San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-10-21
EMPLOYEES
STUDEBAkER
GIVEN MEDALS
Awards Made to 1910 En-
pIoyes Who Have Served
S to 20 Years or More.
HAS list BIRTHDAY
Corporation Holds Monster
Celebration for H.
600 Families.

Families of 1900 Stulebaker en-
Moves in South Bend, Ind. enjoyed
an entertainment recently when inc
seyenty-first anniversary. OF the stu
dehaker CORPORATION was observed NJ
Snrinrbrook Park, reports the WIN
erich Motor Sales Company. during
The afternoon, president y. IL. Frs
Kline presented medals 10 employees Tor
continuous. loyal service to the cor
noration for periods of five, ten, III
teen. twenty and as many as sixty
years. ..oo s roooiv>d
bronze medals for five or ten years
seryice: $50 were awarded sterling six
Yer medals for fifteen years, and ~
had gold medals pinned upon them
Cor more than twenty years employ
ment the House of Studebaker., Inc
last up included those employees
who nave been with the corporation
twenty to sixty years. They were
given lively applause by their fellow
workers as they received the nom
ors. e Gu
Service medals for members OF Stu
debaker's Detroit plants Will De aWard-
ed there shortly. -,
4 high class vaudeville program
during the afternoon and a mammoth
fireworks display in the evening, a
feature of which was an Illuminated
replica of a Studebaker Light-Six, FUR
nished entertainment for the thous-
ands of employees and their families.
Has Remarkable Growth.
Although the automobile industry
is the largest of the nation, 1t Is 20
young that traditions are not gener-
ally associated with it. The Stude-
baker CORPORATION is 4 notable excep-
tion. Certainly no company IN the
industry and few companies III any IN
dustry-are as rich i'll tradition as
Studebaker. e,
For II years the name OF Stude-
baker has been linked, not only with
every improvement in transportatloI'
INT with American industrial deyel-
opment as well. Since its inception
in 1852. as q crossroads blacksmith
ing and wagon building shop, Stude-
baker has expanded TO one OF the
greatest manufacturing institutions IN
The world, with S90,0J0,o0O of actual
net assets, including S45,0OO,O0O Of
plant facilities and Il production ca
pacity of 100000 cars annually. stu
debaker has 5000 branches and dealers
in the United States and is widely rep
resented in all foreign countries.
Henry and Glenn Studebaker COM
menced operationS in South Bend N
1852 with two FORCES and a cash capt.
tai of SIS. They built two wagons
their first year, one of which was IN
daily, constant use for 30 years, q
record that indicates the ideal of quail
ity upon which the business was
founded. Three other Studebaker
brothers, John NJ, Peter Z. and Jacob
T., Joined the firm; the first, John
NJ, adding to the assets $4,000 which
he had earned during the gold rush"
10 California.
The fame Of Studebaker vehicles
spread rapidly. In 1865 the firm name
was changed through Incorporation, to
Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing
Company, and few years later the
first branch house was opened at 81.
Joseph, Mo-, TO handle the trade OF
pioneers who were crossing the coun-
try in large numbers. The business
prospered and expanded accordingly
during the following years until Stu
debaker became the worlds largest
producer of horse-drawn vehicles.
Builds "HOrSeleSs Vehicle
1t was inevitable, therefore viii
the advent of the automobile in t1s
late Dos that the company would b.
come interested in this new mst15d 0.
transportation and its possible tezr'
ing upon Studebaker's bushes -
ture.
As early as the spring q 1891
Studebaker built and eIpsrlneltec
with a "horseless vehicle, a. u va
s1.-..sI.J -, L--~rs~--f r-r -
and bodies were built in 1879 for e.e,
trio runabouts made by another con
pany. Studebaker actually begaI
building electric runabouts and truck
in 1902 of which twenty were sold il
that year. and a total OF 1S4l wer
constructed up to 1872, when it aban
dOned electric machines.
The company started production 0
easoline-propeled automobiles i
1904, and during the next seven year
built and sold 2461 passenger car
and trucks, the chassis of which wer
built by another company.
The management perceived the NJ
cessity of embarking into the bushes
on a large scale commensurate wit
its position in the vehicle induStr!
and sufficient TO employ the facilitie
of its large plants and sales organize
ton throughout the world.
Moderately-priced automobiles TO b
built and sold in large quantities wer
decided upon and StUdebaker. in 1871
acquired complete ownership Of III
business, plants, assets and trad
lames of the Everett-Metzger-Fl Ian
ders Company of Detroit. which ha
been manufacturing machines of TIL
character.
Makes Unusual Records.
Curing its dramatic rise in the al
zomobile industry Studebaker has g,
tablished many records. Perhaps I'll
most remarkable of these was in 1872
0 year of business depression. whe
Studebaker enjoyed the biggest bus
ness in its history, IN TO 1922. TIL
sales of Studebaker cars were % pc
cent greater than in 1920, notwitt