by Paul R. Spitzzeri
The growth of Western Auto Supply Company, the George Pepperdine-founded firm that began as a humble mail-order business in Kansas City in 1909 and, seven years later, expanded to a retail store in Los Angeles, where the executive moved for his health, mirrored the extraordinary growth of the automobile in our region, quickly acknowledged as the car capital of Planet Earth.
In his 1922 University of California doctoral dissertation on Angel City traffic congestion, John M. Terrass, who worked for over thirty years for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, recorded that there were just over 43,000 vehicles registered in Los Angeles County, but, by the time he wrote his study, that number shot up by four times to north of 172,000. Another source records that there were 430,000 registrations in 1925 (a massive development took place during the first half of the Twenties) and this leap by over 80% to more than three quarter of a million at the decade’s end.
So, Pepperdine definitely migrated to the right place at an opportune time and rode a wave (don’t forget this word) to astounding success in his auto parts business over roughly a decade, up to the time that the highlighted artifact from the Museum, a 23 July 1927 letter from Western Auto, was generated. A look at media references to the company during that month definitely reveals Pepperdine’s penchant for punchy publicity, with striking advertisements and articles (often functioning as ads), including a travelogue series, that kept the Western name, and its mascot, Saving Sam, in consistent public view.
For example, the dawn of the month included promotion of a weeklong “Big Bumper Sale,” with prices from $6.95 and up with free installation, though it is funny to see the text of “every car should have bumpers—front and rear,” as there were no federal regulatory requirements for this until just over a half-century ago, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration mandated them for the 1973 model year.
Western promoted steel spring bumpers, with two nickel and one copper coats, tempered with oil and heat-treated. The company made sure to let readers know that the bumpers were approved by insurance underwriters and that a 12.5% collision insurance premium savings was available for those autos that had both bumpers, of which a few types were offered, including the Cruiser, which was larger and more durable and cost from $26 to $28.
Meanwhile, a sale on tires was extended another week, with savings of a dollar for 30×3 (the first number was for outside diameter and the latter for the widest part of the sidewalls) sizes fetching $5.85 each and prices extending to $15.95 for a 32×4 1/2 straight-side oversize ones. Because many cars did not have trunks as part of the body, it was common to see ones attached to the outer shell of a car.
From $19.50 to $24.50, a buyer could have trunks of three-ply Laminex, consisting of wood sheets, covered in “fabrikoid,” a DuPont artificial leather of cotton cloth with castor oil and solvents. Straps, however, were made of leather and these were said to be dust and water proof, as well as having extra clasps for a tight closure. It is also worth noting, as does the back of the letter, that ads boasted Western boasted 150 stores in a dozen states, including seven in Arizona, 15 in Oregon, 16 in Washington and nine in Colorado. But, in California, there were 22 in Los Angeles, five each in Oakland and San Francisco, two in Long Beach and single stores in about 70 cities and towns.
The ad also mentioned that a free catalog was available from Western listing accessories, camp goods, radios and tires and were available at any store or by mail. Because summer recently burst forth, there was quite a bit of media material related to camping and the outdoors, including an article in the Los Angeles Times of the 3rd that cited a Western expert, known as “Kamp-EZ” Wilcox, who provided readers with sage advice on how to choose the right tent. This included his recommendation that,
The standard auto or lean-to is simple and good for general auto camping purposes. It usually consists of a single sloping roof with a three-foot back wall, side walls and open front. The canopy at [the] top of the tent fastens to the wheels on the opposite side of the car and is thrown over the car top. The car can then be used as a dressing room.
The next week, the paper offered another feature with Wilcox’s suggestions for beds used while motor camping, with a spring folding model emphasized in the article and called the Angelus. This model was considered top-notch because “square link fabric” was employed “to eliminate sagging, one of the most objectionable features of the average camp bed.” Moreover, the item was easy to care for because “the legs are chained to the sides,” so there were no bolts, while, when folded, the bed “makes a small package that rides easily on the running board of the car.”
