Text by Patrick Bell.
There was a time when just about every town had its own baker, plumber, appliance dealer, TV repair shop, and fuel distributor, each with a fleet of vehicles proudly displaying the company’s name and colors. These rolling billboards belonged to local businesses that relied on hard work and word of mouth long before corporate branding dominated the landscape. Today’s gallery is a nostalgic look back at those commercial vehicles—and the familiar trades that once kept neighborhoods humming.
Our lead image was a 1965 or 1966 Ford Econoline Pickup that belonged to Pearson Ford, a long time dealer in San Diego, California. According to their signage, they had a strong parts department and this was likely one of their delivery trucks.
A 1949 Dodge Meadowbrook was in taxi duty, operated by the Red Top Cab Company, which apparently was under the umbrella of the Yellow Cab Company. The only items that might have been a clue to the location were the small sign in the back door vent window and the “222” plate on the lower fender, but neither is readable. The “Quiet Please” signs on the building may have indicated a hospital.
A happy customer was shown here with her purchases from the Alfar Creamery Company of West Palm Beach, Florida. The delivery van was a Divco Model U, a popular delivery vehicle that was produced with little change from 1939 to the company’s closing in 1986.
The name was an acronym of the original company name; Detroit Industrial Vehicle COmpany. The vans are difficult to date, but the people look like they were from the 1950’s.
Here was a pair of fellows going on a hunting trip. Behind them was a 1954 or first series 1955 GMC New Design 150 or 250 De Luxe pickup. It was part of the fleet of the Biles-Coleman Lumber Company of Omak, Washington. Biles-Coleman was in operation from 1921-1975 and was a relatively large employer in the Omak area, which is located in the north central part of the state.
We are back in Florida, this time at the Tampa International Airport viewing a pair of people hauling machines. On the left was a 1953 DeSoto Powermaster Six Eight-Passenger Sedan of the St. Petersburg Limousine Service, and on the right a six cylinder powered 1957 Chevrolet One-Fifty 4 door sedan owned by the Yellow Cab Company. And on the far left was the tail fin of another 1957 Chevrolet, a Two-Ten series.
Over in the Orlando area of Florida was Pop-Owen’s Merry-Go-Round, a traveling set up that would come to your party. The tow vehicle was a 1949-1953 Willys CJ-3A that was dressed up with chrome wheels and baby moon hub caps, and had a homemade roof.
In front of it was the tail end of a 1954 Buick, and through the Jeep was a white 1957 or 1958 Mercury wagon. I don’t imagine he got rich at 9 cents a ride, but I am sure he produced a lot of smiles.
The Yellow Cab Company of San Francisco is shown here with a 1955 Plymouth Plaza 4 door sedan. It was six cylinder powered and had bumper overrider bars on both ends, and the front license plate was mounted on the hood. Plus the cabbie was well dressed, which was typical for the era. Across the street was the front end of a 1954 Dodge.
An International R series fire truck from Okanogan County was responding to a call in this image. Interestingly, Okanogan County is in Washington State and is where the town of Omak is located, which was featured earlier with a red GMC pickup. The R series heavy duty line were produced from 1953-1972, which makes them hard to date. This one was likely from the earlier part of the run since a 1952 Buick was parked on the other side of it.
And it’s off to elementary school, at least for the kids that were boarding. A couple of moms were seeing them off as they climbed aboard a 1957 Chevrolet Task-Force School Bus, likely a 4000 series as it looked short. It was powered by a six cylinder and had New York license plates from 1958.
There is not a lot of information out there in the cyber world on these International tilt-cabs. Three models were available; the CO, which was powered by a 6 cylinder gas engine; the VCO, powered by a V8 gas, and the DCO, with a 6 cylinder diesel. And then numbers 190-220 referred to their GVW rating. Apparently they were built from the mid 1950’s through the late 1960’s. Any clarification on this is welcome.
The featured unit looked new, and was obviously a New Jersey truck. The license plate looks like the standardized size that debuted in 1956 and was used through 1958. The V8 models had a “V” emblem on the front, and I don’t see a diesel exhaust stack, so I will say it was a 1957 CO 200.
A Star Chief for the Fire Chief. That was a nice car for a government job. It was a 1960 Pontiac Star Chief Sedan for the Asheville, North Carolina fire chief. It was at least five years old at the time of the image, so he did get some use out of it. On the left side on the hill was a 1965 or 1966 Buick Electra 225 Sport Coupe, and on the street a 1964 Ford Custom 500 4 door sedan. Over to the right on the hill a 1963 or 1964 Mercury Breezeway Sedan, with a 1953 DeSoto Fire Dome V8 4door sedan on the street.
Here was a working man with a 1959 Ford F-100 or 250 Custom Cab Styleside long bed. It was out of Gresham, Oregon, and evidently was owned by a company that salvaged cracked cylinder heads. It had a nice two tone color combination, a whip antenna likely for a two way radio, and snow tires front and rear.
A Jeep Forward Control FC-150 was in service for the New Haven Railway and was about to mount the tracks for a ride. They were produced from 1956-1965, and were used mainly for special applications such as seen here. This one appeared to have a Massachusetts license plate. Parked to the left was a gray 1951 Chevrolet, black 1962 Ford Fairlane, beige 1964 Fairlane 500 wagon, aqua 1963 Ford Galaxie 500, and a white 1959 Chevrolet wagon.
