The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1907-05-02
Fifth Anniversary Of Shipment of
First Rambler Autos Shows
Great Growth at Plant
NOW SUPPORTS MANY PEOPLE
Ten Thousand Rambler Cars Have Been
Sold in the Five Years of Manu-
featuring in Kenosha, and a
Great Future is Ahead


day at the plant of the Thomas B.
Jeffrey factory for it was just five
years ago Tuesday that the first ship
ment of Rambler cars was sent out of
the factory, and a little glance atsthe
record made by the plant in those five
years shows that its growth has more
than kept pace with the growth of
Kenosha, and the growth of the plant
is second to none in the state,
From small beginning the plant
has enlarged until today it is the
greatest auto making plant in the
world. A plant built on the solid
rock Of conservatism, making a pro-
duct as staple as is known to the
world of motor carriages, its future
can only be conjectured from the great
and solid growth made in the first five
years.
The Sterling Bicycle factory, which
formed the nucleus OF the Rambler
works, was built in 1895. The Ster-
ling company sold its interests to the
trust, and year later when the trust
failed the Sterling plant was the first
to be closed up and Kenosha had a
Hdead" factory building.
1t was at this time that the Thomas
B. Jeffery Company came TO Kenosha.
Without any blare of trumpets or
beating of drums Thomas. B. Jeffery
purchased the Sterling plant and be-
gan the work of building automobiles.
The company brought with it record
second to none IN the bicycle business
and In short time the men who had
been employed by Mr.. Jeffrey began
to drift back to Kenosha and to take
a hand in the making of the frstiof
the Rambler automobiles. After
long period of experimental work Mr..
Jeffrey placed his seal of approval on
the car, as modelled by his experts,
and the first shipment of cars. was
made on April %, 1902.
At this time the automobile indus
try was in its infancy and the firstcar
turned out was a small runa bout of
low power, but it had one thing, and
that was liability and the capacity to
give good service. This was the fist.
demand Of the Jeffrey cars, and while
the company is now manufacturing
cars Of many models, from the costly
touring cars to the Inexpensive run
abouts, the same motto prevails at the
plant. The car must be the car of
STEADY Service" A few Of the old
, II Oh " ,--%
when the plant was in it's experimental
stage, are still in use, and they are
still giving the same steady service
that they gave when they left the
factory.
The first shipment of cars proved
that Mr.. Jeffery had struck the right
idea in building cars, and with this
idea and corps of competent men the
business was started on large scale.
The results of the first few years
proved theRwisdom of the founder of
the factory, for the Rambler car
sprang into Immediate popularity and
it became at once the car demanded
by the great mass of automobile buy
ers. Thesfactory was not large enough
to supply the demand for "Ram blers"
the second year, and there has never
been a year yet that the output of the
factory was greater than the actual
sales made.
The Rambler factory has meant
much for Kenosha. When the plant
was opened in 1902 it employed only
sixty men, and today the number of
employees is over 900. The men emf
ployed are not the SO called common
1aborers," but nearly every man is a
specialist in his line Of work and the
men brought to Kenosha by the plant
are the kind known as desirable citi-
zens." When it is estimated that each
adult man supports from two to FIVE
people, a conservative estimate of the
number of people drawing their live
1ihood from the plant would place the
number at from 1900 to 4, 500 people.
About seven hundred of the en-
ployes were brought to Kenosha from
other cities and they came bringing
their families with them. These peo-
pie we're of the home building class
and the enormous increase in the
population of Kenosha and the sur
rounding territory, while not wholly
due to the Jeffery factory, found in
this plant and its conservative policy
of constant enlargement material
aid. This fact is especially evidenced
by the number of comfortable homes
that have been built by the employees
of the Jeffery plant on the streets and
avenues adjacent to the big factory.
The value of the property near the
plant has been grearly enhanced since
1902 until at the present time land in
the vicinity of Jeffery's factorY0 is
regarded as gilt edged investment.
It is noteworthy fact that large
proportion of the employees of the
plant own their homes and these
homes are either in Kenosha or in the
town of Pleasant Prairie. The com.
pany is seeking men who build homes
as it is the opinion Of managers that
this class of people is the class that
gives to the employer the highest
class of service in all lines Of work.