" system of rubber engine mounts that eliminated annoying vehicle vibration. A wide array of paint colors, upholstery choices, and optional equipment, meanwhile, allowed the buyer to order a car to suit his individual needs and tastes. According to Harry Cook, in 1931 there were more Plymouths registered in Otsego County than any other make.49 36
      For the region's farmers and working class, the Depression's severity did not eliminate automobile ownership, despite the demands it made on much smaller household earnings. Those who had farms scaled back their dairy production and reverted to a subsistence lifestyle, getting by on what they could produce on their own land. Laborers were typically forced to travel great distances to find any type of employment available. Gerry Gray, for example, grew up in the rural town of Laurens. His father was a carpenter, owned a Model A Ford, and often drove well outside of Otsego County to work in places like Fort Drum and Rome. Gerry remembered his childhood during the Depression: "I never went hungry, but things were hard. We went and got government oranges and things from the mayor in 1937. We were on welfare."50 Others, like Gerry Gray's uncle, required an automobile to do their jobs. Besides farming, Sam Gray was a rural mail carrier. He drove his own Dodge car on the route. Alex Phinney was a local insurance salesman and real estate broker. In November of 1931 he bought a used Reo coupe. Jim Hall had been the Otsego County treasurer in the twenties, but during the hard times he was without a job. According to his grandson: "[Hall] was a staunch Republican but had to swallow his pride and work for the welfare program, Department of Old Age Pensions." Hall's New Deal job required him to travel. He was reimbursed for his mileage and bought a new car each year.51 37
      During the twenties the automobile had become a necessity of rural life. According to a state highway bureau assessment of Otsego County in 1925: "To nearly every farm there is at least one car, and visitors go to town go by motor." For those living in the surrounding country and outlying hamlets, ownership of a car improved access to the goods, services, and social opportunities that were available in the village of Cooperstown. While many farmers continued to use horse-drawn implements and vehicles for work, having a car meant people could travel to town more quickly and accomplish their tasks with greater convenience. A thirty-mile trip which formerly took most of a day could be made by auto in less than one hour. As there was very little public transportation that extended into the countryside, people living in rural areas were more reliant on automobiles than those who lived in town. Delores (Bachanas) Burnett, who grew up on a farm in Fly Creek, expressed this major change in American rural life most succinctly: "[Y]ou had to have a car to get to town."52 38
      Two Depression-era studies gathered important detail on this transition. In a 1935 report on rural highway use, the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station mailed questionnaires to over thirty thousand Farm Bureau members living across New York state. Ninety percent of the respondents reported owning an automobile. "More than one-half of the automobiles were at least five years old," the study concluded. "Almost one-half of them were of two low-priced popular makes." Most farms that did not have a car had a truck instead. Only three percent of those surveyed had no motor vehicle at all.53 A 1938 study of farm automobiles in upstate New York revealed a trend for farmers to own lower-priced and older cars.54 Two-thirds of the cars reported were of low-priced brands, with Chevrolets and Fords being the most popular. Furthermore, nearly three-quarters of cars on farms were six years old or more, and it is likely that many of the older cars were purchased secondhand. According to the National Automobile Dealers Association, the average six-year-old car had a retail value of less than $150. Though these upstate farmers and workers were probably priced out of a fancy auto showroom like Harry Cook's, their need for motor transport had developed a significant secondary market in second-hand cars, replacement parts, and of course the day-to-day costs of keeping a truck or automobile fueled up and running on the road or pasture. Significantly, the issue for rural dwellers was not whether to have a car, but how to sustain its cost, much like a range of other essential household expenses.55

 39
      On September 2, 1931, local readers saw a familiar scene in a newspaper advertisement for Esso gasoline. Artwork depicted two late-model convertibles meeting on a country highway. In the pastoral background a farmhouse and a dairy barn sat nestled together, silhouetted by rolling hills. Occupants of the open cars were sporting their Sunday best; men in jaunty fedoras and ladies with flowing scarves reclined leisurely in plush upholstered seats. Certainly, this is not the picture that normally comes to mind when we think of the Great Depression. Yet the image might well have been observed on that very same autumn day in Cooperstown, New York. The bold headline of the gasoline ad urged: "For Prosperity's Sake, Buy a New Car."56 40
      Though impressionistic, this brief study of automobile ownership in Cooperstown illuminates several important characteristics about life during the Great Depression. Four coexisting groups contributed to the diverse social and economic environment in this unique village. Among these groups there existed a range of prosperity during difficult times. Some barely felt the Depression at all. Others adjusted their lifestyles to make do with less. Some dealt with tremendous hardship. Yet automobile ownership remained a priority for all, and local car dealerships were able to meet that demand. 41

 
Figure 5
    Advertisement for Esso brand gasoline. Freeman's Journal, September 2, 1931.
 
