Wells Fargo's role in the history of the West  was a heroic story—frontier, stagecoaching over lonely roads, bandits. The lore fit easily into Hollywood  storytelling. Wells Fargo not only starred in Hollywood films, it helped ensure the popularity of motion pictures in the industry's early days.

In 1855, Wells Fargo opened an office in Los Angeles. As Southern California grew rapidly after 1880, Pacific Electric streetcars  brought Wells Fargo express services to nearly every community. Wells Fargo Express delivered feature films and newsreels to eager audiences nationwide from the company's special express depot in Universal City.

In 1937, Paramount Pictures  produced "Wells Fargo," a Western starring Joel McCrea and Frances Dee. The "Wells Fargo Wagon" brought something special to River City, Iowa, a generation later, in the 1962 film version of Meredith Willson's Broadway hit "The Music Man." 

On television from 1957 to 1962, Dale Robertson fought hard to uphold Wells Fargo's good name in the series "Tales of Wells Fargo." The popular show reached audiences worldwide through syndication.

Posted by Charles at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Artifacts, Broadway, Films, Movies, Perspective, Remember, Stagecoach, The Music Man, Wells Fargo Bank, Westerns

This morning I find a plaque on my desk with a note, "Blog?" That's an easy question, because the answer is always "Yes"—if it exists, it's as good as blogged about. Which is both existential philosophy  and grammaticide . Whatever.

Anyway, the plaque commemorates a partnership between Wells Fargo and TIME Magazine , "40 Years of Partnership in LATIN AMERICA."

In 1941, Wells Fargo Bank & Union Trust Co. ran an ad in TIME that showed booming levels of trade with Latin America. Much of Latin America enjoyed recovery from the worldwide Great Depression  of the 1930s, thanks to better prices for their exports and a nicer exchange rate of international money. Some nations were able to settle their debts, stimulate internal economies and meet demands for their products in world markets. Industry in Latin America  had reached maturity, and with the Depression affecting the whole world, that maturity came at a good time. Things were looking up.

World War II  broke out in Europe in 1939, and industry became the vital component of alliances. Combatants needed stuff and lots of it. Latin American industries were ready, but as with every business, they wanted cash. North American and European banks stood in line to invest, and Wells Fargo Bank & Union Trust was one.

The Company established representative firms and correspondent relationships throughout the region, and—after other institutions moved on to other business—Wells Fargo stuck around. By 1981, Wells Fargo's Interamerican Bank was able to boast of a long and stable history of business in the hemisphere.

Presently, Wells Fargo has bustling foreign exchange and international operations that span geographies and commodities. Wells Fargo has had correspondent international offices since the first day of business in 1852—because a wider field of business is a wider field of opportunity.

Posted by Charles at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Found in Artifacts, Experts, Latin America, Misc, Perspective, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

You remember the posts about James B. Hume, Wells Fargo's chief detective, who tracked down the bad guys and brought them to justice. There's a very real, human side to the story of law enforcement in these times, which is usually forgotten. People favor "Gunfight at the OK Corral "-type stories over lowbrow larceny or inept outlaws. Or the round-the-clock action by agents, determined to nab dangerous people because it's the right thing to do.

On June 19, 1884, Wells Fargo's transport in León, Mexico , was robbed. Agent Thompson in León detailed the incident in a letter to the superintendent. Thompson left the León railroad depot as usual that evening, with his clerk and driver named Alberto Romero and an armed guard provided by local police. A few blocks into the three-mile route, the wagon turned onto Calle Honda—"hardly a street," Thompson wrote, "more of a watercourse and the spot is very lonely."

There, several bandits opened fire and swarmed the wagon. The mules were terrified, the guard fell wounded, and Romero cried out that he was also shot. Thompson emptied his pistol, and a policeman on foot joined the firefight. Outnumbered and outgunned, they dove for cover. The thieves made off with the treasure box that contained $500 in cash. Alberto Romero died at the scene.

When things calmed down, the entire neighborhood came to aid the victims, and local police sprang to action. Local businessmen provided a substantial funeral for Romero, Thompson wrote,

"a number of whom attended in person. I take it these demonstrations are a compliment to the dead boy, but also to the Company, which has acquired a reputation of being the only foreign enterprise in this country which gives good service to the public.

"The boy had earned the goodwill of business men here by his activity, intelligence and obliging disposition."

Thompson was authorized to give the wounded guard a $15 "gratification," which had, he wrote, "a very good effect throughout the country."

