In my Monday post about Kate Buick, I related a story from her niece, Veva Buick Poorman regarding Kate's use of Morse code.

Here's another one about Kate from Ms. Poorman that describes how her aunt safeguarded Wells Fargo gold.

In Roseburg, Oregon , gold sometimes arrived on the evening train after the local bank was closed. Armed with a small pistol in her handbag, Kate Buick carried Wells Fargo gold home in a satchel. If it was too heavy for the satchel, Kate lugged the gold in Veva's lunchbox. The next morning, Buick would deposit the gold in the bank.

In December 1912, George Sewell replaced Kate Buick as Agent. Roseburg's newspaper, the Daily Review, declared:

In relieving Miss Buick as its local agent, the company was merely following out its newly adopted policy of placing all of its branch agencies in the hands of men. Many of its offices besides the one in this city are affected. Miss Buick, on account of her long experience and thorough efficiency, will be retained by the company as an assistant to Mr. Sewell.

Kate Buick had the last word when she married George Sewell seven months later.

In 1918, the federal government consolidated all express businesses, including Wells Fargo's, under a government-run corporation called American Railway Express . Mrs. Sewell continued work as an agent for Railway Express until 1939, and sporadically thereafter into the 1950s.

Today, nearly two-thirds of Wells Fargo employees are women.

As a tribute to women in the workforce, the Wells Fargo History Museum is collaborating with the Portland Police Museum  and Portland State University's Friends of History  to showcase a free presentation entitled Lola Baldwin, America's First Policewoman.

Posted by Steve at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in At Work, Experts, First-hand Accounts, Gold, Misc, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank, Women's History

The story of Colonel George S.Roberts is one of our faves here at Wells Fargo History. There's a great addition to the story his wife told at a recent event honoring the Tuskegee Airmen.

When Col. Roberts retired from duty with the U.S. Army, he was job hunting and dropped into a Wells Fargo office to discuss opportunities. Roberts got to talking with the Branch Manager who, like Roberts, had served in the Second World War.

When the Manager learned Roberts was part of the famed flying squadron that had protected so many lives, he hired him on the spot. The Branch Manager understood that anyone who had accomplished what Roberts had was capable of handling the pressures of banking. Without a doubt.

Check out the short video piece below. It's from our production, a few years back, on Wells Fargo's 150-year (plus) history.

Share your story with us!

Posted by Charles at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in African American History, At Work, First-hand Accounts, Misc, Remember, Sacramento, Wells Fargo Bank

Robberies of treasure carried by Wells Fargo Express aboard stagecoaches, unfortunately did take place. But Wells Fargo's crack detective force pursued the bandits with cold calculation and didn't stop pursuing till they netted the bad guys and locked them away. The legend "Wells Fargo Never Forgets" is the single best artifact from those years.

The town of Umatilla, Oregon  is nestled on the Columbia River  about three hours east of Portland. On October 21st, 1875, six miles outside of Umatilla, two men robbed the stagecoach from Boise City  and made off with gold from the Idaho mines .

Wells Fargo's detective force immediately sprang into action. Portland's Special Agent H. C. Paige sent a telegram to John J. Valentine, General Superintendent of Wells Fargo, to inform him that the extent of loss was unknown — but agents were in pursuit of the robbers. On October 29th, Paige wrote a letter to Valentine from Baker City , reporting a loss of up to $4,000, based upon the value of the gold listed on the manifest. Once the loss was known, Paige distributed a reward poster .

At first, Paige went after a red-headed fellow he had been suspicious of, based on a comb with red hairs found at the crime scene. A nearby hotel keeper confirmed the comb belonged to the suspect. On November 5th, Paige wrote Valentine from Pendleton . Two other suspects had confessed to the robbery and were in custody.

Paige had solved the case.

There is more about Wells Fargo's detective force at the Portland Museum. Our new exhibit, "Crime Scene Investigation: Officers in Pursuit," officially opened on January 16th. Check it out!

Posted by Steve at 09:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Found in Artifacts, At Work, Crime, Experts, First-hand Accounts, Misc, Museums, Perspective, Remember, Stagecoach, 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

One of my closest friends lives in Rancho Bernardo . Four houses down from his place is a home nearing completion. The original house burned down in the Witch Creek fire  less than three months ago. The new one is bigger and better, like the linebacker whose construction company  built it.