The canvas cot was also light weight as well as small, though it needed some kind of a mattress for comfort, while the expert remarked that “folded newspapers keep out a great deal of cold when spread between the cot and blankets.” An accompanying photo showed a pair of women Western employees showing how the bed was set up with a “poncho” mattress. Another option was an air mattress, which functioned in lieu of the bed or springs and Wilcox commented that “regardless of where it is laid, the camper is assured of a good bed as it forms itself to the contour of the ground.” Most notable was its compact form as when the air was let out of it, the mattress, when folded, “makes a package no larger than a small pillow.”
An advertisement mid-month highlighted “A Week of Camp Goods Bargains Selected from the most complete line of Camping Equipment in the West” as readers were assured “now you can camp right . . . At these bargain prices, every motorist should economically complete his outfit with camping equipment that makes each joy-filled trip one long to be remembered.” Managers, it was noted, were available at each store for advice, with featured items including khaki and Palmetto (this is the one shown in one of the images here) tents, steel folding beds, cots, tables, camp stoves, canteens and more.
The Hollywood Citizen of the 20th published an image provided by Western showing a family setting up their tent, with something of an awning extending from the entrance, a table for dining and other elements. The scene looked as if it was in the mountain and there was no automobile in sight, although the caption observed that “according to figures, four out of five cars entering the National Parks are equipped for camping” and the demonstration image “features the kind of equipment that goes to make such a trip a success.”
Summer travel also meant that there were photographic features titled “Seeing the Worth While in California” and denoted as part of a “Series of Travelogues by The Western Auto Supply Company” which appeared in many regional papers. The Citizen, for instance, published on in its issue of the 6th featuring “Auto Camping in Yosemite Valley” and showing “public camp 16,” deemed “one of the most beautiful in the park.” In its number of the 15th, the Torrance Breeze published one on Sequoia National Park and “the charm of the unusual!” as the famous park offered “the attraction of a vast solitude of natural grandeur set apart by great barriers from the din of civilization.”
Sometimes trips to the great outdoors and places like Sequoia and Yosemite could mean hazards for tires, so July also meant an announcement by Western of lower prices on this essential, including the Wear-well and Western Giant brands, that were installed free. Readers and potential customers were informed that,
Never Before . . . anywhere . . . have motorists been offered such long wearing, fully guaranteed tires at such low prices! Here is real economy . . . made possible by the combined huge purchasing power, “no middle cost” distributing methods, and small-profit selling policy of the World’s largest retail Auto Supply concern . . . Act now . . . don’t “nurse” those thin tires another day.
The Times of the 17th reported that, because of the sale, Western tires were flying off the shelf and the company’s tire department manager noted that “the summer touring season gives every indication for setting new high records for tire sales.” The company’s business with this product was always good, it was remarked, and its credo of offering “the greatest value for the money” was essential. Moreover, it was added that, “Western Auto is now building the best tires it has ever built and is selling them for less money” while allowing old tires to be brought in on trade was a policy that “should encourage every motorist to enjoy the security and economy” of the product.
These methods of operation led to the remark that,
That is the whole secret of Western Auto’s success. The reason why Western Auto today operates over 150 stores is that the entire scheme of things is so arranged that we give the best values for the money and to make satisfied customers. We feel that when the motorists consider the service Western Auto offers its customers and the full dollar’s worth that they receive for their dollar, the future demand for Western Auto tires is sure to be large and consistent.
Another sales tactic unveiled in July was what we call the “BOGO,” or buy one, get one free, offer, as customers were advised that they could purchase just one of the featured items and get another at no cost. It was commented that “EVERY MOTORIST can save during this inauguration of an annual merchandising event, to acquaint new arrivals in this community with the many advantages of buying at ‘Western Auto.'” This was couched in terms of a form of appreciation for the firm serving north of 6 million customers in 1926.