This businessman had an interesting sign on his van; “A-1 All-Repair Service – Appliances & Nuisances”. And one of the items in the list of things he repairs was “Psychosis”. All that in the Newport and Costa Mesa, California region.
His work truck was a 1963 or 1964 Ford Econoline Van with some side panel damage ahead of the rear wheel.
It appeared like Illinois Bell was receiving three new 1970 Dodge A100 108 wheel base vans to be put in service. They looked new, and did not have any ladders on top. 1970 was the last year of the A100 series, and was recognizable by their side marker lamps, which were required that year and replaced the cheap, round reflectors used the previous two years. In 1971 the all new Tradesman van was introduced.
Thanks for joining us and have a great day!
The two cars proceeding down hill behind the Fire Chief’s Star Chief appear to be kicking up a fair amount of water, presumably from fire related activity out of frame.
I’m wondering if Pop Owens merry-go-round was run off the Jeep’s power takeoff and how loopy the kids got from breathing in his exhaust.
That International Tilt Cab looks very modern for mid 1950s. Colours on the Econoline up top win it for me
That cab has an interesting history too, which CC contributor Bob Bray has promised to write up in detail. It was built in both fiberglass and steel versions by Diamond-Reo as well as IH.
Yes, the cab was originally designed by Diamond-T and was also used by International on their CO series. IH introduced the CO in 1954 and some versions remained in production until 1974. I am indeed working on an in-depth look at this cab and the trucks that used it. Stay tuned!
Very much looking forward to that Robert
Nice pictures, I especially like the 1955 Dodge Taxi .
I too wondered if that mini carousel was P.T.O. powered .
-Nate
As usual, you give us a wonderful tour with detail that is because of your good eye for surroundings. I would not mind having the De Soto limousine although it would be better with the V8. This thing was a slug.
I’m thinking the carousel may be powered by the axle it is riding on. So once the kiddies were loaded up the Jeep drove around the parking lot, presumably very slowly.
The black, limo in “Tampa” does not look, feel welcoming.
I spent some time in Israel in 1967-69 —
Shared taxis, “sherutim,” were the norm — both within, and between cities.
Typical vehicles were ’53 DeSoto Limousines, re-fitted with 3-on-the tree, belching smokey clouds of diesel exhaust. Loved ’em !
The Bell System vans brought up a memory that our Northwestern Bell vans looked the same in eastern Nebraska. A quick Google search says that Saul Bass was a designer hired to design a paint scheme to be used nationwide to “revive the image of the company”.
Not sure it does quite that much for me!
When I grew up, we lived down the street from a Bell warehouse, where all of the area’s vans parked, so these definitely bring back memories for me as well. I think Bass designed the Bell logo as well as the stripe colors too – it’s pretty modern looking, though the gray-green lower van color looks mighty drab. If you can imagine a van with the Bell logo and the two stripes today, but on an all-white van, it would blend right in with other commercial fleets.
I know of a 1946 service vehicle that is still in service, in the same field since 1946, with the second owner. Complete with vintage tools and I have seen him on the road and at Cars and Coffee.
My uncle and his two brothers came to Houston in the early 1960’s and started a drywall (one trade name is Sheetrock) installation business. They installed on everything from tract houses to high-rise buildings in the burgeoning city. Big structures usually employed many subcontractors performing the same trade to keep schedules on track. These three did not “rock” the entire 45-story Humble Building by themselves. 🙂
Anyway, I distinctly remember my uncle driving up one day in his new 1965 Chevrolet C10 Fleetside (seafoam green with a white roof) that had just come from having the company name and phone number hand painted on both doors It was artwork! The white lettering with a thin red, then slightly wider black shadowing under each character really popped. I think my uncle was as proud of the signage as he was of his new pickup truck.
1965 must have been a good year for the business as my aunt also purchased a new white Impala sport coupe (2-door hardtop). Being so young I don’t believe I ever knew what engine the Impala had but I feel certain it was some small block V8 as the car also had automatic, power steering, and air conditioning. The C10 did not have air conditioning; it was a work truck after all.
In the 60s a neighbor worked at a local TV repair shop and the shop used a fleet of Econoline pickups. I’m not certain of the model year but the paint was a lighter shade of blue.
A-1 All Repair Service advertises its proficiency in repairing “shocks, leaks, squeaks, psychosis, outlets, toilets, windows…”
Lots of credit is due to A-1 All-Repair Service for casually slipping “Psychosis” between Squeaks and Outlets on the side of their van. Definitely made me laugh.
The Dodge Red Top Cab is probably from Seattle – I believe the “222” plate on the lower fender says “Seattle Vehicle License” and this was the City’s cab license in the 1940s and ’50s.
My dad drove a Bell of PA van in the 70’s. It looked just like the Illinois ones shown in the post, thanks for the nice memory.
I was hoping to see a Charles Chips van. We had these in upstate NY in the 60s. As an 8 year old, I didn’t quite understand the business model. The Door Dash model we have today still doesn’t make sense to me.