Kewaunee County & Remy's: See the U.S. A. in Your Chevrolet

One hundred years ago, Algoma folks weren’t thinking of skyrocketing gas prices. They were thinking of buying autos which then cost an average of six hundred dollars or so. It was a lot of money then, about $9639.36 in 2022 dollars. By today’s standards, it was not an expensive for a car. 1925 Kewaunee County still saw horses on the road, and even if one had an auto, it often took a horse to get anywhere on rural roads in the winter.

Today’s Algoma has one car dealership, and, in our world of shortages, its inventory offers few choices. Imagine Algoma having four auto dealers in the 1920s. Gaspard-White, Algoma Motor Car Co. and Lakeshore Garage were the companies remembered years later, however there was another: Remy Motor Company.

On March 26, 1926, Algoma Record Herald announced that J.E. Remy of Green Bay leased the former Algoma Motor Car Co. building at 4^th and Fremont, the site of the Temple of Honor ten years earlier. When Ted Richmond purchased the Temple building, he had a section moved, and then repaired the rest of it and cleaned the site for Algoma Motor Car Co. In May 1916, the Record felt the completed 60’ x 100’ concrete building with the white stucco pebble look on the south and west sides would be “most pretentious.” F.V. Leischow and Berl Rider owned the property and partnered in Algoma Motor Car Co. Ownership changed several times over the next few years until Remy reopened the old Motor Car business about April 1, 1926. Two weeks earlier, it was announced that two carloads of Chevrolet cars and a full line of parts were in transit while Remy was looking for a residence for his family.

Remy’s first newspaper ad ran on April 2, 1926. He called attention to low priced, quality autos costing from $395 for a ½ ton truck to $765 for a Landau car, all F.O.B. Flint, Michigan. Remy advertised beautiful colors, - the early Fords were all painted black - an attractive Fisher body, 3-speed transmission, balloon tires (a broad tire filled with low air to cushion the shock of uneven surfaces), Alemite lubrication (a method of using pressure to inject grease into bearings), water and oil pumps, and rustless airplane metal radiator shells while being vacuum fuel fed. Remy advertised electric starting, lighting and ignition, safe and easy steering, and light action dry-plate disc-clutch.  This modern streamlined beauty was a completely closed car that had an instrument panel with speedometer. Who could imagine what Chevrolet brought? It was easy enough to find out because Remy encouraged asking for a demonstration.

J.E. Remy came from Green Bay to open his garage. Maybe he had big city ideas because in May 1926, he wanted an electric sign. Remy got the sign after Alderman Koch directed the street committee to supervise its installation. Remy wasn’t exactly on the cutting edge as there were a couple of other lighted signs in Algoma, but he was the first auto dealer to use one in his business.*

Https://www.triaccollection.ro/en/collection/cars/1927 says that the 1927 Chevrolet Series AA Capitol was the car that helped Chevy knock Ford from the top of the U.S. car sales’ chart. Ford had sold 15 million Model-Ts, known as Tin Lizzies, between 1918 and 1927. Billed as “The most beautiful Chevrolet ever,” Remy was touting all the new features in his newspaper ads.  “Remarkably smart” cars came in lustrous colors and sold for $745. Lustrous colors beat out 10 years of all black Tin Lizzies.

In October, “marvelous smoothness” at any speed was the way to go when the coups selling for about $645 were getting tops speeds of 30 mph. To sweeten the deal, Remy advertised Chev’s small downpayment, convenient terms, and told folks to ask about the 6% Purchase Certificate Plan, a kind of rebate program.

By late January 1927, Remy was advertising a host of improvements at reduced prices. Fish-tail styling and balloon tires were standard equipment on all models. To buy from Remy meant such features as ignition and steering locks and remote-control door locks. Although there was no color in the newspapers of the time, peacocks appeared in Remy’s ads. The black and white peacocks called attention to the choices in auto colors. 

A few weeks later, Chevrolet was advertising the most beautiful sedan in Chevrolet history. The peacock drew attention to the $695 purchase price of such beauty. Wikipedia says Chev started manufacturing in 1912 and sold for about $2100 in the early days. Mass production made a difference.

Adoring women were featured in 1927 ads, suggesting there was “a car for her too.” Most men nixed that idea feeling that driving was far beyond the brain of a woman. Fifty years later there were woman who still did not have an operator’s license and older men still crabbin’ about the “damned women drivers.” In 1927, Chev pointed to two-car families and even offered financing. Chevy felt a woman needed her own car to get groceries, take the children to school and do afternoon calling. Such big city foolishness did not go over then. It was after World War ll and women in the workforce when that began happening in Kewaunee County. One wonders how Remy’s was perceived in his 1927ads ad?

