Dallas Couriers: Honoring Our Heritage
Posted by Aynsley Kindig on Sat, Feb 11, 2012 @ 09:00 AM
Do you like history? I do! I do! Call me a nerd, it’s ok. I completely embrace that labe
Want to know what I like most about history? It’s a story. I can read historical books and be completely enthralled – trust me, what has really happened can be much more interesting than fiction.
And not surprisingly, in working for one of the premier courier services in Dallas, I like to look back at my industry: the delivery industry. There is so much to learn by those who have gone before us, those who paved the way for our current work. We can learn from the tenacity of the early messengers and pay homage to their hard work.
Today is all about paying homage to one influential company: Wells Fargo.
WOAH. Hold up. Just want does a banking company have to do with the courier industry? Listen up! Wells Fargo started out doing banking AND delivery. They had messengers that handled valuables, money and gold. They literally made deliveries across the country. So, any time you see someone from any courier companies in Dallas, you can thank Wells Fargo for paving the way. And in honor of them, here are some cool factoids:
- Wells Fargo began as a bank, an express company (aka couriers), and stage-coaching.
- At one point, WF had more than 10,000 offices – almost everyone was familiar with the Wells Fargo Wagon. (Talk about brand recognition)
- As an important note: the stage coach is very different from the wagon. The stage coach is the logo today, but the wagon was made famous in a song from The Music Man.
- Wells Fargo was started by Henry Wells & William Fargo.
- Henry Wells stated: “Our lives are not measured by the number of years and days we exist, but by what we accomplish while we live, and the good we may render to our fellow men.” He followed this in his own life. Upon his death in 1878, he had only $40,000 due to his philanthropic efforts.
- William was the oldest of 12 children. At age 13, he got a job delivering mail on a horseback (a true courier!).
- In 1875, Wells, Fargo deleted the comma and simply became Wells Fargo.
- In 1866, the Grand Consolidation took place: "Grand Consolidation": Wells Fargo acquired all major overland stagecoach firms in the West, connecting over 3,000 miles of western territory.
I bet after reading all of those facts you are more apt to honor where all of the courier companies in Dallas/Fort Worth have come from. We have humble roots as a industry that grew into a huge tree. Talk about a nice way to spend a Saturday morning – looking back what began what we do so well today: Dallas deliveries.
Information and photo courtesy of wellsfargohistory.com