Family steers Diehl Ford through 100 years: four generations see dealership through floods, fires, war, Great Depression

Bellingham Business Journal, June, 2008 by Lance Henderson

Few car dealerships have survived the Great Depression, two world wars. arson, flooding and numerous gas crises, but Diehl Ford has emerged from the gauntlet of the 20th century as one of the oldest family-run Ford dealerships in the country.

Bob Diehl and his son, Mike, the third-and fourth-generation owners, attribute this success to an unwavering commitment to customer service, devoted employees and a supportive community.

"Longevity can be your greatest asset or it can also be your greatest weakness," Bob said. "You can get very complacent and lose your intensity with people; so we work very hard to stay excited, committed and focused."

Right now Diehl Ford is focused on its 100th birthday, which the dealership will celebrate June 7 to honor the day in 1908 when Hugh W. Diehl and Charlie Simpson took over a Ford dealership from Charles Stanbra.

In January 1922, Hugh Diehl bought out Simpson's interest in the company and changed the name to Diehl Motor Company, Inc. thus founding a Diehl family legacy.

Alan Mulally, Ford Motor Company's president and CEO will speak at the June 7 celebration where he said he will thank and congratulate the dealership for its leadership in the industry.

Mulally said he recently met with a number of Ford's older, family-owned dealerships, which he called the "roots at the foundation of the Ford family."

"It was amazing to meet the two, three and sometimes four generations who have dedicated their lives to our products," Mulally said.

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Working at the family business

Bob Diehl, 69, always thought he would go into the family business, but he hadn't made a decision until he graduated from college and returned from a tour in the Army.

"In tact, I can remember my father said several times, 'Look around. You don't have to come back. Make sure you really want to do this,'" Bob said. "So there was never really any pressure."

Mike Diehl's decision to join the family business came later in his life after he had graduated from college and spent 10 years in the Navy.

"In the back of my mind I always anticipated coming back to Bellingham to get into the family business," Mike said. "But I also knew that it was vitally important to go out and get some other experiences."

Mike, 39, said he just couldn't pass up the chance to raise a family in Bellingham and carry on the legacy of a then-90-year-old business.

"It's a pretty rare opportunity to be involved in something like that," said Mike, a married father of four.

While in the Navy, Mike was a pilot who flew $20 million aircraft and trained and managed military personnel.

"So having that kind of background I have a really good appreciation for all the different assets that we have here, including the people," Mike said.

One of those people is Jerry Edmonds, Diehl Ford's assistant parts manager, who has worked at the dealership for the past 44 years.

Edmonds said a lot has changed around the dealership in his time but the fact that Diehl Ford is a great place to work has remained a constant.

Edmonds recalled a time in the mid-'60s when he planned a two-week trip to Texas but had to cancel when another employee got sick and had to go to the hospital, leaving Edmonds to work his shifts.

"Later when I rescheduled my trip, R.H. Diehl paid me for the whole time I was gone when I really only had about a week's pay coming to me," Edmonds said.

Edmonds also reminisced about a day in 1980 when rain and landslides forced water from the Lake Whatcom watershed into Whatcom Creek, which flooded the entire neighborhood surrounding Iowa Street and surprised the dealership with eight inches of standing water.

"The water got up so high that there used to be watermarks on the wall but you can't see them anymore," Edmonds said.

However, Diehl Ford is no stranger to calamity.

Rolling with the punches

In 1928, six years after Hugh Diehl bought out Charlie Simpson, Ford unveiled its Model A and by the end of the first day the car was on display, more than 13,500 people had come to view it. At the end of that year, Diehl Ford sold 495 cars, which set a sales record that stood until 1973. The future of Diehl Ford looked bright.

In 1929, America plunged into the Great Depression when people had trouble feeding their families, let alone buying new automobiles. Diehl Ford was forced to reevaluate its position.

"It was a Depression. Not a recession," Bob said. "So what you do during those periods of time is you redirect your focus. There were times when my grandfather (Hugh Diehl) had multiple places around town reconditioning old cars when they couldn't sell new cars."

Between 1942 and 1945, auto production stopped due to World War II. With no new cars and few used cars available, the dealership focused on servicing vehicles and repairing delivery trucks.

"If people aren't buying new cars, they need to fix the cars they've got," Bob said. "So there are ways to adjust to it. You just remain flexible."

A few years later on December 27, 1948, Bob was sledding near the top of Cornwall Avenue where the Diehl family used to live when he looked toward the dealership and saw smoke coming from the building.