In anticipation of spring, shipments of new autos were coming to Algoma in February 1927. Lakeshore Garage got new Fords. Gasper-White touted the new Whippet Six Landau, something new in the Willys-Knight-Overland Line, while Remy Motors got Chevrolets, including the new cabriolet model. Algoma was the place for dreaming in February. Remy was selling trucks too. His March 1927 ads claimed Chev sold more gear-shift trucks than anyone in the world. Unchallenged in its 3-speed transmissions, the company offered oil filters and air filters. Chevrolet was advertising its economical truck transportation with the lowest cost for ton-mile. Chev said a ton-mile was the cost of transporting one ton of material for one mile. That ½ ton truck sold for $395 and the “world’s most popular gear-shift truck” was said to give unrivaled performance. If the buyer needed a larger truck, a one-ton truck was available for $695.

When Remy was advertising the “The Coach” in June 1927, the company called attention to the “scientifically balanced” auto that offered comfort on the road hour after hour. The astonishing Coach sold for $595.

Chevy said one needed to comprehend its cars to further understand how the company could sell at such low prices. The company claimed its “vast resources, tremendous purchasing power, and mammoth engineering organization, 12 factories equipped with the most modern machinery known to science and its tremendous production volume” made Chev such an affordable car. The company said their vehicles “provided the greatest dollar-for-dollar value in the history of the automotive industry.” The auto industry was not that old. Wikipedia says the first car bought in the U.S. was a Winton purchased by 71-year-old Robert Allison on April 1, 1898. Allison paid $1,000, far more than the cost of a Chevrolet less than 30 years later. Mass production made the difference.

Buick was rarely mentioned in a Remy ad, but he sold some. Remy’s ad of January 14, 1927 offered evidence, in that ad, that in 1926 more Buicks toured Yellowstone Park than any other car except one of the lowest price. Believe it or not, Buick said it held the honor since the park opened to auto traffic. Wikipedia says the first car legally into Yellowstone was a Ford Model T in 1915. The Model T was indeed a much less expensive auto.

For the few years Remy was in business, his ads indicated T.A. Dillenburg of Casco would also be of service. In January 1924, the Record Herald reported that Anton (Tony) Dillenburg, a local garage man, was constructing a Chevrolet snowmobile to be used for his winter business. Chevrolet was advertising when Remy selling and Remy was a big advertiser in Algoma Record Herald for the few years he was in business. Tony Dillenburg’s name was found at the bottom of each of Remy’s Chev ads.

It all happened 25 years or so before the Dinah Shore’s Chevy Show kicked off with Dinah singing, “See the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet, America’s asking you to call…….” Copyrighted as a jingle in 1949, it was a year later when Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy recorded the song. Later, singer Pat Boone sang the song on his Chevy Showroom. Even a couple of the Los Angeles Dodgers were singing the song, but announcer Vince Scully thought their singing careers were going nowhere.

One hundred years after J.E. Remy brought the dealership to Algoma, folks are still driving their Chevrolet through the U.S.A., but maybe not so much with gas prices over $4 per gallon. A few years ago, one could go to Algoma Motors, or any other dealership, find a beauty on the lot and drive away with a big smile after a sweet deal. Today’s lack of inventory puts a new slant on everything.

Notes:**When F.W. Lidral purchased his up-to-date gasoline storage tank, it was one of the best on the market. It had an electric sign marking its spot on the curb. Lidral’s sign was Algoma’s first lit sign, in May 1914, it was at a time when many citizens had not upgraded to electric lighting. Joseph Knaapen installed an electric sign at his Home Bakery in May 1923. Deep Rock Oil Co. was given permission to erect an electric sign on their property in October 1924, and in May 1925 Alderman Busch moved to refer the request of V.L. Wheeler to the Street and Bridge Committee. Wheeler want to call attention to his new restaurant, bar and bowling alley. Lit signs became more and more popular.

Remy's was on the east side of 4th, between Clark and Fremont, on the approximate site of today's BP One Stop.

Sources: Algoma Record/Algoma Recor Herald, Commercial History of Algoma, Wisconsin, Vol 1, https://www.triaccollection.ro/en/collection/cars/1927, Wikipedia. colored ad was found on Google; other ads are fromAlgoma Record Herald.