It was a chance the teenage brothers couldn’t refuse. The task was to deliver two new trucks from the Ford assembly factory in Portland to Florence. Hans Petersen’s boys (Bert and Martin) gladly accepted.
The year was 1919, and a time when the Bergman Brothers operated a car dealership in Florence. Unlike the car showroom we see today, a dealer back then simply took orders and payments for new vehicles. Orders were then placed with the Ford assembly plant in Portland. Once assembled, delivery of the vehicle to Florence was either by railcar or pre-arranged for the vehicle to be driven from Portland.
TAKING DELIVERY
Bert and Martin Petersen arrived in Portland to take delivery of the two new vehicles and begin their trip home. Almost immediately they faced several dilemmas. First, each truck required a set of license plates, an expense the boys were not prepared for. Being resourceful, they purchased a single set, and placed one plate on the front of the first truck, and the other plate on the rear of the second truck. Their plan was to drive the second vehicle closely behind the first truck, all the way back to Florence. The boys were pleased with themselves to have figured out a reasonable solution for the lack of a second set of license plates.
Another dilemma however, required a bit more thought. Though driver’s licenses were not required in those days, Martin had never driven before. The trucks had no bed, windshield or seat – a board was simply laid across the gas tank to serve as the seat. It was decided that while Martin sat on the seat of the second truck, Bert would shout driving instructions to him from the forward truck. At about 20 miles per hour on primarily gravel roads, they drove as far as Salem and spent their first night there. Early the next morning, they drove to Junction City using the same driving method. The next day, they traversed dirt roads over Mapleton Hill (now North Fork road) and finally arrived in Florence. Their travels from Portland took them 2 ½ days. Overall, the experience was as much about the challenge as it was about an adventure for the boys from Florence.
In 1922, the boys’ father, Hans Petersen acquired the Bergman car dealership, and sold only Ford vehicles. Five years later, the dealership was sold to J.C. Ponsler who later relocated the business to HWY 101. In 1939 the Johnston family acquired ownership and in 1958 it became the Johnston Motor Company.
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- Story by Deb Lobey
- oralhistory@spmuseum.org
Sources:
- “Classified – Automobiles”. The West. April 2, 1920.
- “Johnston Motors 23rd Anniversary”. Siuslaw News. Feb. 1, 1962