J.N. Thacker, Hume's top assistant, was sent to León to investigate the incident for Wells Fargo. Thacker's report details his unrelenting efforts to find witnesses and nab the gang. But Thacker's report also tells of his intelligent collaboration with law enforcement and political machinery. Thacker worked closely with local, state and federal police. Each level pledged its cooperation as Thacker showed his determination to let Mexican officials do their jobs. Thacker was even able to work with the Mexican presidency  in his quest.

On July 14, 1884, Thacker reported that several people had been detained, questioned or convicted in the case. The final case against the robbers, Thacker wrote,

"will come to a close within a week, and the judge has given me to understand that he will Sentence (the crook) for a term of three years to ... Penitentiary."

Posted by Charles at 08:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Artifacts, First-hand Accounts, James Hume, Perspective, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

Sometimes I get questions:

"Why does history matter?"

"What does history mean for me, besides hard tests and cranky teachers?"

The best is, "Like, does this matter in, like, everyday life OMG!?"

History shows  that the present is just a piece of, well, history.

Trust me. I'm not cranky.

Posted by Charles at 09:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in Misc, Perspective, Wells Fargo Bank

Old Sacramento  will be bustling with excitement tomorrow. The Pony Express Re-ride  is scheduled to arrive at 11:30 a.m. After a 10-day journey from St. Joseph, Mo. , the final rider will bring mail to the corner of Second and J streets—right across from the Wells Fargo History Museum. The National Pony Express Association  has been putting on the Re-ride for 30 years, and this year marks the 147th anniversary of the Pony Express.

The Pony Express  is the most widely known short-lived piece of Americana. It lasted only 18 months, from April 3, 1860, to Oct. 25, 1861. Established by the Kansas express firm of Russell, Majors, and Waddell , the Pony Express was in its time the fastest way to get mail to California. It was also the most expensive. In 10 days, riding across 1,966 miles, smallish young men (usually in their early teens) would bring 20 pounds of mail from St. Joseph to Sacramento. The cost to send a letter via Pony Express in those days was five dollars per half ounce, which to the average person was a lot of money. (That’s approximately 120 dollars today.) Due to high expenses and the lack of government subsidies, the Pony Express was going broke a year after its creation.

In April 1861, Wells Fargo took control of the Western portion of the Pony Express. Wells Fargo carried letters from Salt Lake City to Sacramento and San Francisco for the last six months of the Pony Express' existence. Wells Fargo helped reduce the cost of postage from the hefty five dollars to just two dollars a half ounce, then reduced the cost even lower, to one dollar, in July 1861. At these prices the Pony Express became more affordable to people and businesses.

Even with the low rates that Wells Fargo offered, the Pony Express would last only a few more months. Technology would put an end to the legend: The telegraph delivered messages faster than anyone on horseback and for a very low cost. On Oct. 25, 1861, Wells Fargo ended its involvement in the Pony Express, marking the end of the 18-month adventure.

Yet the Pony Express lives on in American lore . And for 10 days each year, riders bring letters from St. Joseph to Sacramento, just as they did 147 years ago. All of us here at the Wells Fargo Museum in Old Sacramento are awaiting the Re-ride  and will let everyone know the legacy that Wells Fargo has shared with such a great piece of American history.

Posted by Greg at 08:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Animals, Events, Museums, Participate, Pony Express, Remember, Sacramento, San Francisco, Wells Fargo Bank

The other day I was listening to a CD in the car. It was the Bee Gees  and other disco from the late '70s and early '80s. Even though I should have been dancing, the songs told me, I had to drive. So I started thinking, which is what I do and what makes these posts so memorable. (Alright already!)

Disco  was the combustion of three important historic ingredients: dancing, Watergate  and the music biz. Dancing returned to rock 'n' roll after the egotistical '60s had destroyed it. Rock 'n' roll was all about dancing at the beginning, with the Big Bopper , the Killer  and The King . Later, during the British Invasion , dance clubs played rock 'n' roll as hipsters jerked and frugged . The late '60s put that on hold as young people focused on consciousness raising, festivals and fashion.

Altamont  revealed the limitations of the Age of Aquarius, as Kent State  revealed the determination of leaders to continue the Vietnam war. After Watergate, many people tuned out public affairs, tired of scandal and violence. The rock 'n' roll generation retreated to the original fun of the art form: concerts and dancing. Meanwhile, soul music had reached its political and artistic heights in the '60s. While artists sang about contemporary themes, the music never lost its mission to make people dance. The sound kept changing with fresh artists and producers who found new ways to mix in scads of musical elements and effects. The more that was produced into a song, pulsing dance rhythms had to be more prominent. Combined with multi-vocal traditions from doo-wop  days, the result was those smooth but funky records of the '70s.