Shawne Merriman  is known for — and maybe infamous for! — his "Lights Out" victory dance , which he executes after many of his behind-the-line-of-scrimmage sacks. Some sports fans out there may remember when New England Patriots players mimicked the dance on the Chargers home field after knocking Marty Schottenheimer's  14-2 San Diego team out of last year's playoffs.

Say what you will about Merriman, but even though he was unable to complete the house by his self-imposed deadline of December 25th, 2007, he has built a nice house for this family in lightning-quick time. It may not make it to "Extreme Home Makeover"  level, but it's not a bad effort.

There's a lesson behind Mr. Merriman's efforts. The "What's in it for him?" question can be asked, sans  the arch cynicism of our particular public moment. What's in it for him is the same thing that's in it for any company, who — when faced with disaster — decides that there is an opportunity to do the right thing. In Rancho Bernardo, a lot of folks will remember Mr. Merriman  more for this trick than his sack dance.

Communities are built one decent act at time. I like to think this is what Wells Fargo stands for as a company. Every time I go see a game and I see that logo, I am reminded that I am part of the Wells Fargo community.

Posted by Allan at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Christmas, Fires, First-hand Accounts, Misc, San Diego, Wells Fargo Bank

The Wells Fargo News was the internal Company newspaper in 1984. In the February 20 edition of the News, there was a story about Wells Fargo's newly-implemented smoking policy. Before I go into that, let me tell you that the current policy is no smoking at all in any facility, Company-wide. This policy is consistent with applicable laws.

In 1984, the tide was turning  against smoking. Non-smoking was becoming a stance—people who did not smoke were less willing to defer to people who did. By 1984, non-smokers were getting more confident in objecting to smoking. The year before, a smoker with terminal cancer had sued tobacco companies , a topic of heated conversation. Later, Congress banned smoking on all airline flights of two hours or less in 1987. The following year, Surgeon General C. Everett Koop  issued a report that likened addiction to nicotine to that of heroin. Smoking was transforming in the 80s, from an ordinary behavior to an aberation.

People wrestled with the issue in restaurants, public services and the workplace. The strength of the non-smoking position was hard to resist. For one, smoking is bad for everyone's health . For another, there is a moral issue  (pdf) about who should have more freedom—people who pollute or the people who suffer it. Naturally, the answer was to balance it as much as possible. Non-smoking sections were established, laws governing public spaces were passed, and committees were formed to figure out how to be fair at work.

Wells Fargo's policy in 1984 reflected the shift away from accommodating smokers  to accommodating non-smokers. The policy set up boundaries and designated areas. The policy stated the committment to"minimizing the harmful effects and discomfort smoking produces in confined office workspaces." While the new policy was determined to accommodate, "insofar as possible," both smokers and non-smokers, the chief article in the new policy was clearly directed away from smoking as the status quo, and toward non-smoking as normal behavior: "if a satisfactory accommodation cannot be reached," the new policy declared, the default position was "to prohibit smoking in the affected workplace."

Within fifteen years , most localities had developed non-smoking policies that made workplaces smoke free.

(Thanks to Norman for the title. Such good fun!)

Posted by Charles at 03:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Artifacts, Environment, First-hand Accounts, Misc, Perspective, Remember, Substance abuse, Wells Fargo Bank

Wells Fargo's Minneapolis History Museum has a program this month commemorating the 1982 Thanksgiving Day Fire. The Fire and people's memories are also featured on Wells Fargo's History site.

That blaze in downtown Minneapolis destroyed the Northwestern National bank headquarters, the company that rebuilt itself as Norwest and later merged with Wells Fargo.

The fire took everyone by surprise and the event was seared in the community's memory.

This year marked the 25th anniversary of the Fire. Minneapolis Curator Megan Schaack blogged about the fire, developed exhibits and hosted events that culled memories of the disaster, good and bad.

WellsFargoHistory.com has video memories from employees, including today's CEO John Stumpf, who began work immediately to get business back on track. The fire occured on Thanksgiving Thursday and burned through the weekend, but the Company opened first thing the following Monday morning. Rock stars!