With the promotion ending on the 30th, it was added that “as an incentive, we make this unparalleled offer in which, in practically every instance, the item are offered below cost.” The goods were considerable varied and were on the lower end of pricing including cleaners and polishes, flashlights, lubricant, cloths and sponges, a tube patch, transmission lining and others. An accompanying article in the Times of the 24th, with General Manager Hal Baker telling the paper,
This sale is being out into effect to acquaint all new motorists is every vicinity where we operate a store with Western Auto economies and to introduce the everyday values that make Western Auto stores the motoring headquarters for more than 6,000,000 motorists annually. We will be more than paid for the loss we are taking in this event by acquainting new customers with Western Auto proven products, for once they are tried out the future sale is sure to be consistent.
Baker remarked that many of the goods offered were bought in twos so it was assumed that the sale “will make a decided hit with the car owner.” As the month came to a close, another Western innovation was to open an outdoor service area at the flagship store on Grand Avenue at 11th Street in downtown Los Angeles, in a location that was an auto district at the time. The added space, extending east to Olive Street, was for the installation of accessories batteries and tires and had a capacity for servicing 15 cars at a time, while the prior location was repurposed for customer parking at the store.
Eighteen Western employees were devoted to this service, though installation foreman Roy Atkinson remarked that “there are many of our customers who do not take advantage of the service offered . . . and the customer is entitled to the service.” Most accessories were installed at no cost, though some were assessed a flat rate “so the customer may know the exact installation charge before the job is begun.”
While it could be assumed that Western’s workforce was overwhelmingly male, the photo above shows two women employees and the Times of the 12th reported that “Mrs. Lena Pepperdine,” wife of George and who, as vice-president and treasurer, was said by her husband to have a significant involvement in the company deserving of much credit, “organized the women into an association for the promotion of good fellowship.” Employee associations and clubs were quite common in this era as companies experimented with these, stock options, continuing education, company picnics and other amenities.
In this case, the paper noted:
A lecture on the preservation of health and the promotion of beauty was given by Mme. Bergeron, specialist in the preservation of personal pulchritude, before the feminine employees of the Western Auto Supply Company last night . . . it was the members of the club who listened to the speaker.
The considerable business acumen of the Pepperdines was such that, when they sold Western and its 200 stores in 1939, the company was worth $10 million. Remarkably, however by 1950, George told a bankruptcy court that he didn’t have a dollar to his name and “lived on money his wife was able to give him from presents of $50,000 to $100,000 he had given her more than a decade earlier.
At least some of the financial failure was the creation of Pepperdine University, affiliated with the Churches of Christ, in February 1937, with classes opening the following September at a 32-acre campus situated on Vermont Avenue and 79th Street and sporting Streamline Moderne architecture popular at the time. George Pepperdine, who gave $2 million to the church for the university and added a million for a foundation to support it and general charitable support was quoted as stating,
I consider it wrong to build a great fortune and use it selfishly. Appropriating wealth to the betterment of mankind engenders far greater satisfaction than lavish spending on oneself. It more nearly justifies your existence in the world.
Pepperdine, naturally, could not envision that his philanthropy would be followed by bankruptcy. Moreover, his foundation was dissolved amid a scandal in which creditors asserted that its managers committed gross negligence in their duties. He died at the end of July 1962 not long after being honored by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors with its first distinguished service medal for his community endeavors. Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, a Pepperdine graduate of 1942, praised him for his humility and added that “his thinking of others is an example of all to follow.”
The Vermont Knolls area of South Los Angeles where the university was located became a majority Black community by the mid-1960s, but poverty and low investment in the neighborhood, while the 1969 killing of an African-American student by a campus security guard inflamed tensions and led to a student takeover of some buildings, while fires were set in others.
By then, a new site, largely donated by the Adamson-Rindge family in Malibu, was acquired and the university opened its new campus in September 1972, with Blanche Seaver, wife of an oil company executive, donating some $160 million over years. The Vermont Knolls campus, retained for a while by the university, was sold in 1981 to the Crenshaw Christian Center, founded in 1973, which built its FaithDome, seating over 10,000 persons, though it claims some 28,000 members.
This modest letter, with a dramatic vignette attesting to its success in selling 400,000 tires in 1926, is representative of a remarkable business success, part of the rapid rise of the automotive industry in this car capital of the world, that is all but forgotten now, though its founder’s lasting project is the university that bears his name, even as his finances cratered late in life.