My 4th grader has an assignment to research a historic person from the gold rush times.
The chosen person was 'William Fargo'.
Now I obviously suspected he was part of the 'Wells Fargo' bank empire. But here's more of the story:
Mr. Wells ran a stagecoach company based in the east during the 1800s. They carried people, of course, and there is some element they did 'express' work -- mail. Mr. Fargo joined as an employee and partner soon after. As gold was discovered the two used the stagecoach business for transporting gold and money as needed. They knew anyone with a strong safe and a room was going to be important to the miners. So they got set up of course.
At some point, the express part of the company broke off separately and became American Express. (Which I hold a card today).
Fast forward to the present, and look in my purse: there it is check book from Wells Fargo.
The best part? My kid got the big picture.
....the Wells Fargo commercials show a stagecoach to this day due to their roots...
....risky travel by stagecoach across the country with money/gold avoiding banditos, Indians, and being saved by the Lone Ranger!! (he's seen some old westerns)...
....that daily life for the easterners was far different than the westerners at the time of the gold rush, and what was each were like...
great assignment, fun for me too
Most Fun I Ever Had Doing Homework!
February 28th, 2008 at 08:12 pm
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