So Guided By History marks its second anniversary today. That's right, two years of bringing History to The People!

Frankly, I deserve all the credit, but I want to share it because that's just the kind of guy I am — a sharer.  I choose to share credit with:

• Valerie, our best buddy in Minneapolis.

• Joel and Ed, who do more things for the production of this blog than they're actually allowed to do.

• Henrik, who pushes 3 accurate buttons for every 12 wrong ones I push. (And who really oughta consider a safer sport...)

• Tim, who thought it was a pretty good idea and probably wonders if he made the right decision.

• All my colleagues in the History world of Wells Fargo who write so well.

And of course I share credit with all of you who drop by every day and check in with us. No YOU, no Guided By History. Period.

Thanks, Everyone!!

Posted by Charles at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Found in Experts, Get Involved, Holidays, Misc, Participate, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

It's February (already?!) and that means Black History Month . Black History Month acknowledges the contributions to American life made by African Americans: yesterday, today and in days to come. Wells Fargo History.com has a series of short videos that give a brief overview of Wells Fargo's heritage and the part diversity plays  in that heritage.

Throughout Black History Month , Guided By History will feature stories of African American contributions to this heritage, in the past and today.

Posted by Charles at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in African American History, At Work, Holidays, Misc, Participate, Perspective, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  was born on January 15, 1929. A national holiday   to honor his memory and accomplishments happens every year near this date. It's this weekend.

I'm an admirer of Dr. King . I remember hearing him on the evening news and the palpable change in consciousness he brought about. Before King, you see, Civil Rights for African Americans  were hard to get, and small gains were so often reversed. Americans were either oblivious or opposed to justice for Blacks. After King began  his work, though, people were suddenly aware of African Americans' struggles, and many who were oblivious became sympathetic.

I remember his murder in 1968, too. School was cancelled, and our neighborhood was absolutely silent. Most people were watching TV, but even birds and dogs were quiet that day. I was a little kid, but I felt the enormity of it. More than war, or Nixon, music, or any other factors that shaped that era, those last couple years of Dr. King's life affected me and the person I have become.

It's those words. And that voice.

King was a magical speaker . Certain arias in opera bring tears to my eyes — some sort of reaction to the emotion in music, I guess. (No wisecracks!) It doesn't happen with any other music. Whenever I listen to Dr. King's speeches, the same darn thing happens — I get all misty and sniffly. I can't watch documentaries on Dr. King or the Movement without becoming a wreck I credit the power of conviction in King's words, as well as the royalty of his voice. He's truly larger than life.

So I was picking through some old LPs in a 2nd hand store last year, and came upon this record. It is the speech Dr. King gave in Detroit in June, 1963 , as he moved toward the historic rally at the Lincoln Memorial   that summer. The speech  he delivered was the first time he used the "I Have a Dream" piece — perhaps the greatest speech of the century.

The record, by the way, was captured and distributed by Gordy Records, a division of Barry Gordy's Motown  label. Gordy Records was the label Motown developed for spoken word albums , a standard genre of the time. "The Great March To Freedom: Rev. Martin Luther King Speaks" was the inaugural disc from Gordy.

So there you have it — my personal MLK Day. It means a lot to me because he means a lot to me. Also, Guided By History will blog about Black History Month  most of February.

Let this be the first post that celebrates Black History! 

Posted by Charles at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Found in Artifacts, Assassinations, Events, First-hand Accounts, Holidays, Misc, Music, Opera, Perspective, Protests, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

Posted by Charles at 09:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Found in Artifacts, At Home, Branding, Holidays, Misc, New Year's Day, Perspective, Wells Fargo Bank

Posted by Charles at 09:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Artifacts, At Work, Events, Holidays, Misc, New Year's Day, Participate, Perspective, Remember, San Francisco, Wells Fargo Bank

Last weekend, Wells Fargo Historians "horsed around" in the San Francisco History Museum, decorating the premises for the Season. Holiday decorations included a stagecoach full of horses—especially Maggies. Maggie is the eighth limited edition Wells Fargo Plush Pony since 2003. Her real life counterpart represented Wells Fargo in San Francisco's Work Horse Parade in 1909. Now, there are Maggies all over, and inside, the stagecoach.

(And check out the "Make Maggie a Happy Pony!" game. There's also Maggie's pdf Activity book, in spanish as well as english.)

In the Days of Old and the Days of Gold, Wells Fargo moved by horsepower: Wells Fargo stagecoaches were pulled by four or six horses."Horses are the pride of Wells Fargo service," the company declared. "Our most faithful employee and friend"—nicely groomed, harnesses oiled, brass fittings polished, and hitched in matched pairs—was Wells Fargo's best advertisement.

Driving the authentic Concord coach in the Museum is Trixie, originally a paint  from Ardmore, Oklahoma , who prefers to get where she is going sooner rather than later. By her side is an equally large Trixie, riding shotgun. She arrived inWells Fargo's stable of Plush Ponies for the 2005 holiday season.

