The pride of St. Louis: Eagle trucks
"Built in St. Louis," taking a look at Eagle trucks that were sold around the globe for 10years.
In 1919, this Eagle Model 105 three-ton garage service truck was employed by the Reis Auto Repair Co. of St. Louis. The truck’s crane had an 11-ton lifting capacity. The business motto was “We go anywhere, for any service, at any time.” Reis Auto Repair Co. was also the official garage of the Automobile Club of Missouri.
Minette Bethke
“Built in St. Louis,” the early 20th Century ads emphasized. That proclamation was no more than a spin on the current “Made in the USA” slogan used by domestic manufacturers to promote their products as being superior to their foreign-made counterparts.
Joseph P. Reis
Minette Bethke
In 1919, Joseph P. Reis was an early adopter of this American-built stance to promote his heavy-duty line of Eagle trucks based in St. Louis, Mo. The reason for his “Made in the USA” strategy, however, was to one-up other domestic truck makers, the irony being a large segment of Eagle truck sales were exports to foreign buyers who appreciated American build quality.
Reis was born on June 29, 1883, and was a lifetime resident of St. Louis. In his youth, he studied to be a mechanic. In 1914, at age 31, he established the Reis Auto Repair Co. It was noteworthy for having the largest tire press in St. Louis, as well as major affiliations with Lyon Batteries, U.S. Tire and Ford Motor Co. Reis’ repair shop also operated a 24-hour towing service.
With his growing repair business, Reis, in an interview with “Who’s Who in St. Louis,” laid the foundation for expanding his business to include manufacturing trucks.
He stated, “The truck industry has a very sound future because it is based on one of the basic requirements of civilization—transportation. Without transportation we would have no large cities, and without large cities civilization would be many centuries behind what it is today.”
Based on his belief in the growing demand for truck transportation, in 1919 Reis launched his Eagle line of heavy-duty trucks. He was now president of both the Reis Automobile Co. (re-branded Reis Auto Repair Co.) and the Eagle Motor Truck Corp.
An in-your-face view of the first-generation Eagle three-ton chassis. Note the radiator spread-winged mascot and embossed Eagle name, quite fanciful for a work truck.