History of REO Town

History of REO Town. . , The REO Family , Talk to someone who worked for the REO Motor Car Company, and there's a good chance they will mention the sense of family and a place and time where the line worker and senior management alike were living their lives together with a sense of purpose and community., For some of them, this togetherness was quite literal, as REO tool and die makers, stenographers, laborers and managers lived within just a few blocks of each other, sending their children to the same schools and attending the same churches, all within the area today known as REO Town., For many REO family members, the center of their neighborhood was the REO Club House that opened on South Washington in 1917 on the grounds of the huge REO manufacturing complex. The Club House was a popular gathering place for REO workers and their families. It offered programs from musical concerts to night school classes, enriching the lives of those privileged to be part of the REO family., "I could have retired years ago, but the joy I get in business is to furnish a livelihood for men who want to help themselves honestly. My greatest satisfaction has been that my plants have furnished employment to thousands of men who are buying homes, educating their children, and enjoying the ordinary comforts of life....". , -Ransom Eli Olds