 


1.  National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, Facts and Figures of the Automobile Industry, 1930 ed. (New York: National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, 1930), 15.

2.  "320 Otsego Co. Homes Receive Red Cross Aid," Freeman's Journal (Cooperstown, N.Y.), March 22, 1933; and interview with Bill Burnett, resident of Cooperstown, Jan. 28, 2006.

3.  James Malcolm, New York Red Book, 1931 ed. (Albany, N.Y.: Williams Press, 1932), 221; 1940 U.S. Census, 713; "Cooperstown Station Among Five To Close," Freeman's Journal, Feb. 1, 1933; "Last Passenger Trains On C.V. R. R. Saturday," Freeman's Journal, Jan. 25, 1933; and "New Bus Line Schedule is in Operation," and "Guarantee Safe, Prompt Taxi Service," Freeman's Journal, Jan. 18, 1933.

4.  Edward J. Flynn, Manual for the Use of the Legislature of the State of New York 1932 (Albany, N.Y.: J.B. Lyon, 1932), 772–73.

5.  Freeman's Journal, June 25, 1930.

6.  The New York Official Automobile Register and Tourists' Guide (New York: Hall, 1905).

7.  Ibid.; Kimes and Clark, Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805–1942, 554; James J. Flink, The Automobile Age (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1988), 57; and Freeman's Journal, Oct. 1, 1924 and Sept. 2, 1925.

8.  Lamm and Holls, A Century of Automotive Style, 96. Two variables, wheelbase and engine horsepower, emerged as the primary factors in determining the price class of an automobile. Lower-priced cars had shorter wheelbases and lower horsepower engines. Higher-priced cars had longer wheelbases and higher horsepower engines. In accordance with these general principles, a Ford Model A sedan with a 103 1/2-inch wheelbase and modest 40 horsepower four-cylinder engine cost just $600 in 1930. In the middle-price class, a 109-inch wheelbase Dodge with a 61-horsepower six-cylinder engine sold for $995. The top-of-the-line Packard sedan had a long 145 1/2-inch wheelbase with a powerful 106-horsepower eight-cylinder engine under the hood. The Packard had a list price of $4,985, more than eight times that of the Ford. Without a doubt, perceptions could be formed about a car's owner with a simple glance at his vehicle.

9.  Interview with Harlo Beals, resident of Cooperstown, N.Y., Jan. 23, 2006.

10.  A rich historical record of Harry Cook's automobile business remains in newspaper and magazine articles that appeared both locally and nationally. A series of letters written by Harry Cook and his wife Grace to their son Robert while he was away as a student provide an intimate look at the day-to-day affairs of this automobile dealership and the town and region it served. Correspondence between J. Harry Cook, Grace Cook, and Robert W. Cook, New York State Historical Association (hereafter NYSHA), Cooperstown, N.Y.

11.  Kimes and Clark, Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805–1942, 554.

12.  "To Formally Open New Cook Block," Freeman's Journal, Nov. 14, 1928.

13.  Freeman's Journal, Oct. 1, 1924 and June 24, 1925; and Neal G. Adair, "We Sell Everything Automotive," Motor, September 1931: 28.

14.  "Cook Co. Car Sales Exceed 1923 Record," Freeman's Journal, Oct. 1, 1924.

15.  Advertising postcard from Cook's Auto and Supply Company, Cook Collection, NYSHA.

16.  Adair, "We Sell Everything Automotive."

17.  J. Harry Cook, letter to Robert Cook, Oct. 31, 1932.

18.  Adair, "We Sell Everything Automotive."

19.  Ibid.

20.  J. Harry Cook, letter to Robert Cook, Oct. 5, 1932.

21.  Adair, "We Sell Everything Automotive."

22.  Ibid.

23.  J. Harry Cook, letter to Robert Cook, Sept. 1931.

24.  Ibid., Nov. 12, 1931.

25.  Automobile Manufacturers Association, Automobile Facts and Figures, 1935 ed. (New York: Automobile Manufacturers Association, 1935), 6.

