The 6304 E. Jefferson Ave address in the above ad was Michigan Marine owned by George K, Cheatham. George started as an Elto dealer in 1923 which added Evinrude in 1929. I went to school with his kids, George King and Dickie. He became a Johnson dealer in 1947 in a dispute over not being able to get as many Evinrudes as he could sell. Demand was higher than the factory could produce, and dad allocated motors according to what was sold in 1941. Evinrude was running more shifts as they hired and trained people to build the motors. It was a real headache for quality control. Elto production was eliminated in order to produce more Evinrudes. Galesburg was furnishing motors for several companies. Gas was cheap and jobs were plentiful. What we now call "The good old days" … George had a heart attack and died in the mid ’50s. The last I saw of his son George King, he was running service for Sears. The younger boy, Richard, was injured in Marine Corp basic training, got a disability pension, and became a minister … the fortunes of War . . . 😉
