SNOHOMISH — The Bickfords have been in Snohomish for a while.
Long enough to have an avenue named in their honor. Long enough to be marking the start of their 75th year in the auto sales business.
Bickford Ford celebrates its diamond anniversary Saturday.
Lawrence Bickford opened the dealership in 1934 during the heart of the Great Depression. His grandsons mind the shop today, along with the sprawling grid of shiny cars and trucks that lines Bickford Avenue just off U.S. 2.
That’s where the dealership has lived since the 1970s. But when it opened, it was based in a storefront office on First Street, a space that now houses an antiques store.
The Bickfords have come a long way since then. What if Lawrence Bickford could see them now?
“He would die with fright,” said Art Bickford, the retired second-generation owner whose sons Mike and Bob are now in charge.
He’s talking about how the dealership has grown. When Lawrence Bickford started out, inventory consisted of roughly 20 cars at a time.
Now, it’s not unusual to have 500 vehicles on the lot on any given day.
“That would make him a little nervous,” Mike Bickford said with a laugh.
Despite economic setbacks in the auto industry, Bob Bickford said he feels good about the Ford company.
“We are extremely pleased to have a Ford franchise,” he said. “Ford has a solid business plan and is producing fuel-efficient, high-quality cars and trucks.”
And the Bickfords’ dealership is still growing. Bulldozers are clearing a 10-acre lot across the street, readying the land for an expansion next summer.
But Mike Bickford said some things haven’t changed during the last 75 years.
“It is very much a relationship business,” he said. “It really is about taking care of your customers.”
He said they also try to take care of their employees by building a family-friendly culture. The dealership is closed Sundays and doesn’t stay open late at night.
It is, after all, a family business.
Mike and Bob Bickford started working at the dealership in their teens, washing cars and doing other odd jobs.
“I washed cars in my dreams,” Bob Bickford recalled.
This year didn’t just bring the 75th anniversary of Bickford Ford. It brought a fourth generation to the dealership,
Jason Bickford, Mike’s son, started as a car salesman in August.
Read Amy Rolph’s small-business blog at www.heraldnet.com/TheStorefront. Contact her at 425-339-3029 or arolph@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