Producers had fat new technology available, kids were buying records in huge quantities, and people were dancing to rock ' n' roll instead of taking over office buildings . Everybody in the music business was looking for a place to mix it all together and make a fortune. The Gibb brothers, who had enjoyed some success a decade before with British Invasion ballads, were experimenting with new pop mixes that would get AM airplay and get on the playlists at dance clubs. They scored an independent film that featured a rising TV star and was about the emerging new dance club culture.

It was called "Saturday Night Fever,"  and the Gibbs produced the soundtrack featuring their own songs and those of several other artists. The movie was an instant hit, thanks to John Travolta  as star, but the soundtrack  was bigger. After the two debuted in winter 1977, the airwaves were saturated for another few years with disco and the Bee Gees' song-making juggernaut.

By the early '80s, many people had had enough, and disco got a terminal reputation as stupid and greedy, produced in seconds by non-artists in sound factories. Fair enough—too much of anything is not good (like '60s self-importance, maybe?). But it was a real force for a few years. It was happening.

Listening to some of these songs 30 years later, in the self-containment of a Toyota on the freeway, I got a momentary different vibe. A lot of work went into disco—the instruments and voices were usually real people—and good songs are good songs. Disco was dumb, sure. So were hair metal bands in the '80s  and white shoe-wearing fakes in the '50s. Don't sweat disco, my friends. It's just history anymore.

Posted by Charles at 06:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in Disco, First-hand Accounts, Misc, Natural Disasters, Perspective, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

Did you feel the excitement in the air this week? No? Well, this wasn’t broadcast live on television.  It wasn’t made into a musical.  The winners probably won’t throw the first pitch  at a major league baseball game. But, for a select few, this week was the highlight of months of effort, and a time they’ll likely remember for years to come. I won’t keep you in suspense any longer—it’s National History Day! 

For lack of a better comparison, think of a science fair only starring young historians doing original historical research and interpretation. Students choose topics relating to a broader theme, conduct research through libraries, archives, museums, oral history interviews and historic sites. After organizing the research and drawing conclusions, students present their work through categories such as original paper, exhibit, and performance. Students proceed through local and state competitions, hoping to make it all the way to national. The National Contest just finished this week. Even Ken Burns—a historical interpretation celebrity(!)—was there.

I had the pleasure of judging history day for the first time a number of years ago, and look forward to it every year. (I am proud to support a home team, and mention Sacramento County  has two contestants at nationals this year.) Considering our company history, it is no surprise that other Wells Fargo employees enjoy supporting National History Day in some way. Some of the Wells Fargo History Museum  curators have judged and recruited large numbers of other employees to participate at local or state competitions. Wells Fargo has sponsored local and national prizes for special topics. And, the Wells Fargo History Museums serve as teaching environments to support parents and students.

So if this has piqued your interest, or you can think of a young aspiring historian or curator to share this information  with, find out more and be part of the excitement  next year!

Posted by Anne at 07:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in Events, Experts, First-hand Accounts, Get Involved, Holidays, Misc, Museums, Participate, Perspective, Sacramento, San Francisco, Wells Fargo Bank

June 14th is Flag Day. It also happens to be the 49th anniversary of Wells Fargo's stagecoach appearance program. Around here if somebody asks me what I do for a living, I will often reply "I guard a Stagecoach for a living." The stagecoach is Wells Fargo's brand and represents our history in a way not too far off from the way our flag represents our country. I wrote my Master's thesis on Betsy Ross—you'll excuse me if these connections jump immediately to my mind.

There are a lot of folks who don't know about Betsy Ross  and a lot of folks who think that she did or didn't make the first star-spangled banner. Without recapitulating my thesis, let me just say that whether or not she made the first flag isn't really that interesting to historians of the flag, like Cecilia O'Leary  or Scot M. Guenter.  They'd rather focus on why the flag is paradoxical or problematic symbolism. It's a Historian's job to complicate things.

Most folks think that the Ross story is just a pleasant American myth a la George Washington's "I cannot tell a lie." In 2005 a rather substantial historian, David Brion Davis  wrote a book about the evolution of American symbols of freedom. He took up the Ross story and, much to my pleasant surprise, cited most of the points I cited in my thesis about the possibility of the former Elizabeth Griscom   actually making a flag for our fledgling nation. Hooray, I guess.

As for our stagecoach program, the truth of its existence and providence is much clearer. The first stagecoach "event" occurred on June 14th, 1958 in Hayward, Cal. when "Sport" Fellingham was asked to drive a coach pulled by a team of horses to commemorate the opening of the branch. In 2007 we expect the stagecoach appearance program to encompass something like 900 events which will be seen by literally millions of people. 2007 also marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the transcontinental stagecoach express business. And 2008 will be the 150th anniversary of the famed Butterfield Overland Mail  which Wells Fargo eventually made nearly synonymous with our own Express business.

