From time to time I get questions concerning the extended family groups and this post will not address all of those but will attempt to add information and pictures as an update to a previous post about Harry Oliver and Sigrid Landaas. In that post there was a photo of Harry with one of his Belmont Dye Works delivery cars. A request for more information about the delivery cars arrived about the time I was already reviewing material for the next volume of the Family Gathering books. As it turns out there are a number of old photographs in Dick Thompson’s Scrapbook Collection that are not found in the Petra Landaas Lee Trunk Collection or the Lorig Picture Box. The delivery car question prompted a second look at Harry and Sigrid as well as a couple of other people in the Landaas, Lee, Lorig and Thompson family groups.
Sigrid Landaas, ca 1907
Harry Oliver, ca 1907
To recap, in the early 1900s, and at least by 1910, Harry owned and operated Belmont Dye Works, a dry-cleaning business located at 508 East Pine Street in Seattle. After they married in 1908, Sigrid worked as the bookkeeper for the company. This was a position she kept until they retired around 1950. Harry’s younger brother, Walker, worked for him as a presser in the 1920s and 1930s. It is also possible that his older brother, Johnny, worked there as a driver for a short period of time. In later years, Johnny was a coal and oil truck driver for a fuel company. However, it is likely Johnny’s wife, Lena, worked in the laundry section of the Dye Works for several years. James was a farmer in the Walla Walla area of Eastern Washington. Lenard owned and operated a café in Seattle. Lenard worked in the shipyards beginning in 1942 and probably as long as the military needed him there during World War II.
The five Oliver brothers from the left: Lenard [Leonard] born 1896, James born 1892, John born 1885, Walker born 1894, Harry born 1888, ca 1908.
As I was looking at the pictures of the Belmont Dye Works delivery cars, I noticed some differences. My youngest son is a mechanical engineer and I showed him the photos and a couple of other earlier delivery wagon pictures to see if he could help identify improvements that were made in the designs.
I.C. Lee with City Laundry delivery wagon, before 1905
In this photo, taken before 1905, I.C. Lee is the policeman helping the pedestrian cross the street. Just behind him is a horse drawn City Laundry delivery wagon. Notice the design of the wagon cab, the overhanging roof and the protective barrier in front of the driver, and the lack of a door for easier access. Part of the laundry load is stored on top of the wagon. We can tell that this picture was prior to 1905 because I.C. was promoted to Sergeant in that year and here he is shown as a patrolman.
Star Bakery horse drawn delivery wagon, 1905
This next photo, above, dated 1905, shows a horse drawn Star Bakery delivery wagon with a similar design to the laundry wagon. It is not possible to see the access way into the wagon but the overall design is almost the same as the laundry wagon. In the scrapbook margin in addition to the date, Dick Thompson noted: “$2.00 a day, those were happy days.” He arrived in Seattle in 1903 from Bergen, Norway and this was one of the first jobs he had here in America.
Harry Oliver standing by his #2 delivery car, ca 1910-1912
Here we see Harry Oliver standing beside his No. 2 delivery car. The cab looks remarkably like the horse drawn cab with the horse replaced by an engine, the metal or wooden wagon wheels replaced with rubber wheels. It is probably a 1910-1912 version model T Ford. The model T was introduced in October 1908 as a 1909 model. Since only a limited number of unsuccessful model C and model N delivery vans or cars were made and sold prior to the model T, it is unlikely that Harry’s delivery cars were something other than a model T. In the earlier post the photo was a faded sepia tone but I have changed the color to black & white to increase the definition.
Some things to notice about the car include the manual, bulb operated exterior horn. Harry has his arm resting on the bulb. Brass tubing curves under the door opening to the horn mounted on the side of the hood just above the fender. Brass was needed in World War I efforts; therefore, this type of tubing was not used after about 1915/1916. There is a vertical double canister, called a Prestolite tank, attached to the running board that contained water and gas for the acetylene powered head lamps. These tanks were either installed by the dealer or sometimes by the factory, 1909-1912. The model Ts in 1913/1914 had a horizontal tank divided into three compartments and color coded that held, gas, oil, and water. The fenders were designed to prevent mud splatter at a low speed. The windshield is a simple small pane held in place by rods and mounted at eye level. Since the car is numbered 2 it suggests that he had at least two of the vehicles.
The two newer Belmont Dye Works delivery cars, ca 1915 and later
These are newer model Ts, most likely 1915 and later. The one on the right does not yet have a door, the bench is a basic flat seat, the fenders are similar to what is shown on the 1910-1912 model. The horn and headlights have been electrified. Beginning in 1913/1915 the horns were mounted under the hood with louvers in the hood added to help amplify the sound of the horn. The windshield has been enlarged in size but is still held in place by rods that extend to the floor of the cab. The car is numbered 2 and most likely dates around 1914/1915. Harry has added more advertising information on the side of the cab including a phone number and the words, Cleaning and Pressing.
The still newer car at the left, 1915/1916, now has a door and an improved, more comfortable looking padded bench for the driver. The fenders have been changed to prevent mud splatters at higher rates of speed than the older models were capable of doing. The windshield has been further improved and is attached at the hood level. The bigger windshield protected the occupant(s) better at increased speed levels. The roof of the cab is slightly more curved than the earlier model. This is the newest delivery car that Harry owned at the time. The business design has added a line in back of the bell and placed the address at the left and the phone number at the right.
It appears from these pictures that Harry must have had a schedule for replacing his delivery cars, probably every three years or so, alternating replacement between car #1 and car #2. Both of the pictures with Harry’s delivery cars were made into postcards, a popular option for pictures during this time period.
As general interest, Ford had manufacturing plants in Seattle
beginning in 1914 that closed in 1932. The first plant building was a 5 story structure located in the South Lake Union district of Seattle and the second plant was on E. Marginal Way South Seattle. The plant on E. Marginal Way was added to the National Register of Historic Places in October 2013. The South Lake Union plant was purchased by the W.P. Fuller Paint Company in 1936. It changed hands a couple more times and most recently was used by Public Storage, a self-storage chain.
For additional information about the delivery cars, see:
http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/4902
http://www.mtfca.com/discu/messages/118802/179303.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Motor_Company_Assembly
https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1903-1919-ford-trucks1.html
https://www.historylink.org/File/875
https://www.cogapa.com/history.html
https://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/Vehicle_horn
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