26.  J. Harry Cook, letter to Robert Cook, Oct. 31, 1932.

27.  Ibid., Sept. 28, 1932.

28.  Scott Derks, ed., The Value of a Dollar: 1860–1999 (Lakeville, Conn.: Grey House, 1999), 187.

29.  J. Harry Cook, letter to Robert Cook, Oct. 1935.

30.  Dwight Sanderson and Warren S. Thompson, The Social Areas of Otsego County (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, 1923), 7.

31.  Grace Cook, letter to Robert W. Cook, May 14, 1933.

32.  Robert S. Lynd and Helen M. Lynd, Middletown in Transition (New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1982), 74.

33.  Interview with Nancy Dunn, resident of Cooperstown, N.Y., Jan. 31, 2006.

34.  Kimes and Clark, Standard Catalog of American Automobiles, 1498; and interview with Burnett.

35.  J. Harry Cook, letter to Robert W. Cook, Sept. 25, 1935.

36.  Beverly Rae Kimes, Packard: A History of the Motor Car and the Company (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton, 1978), 470.

37.  Freeman's Journal, July 17, 1935.

38.  J. Harry Cook, letter to Robert W. Cook, Sept. 30, 1931.

39.  Chryslers for 1931 had a lower, more modern appearance with V-shaped radiators and highly crowned, sweeping fenders. George H. Dammann, 70 Years of Chrysler (Sarasota, Fla.: Crestline, 1974), 162–78.

40.  J. Harry Cook, letter to Robert W. Cook, Sept. 30, 1931.

41.  Kimes, Packard, 307–09.

42.  "Narrow Escape on the Lake Road," Freeman's Journal, July 9, 1930.

43.  Interview with Dunn.

44.  Tire failure was a common occurrence on early automobiles, and multiple spare tires were typically carried either on the rear or the side of a car. By the mid-thirties, however, improved tire technology eliminated the need for frequent tire changes, and automobile bodies were being designed with integrated trunks and concealed spare-tire compartments. J. Harry Cook, letter to Robert W. Cook, Oct. 1935.

45.  Ibid., March 21 and 29, 1933.

46.  Interview with Burnett.

47.  Richard Burns Carson, The Olympian Cars: The Greatest American Luxury Automobiles of the Twenties and Thirties (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1976), 17.

48.  J. Harry Cook, letter to Robert W. Cook, Oct. 21, 1932.

49.  John Lee, Standard Catalog of Chrysler: 1924–1990 (Iola, Wis.: Krause, 1990), 368; and "Plymouth Sales Are Running Away Ahead," Freeman's Journal, Sept. 23, 1931.

50.  Interview with Gerald Gray, resident of Laurens, N.Y., Oct. 5, 2005.

51.  Interview with Lettis.

52.  Freeman's Journal, Sept. 2, 1925; Pamela Struble, "The Tale of a Trolley Line," The Yorker, November-December 1964: 15; Walter Dewitt Curtis, "Factors Affecting the Cost of Operation of 330 Automobiles on New York Farms, 1937–1938" (master's thesis, Cornell University, 1939), 1; and interview with Delores (Bachanas) Burnett, resident of Cooperstown, N.Y., Jan. 28, 2006.

53.  W. M. Curtiss, Use and Value of Highways in Rural New York (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, 1936), 19.

54.  Curtis, "Factors Affecting the Cost of Operation," 7–8.

55.  Automobile Manufacturers Association, Automobile Facts and Figures, 1938 ed. (New York: Automobile Manufacturers Association, 1938), 68.

56.  Freeman's Journal, Sept. 2, 1931.

Content in the History Cooperative database is intended for personal, noncommercial use only. You may not reproduce, publish, distribute, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, modify, create derivative works from, display, or in any way exploit the History Cooperative database in whole or in part without the written permission of the copyright holder.

 



Winter, 2007 Previous Table of Contents Next