Now if somebody out there could just send me a picture of a Betsy Ross carrying a flag on a stagecoach...

Posted by Allan at 02:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Found in Artifacts, Branding, Museums, Remember, Stagecoach, Wells Fargo Bank

Portland, Ore.celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Rose Festival   this past weekend. The idea of a Rose Festival or "carnival," as it was initially called, came from the Chamber of Commerce.  Later records reveal the extent to which the Chamber of Commerce went to promote the city of Portland. In the Second Annual Rose Festival Pamphlet from1908, the Chamber provided a litany of facts to persuade the visitor that Portland was the best place to live. It sums up this idea by stating:

"The approaching Rose Festival will .. convince tens of thousands of visitors that Portland and vicinity rests on beds of flowers... "

After the first Rose Festival in 1907, the event became extensive. Advertisers played off the event, and the Oregonian  included at least two cartoons hailing the event. One cartoon conveys the idea that the Portland Rose Festival was a signature event with "Old Man Portland" blowing away the competition. Another cartoon shows Western cities "joining hands" to celebrate Portland’s Festival. The Rose Festival received delegations from several cities, including Los Angeles, Pasadena, Oakland, Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma. Naval vessels dropped anchor at Portland’s waterfront: the USS Stethem and others docked this year. 

Wells Fargo participated early on. As the Rose Festival got popular, the Company provided the Concord Coach from San Francisco  for the 1913 parade, and the “modern” Wells Fargo delivery wagon followed behind the stagecoach. It was as important, in1913, for Wells Fargo to showcase people from its history. The Oregonian described the esteemed personage riding in Wells Fargo’s contingent:

The Wells-Fargo stage coach filled with veterans of the stage coach days. On the front seat sat C. M. Kellogg, who drove a Wells-Fargo stage out of Salt Lake City in 1864 and 1865. . . Thomas H. Reynolds, who has been in the employ of Wells, Fargo & Co. for 40 years, acted as “shotgun messenger.” He rode on top of the coach, with a shotgun leveled across his knees. The regulation strong box stood beside him...

From an historical viewpoint, what is intriguing about Portland’s Rose Festival is how an idea took off, a “Rose Festival” culture developed, then gradually changed over time. After 1910, Portland’s economic status as the hub of the Pacific Northwest faced challenges from other cities—Tacoma, Spokane, and, most notably, Seattle. Was the creation of a Rose Festival one way for the city’s leaders to retain Portland’s economic hegemony in the Pacific Northwest? 

Posted by Steve at 03:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in Branding, Events, First-hand Accounts, Museums, Remember, Stagecoach, Wells Fargo Bank

Baseball season is about one-third gone in 2007. Barry Bonds  is about 10 homers away from setting the all-time home run record . It's controversial—baseball is pretending Bonds isn't really nearing a milestone, and it's all because of the book "Game of Shadows."  Sorry, but I'm celebrating Bonds' 756.

This a tough issue for me because I'm still not convinced that performance-enhancing substances  improve the stats of hitters who are already productive. I was watching the Cubs and Braves one weekend, and I noticed how one Braves outfielder has changed over the years. He's still as tall as he was when he started and as joyful in his expressions. But he looks a little older and a little thicker with age. I remember an Orioles' outfielder in the '90s was known for his meticulous workouts and he was in perfect shape. But he wasn't a big star—he was just in killer shape.

When Babe Ruth moved into Yankee Stadium  in 1923—"The House That Ruth Built"—he continued his home run legend. The right field fence was 295 feet away; The Babe, however, had begun hitting homers by the dozen before Yankee Stadium. Hammerin' Hank Aaron  himself enjoyed an Atlanta ballpark known as "the launching pad" for its homer-friendly dimensions. In 2000, Bonds moved into PacBell Park (now SBC) after years in other, less friendly ballparks, but his numbers show he was a game-changer even in the cavernous parks.

Willie Mays , on the other hand, hit 660 career homers in a career that was spent in Candlestick Park  in San Francisco: windy, cold, deep and stingy. Put his right-handed bat in Fenway Park  and what do you have? We can only guess.

I watched Bonds play since he came to S.F. in 1993. Every game, seems like, he drives in the clutch run, scares the other pitcher and manager to death, makes the good play in left. After the controversial years began, that did not change. I notice his stats are pretty consistent  except for a couple of incredible home run years. He's the best hitter ever, from this fan's standpoint—he comes up and everything changes. Everything.