The fire is a big deal in the Twin Cities. The Museum's events got a lot of attention from the media, in print from the Downtown Journal  and on TV at KARE  (Channel 11) and Fox 9 

(Check out how Channel 5   uses WellsFargoHistory.com as their content — that darn media!)

Posted by Charles at 02:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in At Work, Events, Experts, Fires, First-hand Accounts, Minneapolis, Misc, Museums, Natural Disasters, Participate, Perspective, Prepare, Remember, Thanksgiving, 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

Wells Fargo is running a contest  through December 22 that celebrates the Wells Fargo Wagon. (NOT the Stagecoach, folks — that's different!) Just submit your own music video of the song, "The Wells Fargo Wagon" from The Music Man  and you can win fabulous prizes! ("Johnny, tell 'em what they've won!") To help our Guided By History community understand the background of this contest from a historical perspective — and to encourage the submission of excellent videos! — Portland Curator Steve Greenwood concludes his history of the Wells Fargo Wagon. (CR)

THE HORSES

The horses that pulled the Wells Fargo wagon were cared for in stables like the one illustrated in these original floor plans and elevation drawings. Recently purchased by Wells Fargo at an auction, these drawings by architect Jas. H. Humphreys show the Company's stable and garage plans in Portland, Oregon (c. 1917-1926).

In Portland, "Fargo" was the favored horse who normally pulled the money wagon driven by messenger Edward F. Bontty. The money wagon carried cash transactions to businesses around town. If robbers tried to make off with the money wagon, they would be easily overtaken — loyal "Fargo" did not move for outlaws. Other stories about horses abound in Wells Fargo's Archives and historical collection:

The Educated Horse

"'Mutt,' the educated horse employed in our Englewood, Illinois service has been so well trained by Driver A.B. Corrigan that the animal knows every pickup on his route. In fact, between the hours of 5 and 6 in the afternoon 'Mutt' picks up about thirty houses, and seems to realize just when he can take things easy and when he has to get busy on his job."

Green Onions Galore

And then there is the story of "Paddy Fargo," who was arrested for eating green onions off a vegetable peddler's cart. The September, 1912 Wells Fargo Messenger recounted the details:

"Paddy's arrest for following a peddler's cart and eating therefrom his fill of green onion shoots until the vendor caused his arrest, declaring his day's profits were gone...

"It seems that like other 'good fellows,' Paddy has been led astray by his many friends. Policemen have enticed him with sugar. Saloonkeepers have lured him with pails of beer. He became accustomed to following temptation in spite of weights and brakes. Now comes his theft of onion shoots and his arrest."

"Incidentally, it is said Paddy's stall mate resented his plebian tastes and odorous breath when he returned to the stable."

Posted by Steve at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Found in Animals, At Work, Branding, First-hand Accounts, Misc, Museums, Perspective, The Music Man, Transportation, Wells Fargo Bank, Wells Fargo Wagon

Almost four years to the week from the Cedar Fires , San Diego is again the center of a firestorm. For me personally, this one was both nearer and farther away.

Good friends have been staying with us all week, unable to move back into their heavily damaged Rancho Bernardo  neighborhood. Their house has survived but all around them destruction has visited and left its cruel calling cards. If we've learned anything about the rebuilding process from the previous conflagration, it's that it will be years before those destroyed homes will be replaced. And much of what they lost is irreplaceable, no matter how many kings’ horses and men  are called on to help them.

The response of the firefighters , police, and public officials has been much improved. Communication between different agencies and cities was clearly better. A reverse 911 system  warned many residents that flames were headed their way, but by no means were the warnings given to everyone who needed to hear them. My friends were warned with that most intimate and American of all emergency notifications: a neighbor knocking on the door at 4 in the morning. They received no call, but managed to evacuate in a hail of embers.

The incessant finger pointing of four years ago has been largely replaced by pats on the back and kudos, and much is well-deserved. The local news agencies'  shotgun approach to covering the fires and evacuations was mostly effective in getting important information to the residents of the afflicted communities, but you could miss a lot if you weren’t both internet and media savvy . Some of the best information came from residents being interviewed about what they knew. As such, it seems to me that Journalism should no longer be an elective course in our school systems. If you don’t know how to evaluate the utility of different information streams, you will likely pay a high price in ignorance and frustration — or perhaps worse.

