Week 65: McArthur Bros Flying Squadron
Today’s Chandler is a modern vibrant city of over 250,000 people with great schools, an innovative international workforce, and lots of entertainment opportunities. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine just what the first decade of Chandler’s existence was like. With less than 1,000 residents, dirt streets, and the extent of town being Chandler to Frye and Washington to Dakota, it was the epitome of a small town. Last week, we talked about a popularity contest that was front page news for 3 months in 1916. By 1918, entertainment options were still pretty rare. There was a movie theater, but it was big news when the McArthur Brothers Flying Squadron came to town.
It all began in 1913 when Charles and Warren McArthur first opened a car dealership in Phoenix selling Jeffery, Packard, and many brands of used cars. It wasn’t until 1915 that the McArthur Brothers began to sell Dodge Brothers cars. Dodge Brothers had been manufacturing automobile parts since 1900 but by 1914 they announced that they would be producing their own car. January 9, 1915, the first Dodge arrived at the McArthur Brothers store. Interest in the new car was intense and many sales soon followed. By 1918, McArthur Brothers were known as the largest Dodge dealer in Arizona.
But Charles and Warren decided that 1918 was going to be an even bigger year than normal. That’s when they came up with a brilliant new marketing campaign, “The McArthur Brothers Flying Squadron.” The Squadron travelled around the state, scheduling stops in numerous communities including Tucson, Douglas, Bisbee, Glendale, Mesa, and of course Chandler.
The Squadron was made up of salesmen from the dealership. They drove the Dodge Brothers cars into town. As if the shiny new cars weren’t enough to attract townspeople’s attention, the Squadron would set up a demonstration. They tethered the cars to a pole, set the cars driving in circles without a driver, and solicited guesses as to how long the cars would run. The person with the best guess won a five dollar gold piece.
The McArthur Brothers Flying Squadron started advertising their Chandler stop in the local newspaper on January 4, 1918, with the event scheduled five days later. As the Squadron drove into town that Wednesday morning, they awoke the entire town by blaring the car horns as they arrived. Members of the Squadron wore dark suits with fedora hats featuring a blue band reading “Flying Squadron.” It was as if McArthur had sent their entire dealership to Chandler, with salesmen demonstrating Packard Twin Sixes, Nash Sixes, a Dodge Brothers Winter Car, and a Delco Lighting system, which was an off-grid option for lighting homes.
Hundreds of Chandler residents turned out to experience the McArthur Brothers Flying Squadron. One of the favorite demonstrations of the Chandlerites was the Delco demonstration. At the end of the driving demonstration, Amie Slawson won the five dollar gold piece for having the best guess as to how long the car would go before running out of gas.
W.B. Leecraft, of the advertising department of McArthur Brothers, said of the Squadron “It has brought McArthur Brothers in closer touch with the surrounding territory, and the reception accorded us shows a friendliness that was greatly appreciated. We feel that the tour of the ‘Flying Squadron’ was a success in every way.” The residents of the tiny town of Chandler felt the same way, having gotten a couple of weeks of entertainment out of a one day event.