So I myself can only accept the moral dimension with substance abuse—drugs are addictive and bad for you. But I am not yet convinced that they enhance hitting. Before or after the controversy, Bonds has always been pretty good at that. Like, "best ever!" good.

Posted by Charles at 09:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Found in Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, Baseball, Hank Aaron, Misc, Perspective, Substance abuse, Willie Mays

Wells Fargo's Public Relations Department circulated these memos regularly in the late 1940s. There are hundreds of them in the archives. The purpose was to encourage employees to practice self-confidence and keep cool under pressure. The ultimate benefits were better relations among co-workers and better customer service.

What's interesting to me, besides the stunning letterhead, is the ordinary use of psychology at this time. So many of these circulars discuss the mental roots of everyday problems and the psychological methods individuals can employ to neutralize bad tendencies and heighten the positive. Remember, this comes from Public Relations, which exists to construct a message that reassures the public. If there's psychology involved, you can bet it's pretty standard.

In the early 20th century, Freudian psychology  was transforming away from taboo and scandal to a normal topic of conversation. But it was pretty subjective; the analysis of dreams and pondering the depths of the mind seemed impractical to many. Behaviorism emerged to explain that human action was based on conditioning. Learned behavior had more practical use than experimental stuff of dreams and repression.

Behaviorism  was especially popular with business studies. Certain stimuli evoke certain responses. B.F. Skinner  and Ivan Pavlov  were the stars, demonstrating that animals (including human beings) could be "trained" to behave in certain ways.

The psychology of these memos is especially grounded in action. If people regiment themselves to be cool as a cucumber, tough situations will lessen. If a person strives to finish each task, without going in several directions, they will become more important as well as more productive, etc. Each of us can change our circumstances as well as any laboratory.

Before the Roaring '20s , psychology was the domain of wickedness and crackpots. After World War I, it came into the open. By the late '40s, it was the subject of office circulars helping ordinary people do better work. Over the next generation, psychology would recast the mold on child rearing  and women's place in society . A complete evolution of the human potential.

All in one little memo.

Posted by Charles at 09:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Animals, Artifacts, B.F. Skinner, Dogs, Experts, Freud, Pavlov, Psychology, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

You know all about Halley's Comet , right? Comes around every 76 years, makes a big splash , and becomes legend again till it returns. Sort of like Wells Fargo—without the going away part, I mean. Wells Fargo flies around cyber space, meets up with rockets, and makes a big splash. Wells and Fargo themselves were innovative businessmen who seized opportunities to bring services to customers (the stagecoach) and provide the means necessary to satisfy customer demands (fast transfer of money by telegraph).

There's an old tale out there that Wells Fargo changed its name after a printing error. But like the belt buckle problem and the shotgun fiasco, it's only a tale. Bob Chandler uncovered the real truth back in 1980 for an article in the Wells Fargo Banker, the company's internal magazine at that time. Pity—the myth is better than the facts. Isn't that always the case? (We regularly scold Bob for replacing exciting myth with boring facts.)

When Henry Wells and William Fargo opened for business in San Francisco in 1852, the name was easy—Wells, Fargo & Co. Makes sense, right? Seventeen years later, Wells Fargo consolidated all the major stagecoach lines in the West and made the name grander—Wells, Fargo and Company. An ampersand came later, but the comma remained: Wells, Fargo & Company.

Until 1905, Wells Fargo was both bank and express company. That year, the two became separate entities for a constellation of complicated reasons. Let's just say it was easier for the top guys to run things better, because that's what the company has always tried to do. Anyway, the bank part of Wells Fargo changed its name in 1875 to Wells Fargo Bank and merged the two founders' identities. It was Branding History—with the swipe of an eraser, the company fused two last names into one, single entity. The bank had a singular presence in the mind. The express part of the company followed suit in 1889, and the name was as it is today.

(I have a hunch that it made it easier to write the name because everyone probably forgot the comma anyway. But that's just me ...)

The myth  is that a huge stationery order arrived that accidentally left out the comma. Wells Fargo had to choose between sending back the whole thing or going forward. They chose the latter and somehow decided that the comma-less name was better. Or everyone got used to it. Or they got the huge order for free (my vote!).

The trouble is, it just isn't so. The branding was Wells Fargo's conscious choice to tighten the name and its effect. While history is most fun with triumph being traced to clumsy mistakes, it's just the opposite here. Wells Fargo got better through naming innovations, as well as through technical or service innovation.

Posted by Charles at 01:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Found in Artifacts, Branding, Halley's Comet, Museums, Remember, San Francisco, Wells Fargo Bank