"Wheelers,"  the big muscular horses closest to the coach, are real Princes. The collectible Plush Pony named for Prince, also from Ardmore, appeared in 2006. Our wheelers are a pair of matched grays , 5 and a half feet long and 11 hands high  in horse talk.

This year, the two Princes got hitched. The blushing brides are two agile Maggies, 5 feet long and 10 and a half hands high. Being smart, they are the pair of leader horses. And yes, the hitching is proper. Just like on Wells Fargo's Overland Stagecoaches of the 1860s, the ribbons go where they should, allowing Trixie to turn Prince and Maggie to the left or right as needed.

(If you're wondering if you can purchase these and how much they cost, the answer is—sorry, you can't. They are not available for sale.)

If you are in downtown San Francisco, come by to see an authentic 4-horse hitch. Say "Hi" to Trixie, Prince, and Maggie—and as a memento, take home a little Maggie from the Museum Store!

Posted by Bob at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Found in Animals, At Work, Christmas, Holidays, Misc, Museums, Pony Express, San Francisco, Stagecoach, Wells Fargo Bank

Check out this blurb from the January, 1915 Wells Fargo Messenger. Priceless.

I wish one and all the best of Days, ever!

Posted by Charles at 03:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Found in Agriculture, Animals, First-hand Accounts, Get Involved, Holidays, Misc, Participate, Prepare, Remember, Thanksgiving, Wells Fargo Bank

Hispanic Heritage Month begins mañana. Keeping in the spirit of this important commemoration, I present another story from our illustrious Archives.

Esteban Ochoa was a native of Sonora, Mexico , who immigrated to Arizona Territory  in the 1850s. A pioneer businessman in Tucson , Ochoa ran a mercantile and freighting firm that delivered goods to settlements in the southwest. In those years, much of the region was still quite remote: Ochoa's services brought news and goods from the outside to isolated pioneers.

Esteban Ochoa became Wells Fargo's Agent in Pantano in 1880.

Ochoa had been elected Tucson’s third mayor five years earlier. He eventually served three distinguished terms in the Territorial government of Arizona. As an early advocate for public education in the territory, he crowned his political career by introducing legislation that established Arizona’s first public school system.

Posted by Charles at 03:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Found in Holidays, Latin America, Misc, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

September brings the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month , and I'll probably write several posts about it. My reasons are simple: there's lots to write about, and it's a topic I like. So there.

Latinos have been in America since it became America . Each region and nation has developed its own distinctiveness, which continues today as people move about, settle and live in different — sometimes multiple — areas.

In the late 18th century, Mexicans were expanding northwest into California to try and exploit the Pacific Coast. A couple generations later, Mexico got its independence from Spain — the US came soon after, in 1846. In the interim, Mexican people in California developed a short-lived, but romantic society: Californios. After annexation by the US, Californios' prominence quickly waned as their vast ranchos were broken up. Most died in sad circumstances, but one Californio was able to train his position and status.

General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo  rose through army ranks to become commander of the Northern Frontier. Vallejo deftly handled relations with the Russian outpost at Fort Ross , and kept an uneasy balance with John Sutter  to the east. He personally financed northern forces when the Mexican and Californian governments were unwilling to do so.

Vallejo determined that annexation by the US was the best way to resolve all the problems he had to control . But in an unfortunate paradox, Vallejo's holdings in Northern California were lost to title challenges soon after he participated in the constitutional convention as California neared statehood. This was a fate shared by many of the Rancheros from Californio days.

Vallejo's son, Platón Vallejo, was educated in the East and became California's first native-born medical doctor. In 1872, Gen. Vallejo was in San Francisco on business. He wrote to Platón and asked him to send along money by Wells Fargo Express because "aquí cuesta mucho vivir" ("it is expensive to live here"). A year later, Dr. Platón Vallejo transferred funds again, this time from Vallejo, California — the city named for his illustrious family — to the General at his home in Sonoma.

Posted by Charles at 03:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Found in Artifacts, First-hand Accounts, Gold, Holidays, Independence Day, Latin America, Misc, Perspective, Remember, San Francisco, Wells Fargo Bank

Once upon the '90s, SPY magazine  had a section called "Logrolling in Our Time"  that described how authors would hail each other's works in turn. The upshot was a certain lack of objectivity. Well, Logrolling is an art, I guess, and I have a regular Stradivarius  in this blog.

First off, there's a new feature in here, "Ask the Expert." Have a question and want a personalized, somewhat smart-alecky answer? Welcome aboard, matey—hit the button, and your response is only hours away (maybe months—it's up to me.) But The Expert is IN.

Seriously, though, we get questions in the comments box, and we want to answer reasonable questions with reasonable answers. (And the opposite, too.) So ask us those tough questions you expect on exam day. We're here to help.

Now to Logrolling. The bloggers at our companion site, The Student LoanDown, are about to celebrate their one-year anniversary in the 'sphere, and it's my duty to not only wish them a Happy Birthday, but to send you, dear reader, to The LoanDown. You see, the blogosphere was developed in anticipation of The LoanDown—it combines all the best of knowledge, service, help, wit and flat-out graphical beauty.