Blogs may be good for getting some facts out, but the lessons from this fire will require a more substantial hearing. Perhaps my handlers will allow me to revisit this topic weeks from now, after the smoke clears and some clarity returns to the skies surrounding San Diego.

Posted by Allan at 09:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in At Home, At Work, Events, Fires, First-hand Accounts, Misc, Museums, Natural Disasters, Perspective, Prepare, San Diego, 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

Social history  is all about detailing the experiences of ordinary people. Bob Chandler shares some letters from from his personal collection, and some he found in the Archives, of Wells Fargo's working people. They describe their day at work, and it sounds an awful lot like yours.

An1890s railroader in upstate New York  wrote, "I am all alone. Have all the operating to do and all waybilling. It makes a fellow hustle to keep up and not get trains muddled up. This is double track."

In 1914 Detroit, a Wells Fargoan wrote that when one of his colleagues went on vacation, that man's work came to him, and "kept me pretty busy. The Boss did not handle much of the correspondence. He was in and out all the time, so that left it all to me, but I managed to keep it going, but it kept me going."

A classic account of working for Wells Fargo comes from Arcata, Calif., in 1909:

"This job of mine is a korker. I am here from 8 AM until 10 PM every night and sometimes later, but I have made good. Business is good and the Wells Fargo Auditors say that this office is in better shape than it was before, so the glory helps me some, but holy macarony, I am tired."

From a social history point of view, one gets a more accurate history from regular people, the opposite end of the scale from kings and generals. This is certainly true. But these letters prove another thing that is certainly true: The one constant that pervades social history is hard work and achin' feet.

Posted by Charles at 04:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in Artifacts, At Work, First-hand Accounts, Misc, Perspective, Railroads, San Francisco, Wells Fargo Bank

Long hours for Wells Fargoans are not new, nor are part-time jobs that suddenly develop into full-time. Letters from the Archives, and some in Bob Chandler's personal collection, present the hard-working life of people before our modern world. We all know too well how hard it gets at a relentless office. It's nice to know—or it's cold comfort—that the past was also not so halcyon .

From California's Central Valley in 1892, Bob reports, came this simple statement: "I have spent the week the same as usual, ‘Work and Sleep.'" An Oregonian in 1896 explained his situation: "The Agent is going to lay off for a month in August and I will be in his place. Will be quite a change from nights," he wrote, adding that he "Don't like to work nights very well."

Another letter in Bob's collection described one railroad and telegraph clerk, near Bakersfield, Calif., who prided himself on sending and receiving 40 words a minute. He had left home two years earlier rather than work for "starvation wages" for a local company. As the clerk took over for three months while the agent vacationed, and he saw his big break, he reported: "I am getting $85 here, but expect to get more next place as I will have a station with W.F. & Co. Ex, which pays 15 per cent."

Hustling was the name of the game, then and now. In many cases, one person represented Wells Fargo, the railroad, and telegraph company all at once, and took care of customers in a variety of ways. Bob has a letter from one Wells Fargoan, who wrote to his sweetheart from Kansas one Sunday night:

"It is the first time I haven't been busy since last Sunday night. I sure have the work to do here. Every night I am so busy I don't have time to write letters or anything else, except on Sunday night. All the work I have to do that day is to do the wire work [telegraph] and sell tickets for one train."

He added: "This sure is a fine depot and nice to work in."

What an assessment of the workplace! There's a guy with a good attitude.

Posted by Charles at 03:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Artifacts, At Work, First-hand Accounts, Misc, Museums, Perspective, Remember, San Francisco, Wells Fargo Bank

In Wells Fargo's Archives, not every document is "Minutes of the Board of Directors" meeting from 1904. Exciting as that always is, there are many other documents—Gold Rush-era transactions, letters between local agents and the Head Office ... Many documents tell everyday stories of people working for the company.

William Muir in Chicago in the early 1890s gives a story of working for Wells Fargo. He told his family on Sept. 16, 1890:

"I am now with Wells, Fargo & Co. Express. It is a much better job than the last one. On each wagon, there are two men, a driver and conductor. I am driver. I have it pretty easy as I have nothing to do, only drive. The other man does the delivering. I don't need to take care of the team at all. All I do is unhitch them and chase them upstairs (the wagons remained on the ground floor—Bob) and the hostlers  take care of them after. I start at 7 A.M., quit at 6 P.M. out of which I get two hours for dinner."

