The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1919-09-06
OVER A MILLION kiDDlE
KARs MADE LAST YEAR
CONTINUED from Page one)
4166 times as high.

seat high would reach up into the air,
or rather on past the air 272 miles, a
height 80 miles greater than the dis
lance from New York City to Boston,
Throw open. the throttle of your
Imagination. Just put kiddie on
every Kar Let them go three feet
apart in a gigantic parade. That line
would be exactly 1865 miles long Can
you imagine a parade of youngsters
reaching from New York to Milwau-
kee. via Chicago, with 80 miles OF kid
dies and kars thrown in for full meas
urc. II you can you will begin to
have q true appreciation and a prop
or respect for the American toy
manufacturer You will also under
stand Just what big thing clerk
in the Adams Hardware Company OF
bennington, VT, did when in 1914 he
sold Clarence White a tin automobile.
/ saw that toy a few days ago like
a faithful old horse turned out to pas
ture: it is we'll cared for. In the
presidents Office OF the Fl. c. White
COMPANY it rests in a glass case. 1t
and Freddie White were inseparable
pals that winter OF 1914-5. 1t was
good little automobile, but Freddie
was a husky kid, with all smash-bang-
zip stuff that is the heritage OF
healthy, American youngster. he
didn't want toy to look at. he
wanted to ride that auto and he dld.
The first week he put hip through
the side of the tonneau, and when ms
dad overhauled the buggy Saturday
night one wheel was off.
Every kid in America ought TO nave
a dad like Clarence White. He one
of Freddie's gang They took the
broken toy over to Pas optical fac
tory and tinkered it into working or
der. II was good job for it lasted
three days. Then il busted again ana
from there and for a month Freddie
coasted and broke while Freddie S
dad dinkered and smiled.
Then came the day when Clarence
Whites patience was punctured. The
blowout was complete The remains
looked like a wheelbarrow that had
been in the way of an Erie freight
train. There wasn't any patch left
in it. Clarence looked it over and
came to the wise conclusion mat
Freddie had a new car coming. but
he didn't want to wish himself into
a perpetual repair job.
The Adams Hardware Company
still had lot OF toys in stock, but
they didn't have one that kid could
sit on and propel by foot power. They
didn't have one that could be steered,
they didn't have one that was built
from the ground up to stand the JOY
shocks of play-mad youngster with
Irabidly developing speed tendencies
this the Bennington op-
tical goods manufactures went out in
the workshop and put in two days
making the first Kiddie Kar. 1t has
hardly been changed since.
The principal features OF the toy
Freddie White took with him TO bed
that night have never been changed,
but from that well-made toy a great
business has been developed. From
those two days work an Industry
regularly employing 300 factory peo-
pie has been created. From Freddie
Whites first day of ecstasy the JOY
bowls Of millions of Riddles from one
to seven years OF age has been filled
to Overlooking,
\ Is business employing 300 people,
IA .busiress that keeps a saw MIL on
.he hum. q business that rishtfully
claims to be the most rapidlw &deFel-
opad and substantially founded toy
business in the world is a business
worth any hardware mans attention
/ heard these figures. ! took them
with a grain of salt | met lll-tell-
che World Trout the White sales
manager and in q moment of indis-
erection suggested that his adding
machine needed repairs.
Trout hit the ceiling and stayed up
in the air until | had agreed to go TO
North Remington and be convinced
We. arrived at North Bennington
Harrie> White met us in Buick. |
don't know why, for it was down
hill coast to the factory and we could
have made it on a Number 81 Ten
minutes later we were going through
the plant.
Recently visited the factory
where the best bedroom furniture in
the world is made. The equipment
in the Riddle Kar factory is better
and the finish is just as good The
inspection is SITTER than IN that fura
niture. factory. vas utterly as
founded. saw Kiddie Kar parts dis
carded because Of tiny knots. ] saw
them rejected on inspection for poor
finish in parts that didn't show. 2
saw the lumber, rock maple for the
wheels, Eastwood for the seats vel
low birch for the holsters and white
birch for the yolks and handles. Each
lumber pile was the choice stock OF
days run at the mill
saw this lumber steamed and kiln
dried. saw it planed and sized, saw
it take form under saws, planer
knives and turning machines, saw
these parts fitted together with a care
one wouldn't expect to encounter out
side watch factory.
| saw, marvelled and criticised.
couldn't see the need of such stock in
a toy. | couldn't see the sense OF
piano finish on plaything. 1t was
too good. | thought they were crazy,
but when we left the packing room
where the master wrapper put each
Kiddie Kar in a package quicker than
/ could wrap a nve-pound package of
nails, when | left all chat and came
back TO the Office where Whites
Green Mountain" Cobb trotted out
figures to show the unit cost Of each
operation, then | said How in the
ncnle eff Moses do you do it?'
Cobb answered me with another
question, rs it worth while?3 Ny
-. ,..,,,a.. ,,,,,. ss,,ocst Gov fho Iioh+ ho Il