It's the promise of the Internet, fulfilled.

And I'm not just saying that. Earlier this week we all met and discussed stuff that affects us as bloggers—and, yes, as artists—and it was all those bloggers at LoanDown who are driving the Wells Fargo presence on the blogosphere. What you see here was built there.

Happy Birthday, LoanDown! Keep it going! But slow down a little, will ya? It's hard for an old fogey like me to keep up.

Posted by Charles at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Found in At Work, Branding, Experts, Holidays, Misc, Perspective, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

On Christmas Eve, 1884, Wells Fargo express agent Richmond Smith stood impatiently on the station platform in Reno. The train carrying the daily express shipment was late coming over the snowy Sierras. When the train arrived later that evening, one of the express packages had holiday trimmings and a bright express label which read "Please do not open until Christmas."

From the doorway, her mother’s voice asked, "Is it Santa Claus, darling?" "No, mother," the little girl replied, "it’s Wells Fargo!"

Don't even tell me that story doesn't make you weep uncontrollably—I know you're fibbing.

In the 1910s, Wells Fargo advert ised its express services as vital to the winter holiday season. Christmas wasn't always as big a holiday as it became in the 19th century.  In the 20th century, the icon of Santa Claus  was firmly established in Western imagination and the standards of gift-giving and a season of celebration  were embedded.

The real story behind Flossy the Doll is just as good as legend, though. Wells Fargo & Co’s Express delivered the  German bisque doll to four-year-old Ivan E. Sessions in 1884. She named the doll "Flossy" and spent many hours sewing clothes for her. Flossie was deluxe—she even had her own doll. In 1891, Ivan and Flossy won ?rst prize for best dressed doll at the Nevada State Fair. A century later, Ivan’s daughter donated Flossy to the Wells Fargo History Museum in San Francisco. Flossy lives in the Archives to this day, and emerges every holiday season as a display in the Museum.

Children of all ages still love Flossy. But there are fewer things more precious than one child's love for their doll. Which might be as close to "the true meaning of Christmas" as anything else.

Posted by Charles at 03:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in Artifacts, Christmas, Holidays, Misc, Museums, Perspective, Photographs, Remember, San Francisco

Sparkletack  features an amazing video. It is the film taken by a tourist in 1941, visiting San Francisco with a movie camera. Sparkletack got the video, as he writes, from the Prelinger Archives . (It continues here.) 

If you're into things San Francisco, as many people are (especially San Franciscans, let me tell ya), you'll appreciate the footage for obvious reasons. John Summers, the filmer (is that a word?), enjoyed a day of brilliant sunshine and fairy-tale blue skies. He rode around on cable cars  and trolleys  (BIG difference) and got remarkable shots of a city before the huge transition resulting from World War II.

Summers was especially intrigued with Chinatown , holding his camera on people a little too long, to their minor annoyance. People see a camera and turn away quick (like me, prince of Unphotogenica). Makes sense in 1941—people were still pretty local in those days, and many had probably only heard of ethnic Americans. It had to be exotic.

For me, the best part of the Chinatown footage is that history of cuisine. What we now know as "Chinese food" used to be known by many as "Chop Suey."  Also, there's a near-collision on Grant and Clay streets about 12:25 into the film. Excitement, thy name is History.

Finally, check out Wells Fargo's world headquarters at Montgomery and Market streets at 6:09. It's this building—in living color!

Posted by Charles at 03:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Artifacts, Films, First-hand Accounts, Holidays, Misc, Movies, Photographs, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

Today—July 13, 2007—marks 155 years to the date that Wells, Fargo, and Co. opened for business on Montgomery Street in San Francisco. The Corporate Archives is lucky enough to have a picture that documents the event. Ten gentlemen posed in front of a two-story building.

Many are surprised to learn Henry Wells and William G. Fargo are not in the first office picture; they remained back in New York and only received updates via letters and rare visits. We know the names of two gentlemen who worked in that office on opening day, Reuben W. Washburn and Samuel W. Carter. The rest are critical contributors to the story of July 13, but unknown to later generations.

Check out the "Wells Fargo Through the Decades" slide show, and watch for three of my favorite images:

• Five women agents smiling in front of a San Diego office in 1917
• Members of the Wells Fargo Nevada National Bank Club, enjoying a day at Spring Valley Lakes in June of 1921
• The Wells Belles of 1973; ready to defend the name of Wells Fargo through baseball.

They are all part of the fabric of the larger Wells Fargo story and, if not for a remaining image in our archives, nearly lost to posterity.

That brings me to today. We are having festivities in many Wells Fargo locations, including the San Francisco History Museum. Most of the everyday activities of life will not make it into the history books. But, just like those unknown faces in the first office picture, what you do today is making history.

Posted by Anne at 12:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Found in Artifacts, At Work, Baseball, Events, Films, Holidays, Movies, Museums, Participate, Photographs, Remember, San Francisco, Wells Fargo Bank

Posted by Charles at 03:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Found in Fourth of July, Holidays, Independence Day, Participate, Photographs, 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