Six months later, Muir had a different story to tell. Wells Fargo saw aptitude, and responsibility made Muir a better man. Said he on March 31, 1891:

"I have a much better job than driving. I am conductor on a money wagon, delivering money to the banks. It is a very responsible position to hold and also I have to be very careful to whom I give the money. For instance, yesterday I had about 100,000 dollars to deliver."

Muir gave Wells Fargo a good days' work. Wells Fargo gave Muir a greater opportunity as a result. And he delivered.

Posted by Bob at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Animals, Artifacts, At Work, First-hand Accounts, Misc, Perspective, Photographs, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

Chris Terzich, with our Incident Management Team in Minnesota, noted my post from last October, "How Do You Prepare For Crime?" In it, I wrote:

I could use a little help. My neighborhood is being infiltrated by criminals, and I honestly don't know how to "prepare" for crime ... I want to have the right pieces in place to prevent it from happening, or to lessen the impact on my property and my peace of mind ...

How do you prepare for crime? What does the Preparedness Kit consist of?

Chris dropped me a line with some advice that sounds like the surest bet—people getting together to protect the neighborhood. To have each other's back, so to speak.

"Hi Charles," Chris wrote:

"Locks, maybe alarms and a good habit of using them are important, but the most effective, if not most efficient, way to prevent crime is to know your neighbors. National Night Out  looks to accomplish that. It seems odd that a little grillin' and chattin'  will do anything meaningful to reduce crime, but it can. After eight years in our neighborhood, I know my neighbors and they know me. They may not be home all the time, but if I leave my garage door open, or someone comes to my house when I am out of town, I can expect a call.

"It takes time, and one National Night Out may not change a whole lot, but it is a good start."

Well, that sounds pretty good to me. Grillin' and chattin'  itself is motivation enough to get to know the neighbors, even the odd ones. If it adds to the "insurance" we all need against harsh reality, so much the better. An added note—the neighborhood organized a meeting with police shortly after the original post. The cops said pretty much what Chris said. Strong neighborhoods are the surest bet to discourage crime.

And start gettin' the word out! 

Posted by Charles at 09:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in At Home, At Work, Barbecue, Crime, First-hand Accounts, Get Involved, Misc, Neighborhood watch, Participate, Perspective, Prepare, Wells Fargo Bank

In the 19th century, we are apt to think travel difficult, yet across the country and back never deterred Wells Fargo from aiding a customer. It happened like this:

In February 1895, two Johnson boys borrowed $275 from Sarah W. Swanton, a hotel keeper in Pescadero, Calif.  When they could not pay, they fingered Uncle R. Augustus Johnson in New York City, and Mrs. Swanton asked Wells Fargo to collect.

Wells Fargo sent the note across country to New York, where its banker Hosmer B. Parsons added his endorsement. Meantime, Uncle Augie thought his brother, Lorenzo M. Johnson, had deeper pockets, leading Wells Fargo to hurry the note to Chicago. General Agent Bernette Wygant quickly sent it to Johnson in Winnetka , a wealthy suburb 20 miles from downtown. But Winnetka was an American Express town—rather than cash, it accepted Johnson’s check for $275.

Without a national check-clearing system  as we have today, Wells Fargo could neither cash the check nor dispatch the money. By then, Johnson had left for Piedras Negras, Mexico , across the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass, Texas , where he ran ranches, railroads, telegraphs and, especially, coal companies.

In this quandary, Wells Fargo's Chicago Agent Wygant quickly provided a solution. "In consideration for you," Wygant wrote Johnson on September 21, 1895, "we accepted the check and forwarded it to Eagle Pass for collection, and in turn forwarded the money from there to California without extra charge."

Wells Fargo's service, from California to New York to Chicago to Eagle Pass to California, made Mrs. Swanton a satisfied customer.

Posted by Bob at 09:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Found in First-hand Accounts, Misc, Remember, Transportation, Travel, Wells Fargo Bank

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

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

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)
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