THE SURVIVAL YEARS
The Great Depression
In the wake of the stock market crash of 1929, the dice and created the 14-day Across America
vacation travel was a low priority during the early tour departing from East Coast cities to the
1930s. Arthur Sr. had big payments due on his Chicago World’s Fair.
motor coaches and his cash flow wasn’t covering Arthur Tauck’s creativity and guts paid
them. Tauck needed a big idea to stay afloat. off; Tauck Tours hosted as many as 30 motor
The real transportation link between the coaches a day and made enough money to
East Coast and Midwest in those days was by survive the otherwise lean years of the Great
rail. Leaning on his intuition, Arthur Sr. threw Depression.
World War II – Tauck Closes for Five Years
In March 1942, to preserve rubber, gas, and oil, tried a variety of jobs including stints as a
the Interstate Commerce Commission closed portrait photographer and asphalt salesman.
down all tour operators for the duration of Finally, while attempting to prop up tomato
the war... a devastating time. plants, his creative light bulb lit up once again.
With little money to return deposits for Tomato stakes were hard to come by because
cancelled tours, Arthur Sr. came up with a wood was scarce. However, Arthur was able
brilliant idea. As an alternative to a refund, to source scraps from a sawmill and began
Arthur offered an interest-bearing World making and selling bundles of tomato stakes
Tour Certificate to be used when Tauck Tours for the omnipresent Victory Gardens. No one
re-opened. Virtually all of his clients chose a got rich, but it put food on the table during
certificate rather than a refund. He then sent the war. Interestingly, it was the ladies in
the postcard (shown below) to all of his past reservations that convinced him to re-open
customers. He was loyal to the government the business in 1947.
and to the war effort.
As a single father with four
children, Arthur was forced to find
new work. Without pause, Arthur
Tauck closes for WWII
1941 1942
Classic Tauck December 7 – Pearl Harbor
Tours Brochure
Arthur Tauck Sr. invests in advertising in 1942.
Unfortunately, his full-page ads run the day Pearl Harbor
is bombed. Tauck has done little advertising since.
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