D. E. Stetler, J. Horace Rudy & the Dodge Brothers Emblem
The 100th Anniversary Lincoln Highway Auto Tour began at 7:00 AM in Times Square, New York City on Saturday June 22, 2013. The first night stopover was near Malvern, PA. The vehicles passed through York County on Sunday, the second day of the auto tour as they traveled west on the Lincoln Highway.
This is a photo of a 1918 Dodge Brothers Army Staff Touring Car participating in the Lincoln Highway Centennial Auto Tour. The car is parked along Shoe House Road in Hellam Township. The Haines Shoe House was the auto tour’s Sunday picnic lunch stop in York County.
In the lower left is my photo of the Dodge Brothers emblem on the front of this 1918 Dodge car. If you are reading this on the Ydr.com site, click on this LINK for a Full View of the illustrations in this post on the original YorkBlog site; since the ydr.com site will occasionally cut off important details in the cropping of illustrations.
The Dodge Brothers, John and Horace Dodge, utilized this emblem over the time period from their first cars in 1914 until 1927. In a revised emblem, “Brothers” was dropped from the lettering; however the interlocking triangles and interlocking “DB” remained until the 1939 models were introduced.
Twenty-three year old Daniel E. Stetler obtained a charter dealership for Dodge Brothers automobiles and trucks in 1914. He initially operated that dealership in the Newberrytown area of northeastern York County, PA. In 1922, Stetler purchased Stark’s Hotel at 515 South George Street in York, PA. The hotel was torn down and in 1923 D. E. Stetler moved into his downtown Dodge automobile dealership. The D. E. Stetler Dodge dealership operated at that location until moving to a bigger location along Roosevelt Avenue in 1990.
In 1992, the vacant former auto dealership, at 515 South George Street, was selected as the home of Susan P. Byrnes’ vision for a Health Education Center. After two years of fund raising and planning, ground was broken on renovating the building. During April 1995, the Health Education Center was dedicated and continues to educate thousands each year on the importance of a healthy lifestyle. The following photos show the present Health Education Center emblem high about the front doors of the George Street entrance to the building. That emblem was installed where a J. Horace Rudy custom stained glass Dodge Brothers Emblem was originally located.
H. J. Heinz, of Pittsburgh ketchup fame, was a huge patron of the stained glass artistry of J. Horace Rudy. Rudy Brothers decorated his company buildings, home and mausoleum; other industrialists in Pittsburgh followed suit. The Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh displays a 10-foot by 9-foot Rudy Bros. Stained-Glass window from a Pittsburgh Industrial Building.
J. Horace Rudy’s local Rudy Brothers studio; located at 601 North Hartley Street, in York, PA, is primarily know for their stained glass artistry in area churches, however there are several York industries that decorated their company buildings with Rudy stained-glass. The following custom stained glass Dodge Brothers emblem, by J. Horace Rudy, was the original emblem mounted high above the front doors to D. E. Stetler’s South George Street auto dealership.
This Dodge Brothers stained glass window was donated to the York County Heritage Trust. It was restored and presently is displayed in the Agricultural and Industrial Museum of the York County Heritage Trust.
Related posts include:
- Lincoln Highway Centennial Auto Tour at Haines Shoe House
- Planned Closure of South George Street for Olympians to give Luge Demonstrations (& Byrnes Health Education Center)
- Stained Glass Windows for Mausoleums were Big Business for Rudy Bros. Co.
