It was 1914, during the heyday of Juneau's gold mining era, when Art McKinnon opened a transfer business. It was started with nothing but a wagon and two horses. He called it Reliable Transfer. Reliable started its business at 346 S. Franklin, moving to 141 S. Franklin in 1930, and 200 N. Franklin in 1950. Along with Reliable there were many other transfer companies including Alaska Transfer, Berry Transfer, General Transfer, Juneau Transfer, R & M Transfer, City Transfer, Femmer Transfer, Standard Transfer and Northern Transfer. In 1920, Reliable purchased its first truck, a Ford. In 1955 Elmer Lindstrom and Al Bloomquist bought Reliable from Art McKinnon. The "fleet" consisted of only four trucks. In 1957 Reliable Transfer bought out Femmer Transfer. Its fleet consisted of two Diamond T trucks. By purchasing Femmer, Reliable obtained the air mail and air freight contacts. In 1957 a guy by the name of Carl "Bud" Lindstrom bought into the company, taking Al Bloomquist's place. Shortly after, in 1964 Reliable relocated again to 203 Admiral Way, and again in 1967 to 490 S. Franklin. It was around this time that a fellow by the name of Larry Leaf started with Reliable as a driver. Little did the company know of the great significance he would later be to them.. In 1969 Elmer Lindstrom retired, selling his stock to Tony McCormick. Tony, then, sold his stock to the company in 1973, leaving Bud Lindstrom as sole owner. In 1974, the old truck driver Larry Leaf and a guy by the name of Dale Reeves began buying stock in the company. Dale's untimely death in 1975, coupled with the retirement of Bill Brown, the accountant, left a void in the company. It was at that time Reliable moved once again to 489 S. Franklin, and after already having been promoted to office manager Larry was promoted again to general manager. Dan Leaf took the place of Bill Brown as the accountant and secretary -- treasurer. Four years later Larry became president and chairman of the board, and Bud Lindstrom, retired, leaving Larry and Dan as the major stock holders. Other stock holders included Dave Merkel, Rand Peckham, and Richard Dickson. In 1982 Reliable added a second warehouse out at 8717 Mallard St., which is now the present location. The valley warehouse became the single location in 1994 when the town location was sold. At this time Larry Leaf left the company leaving only Dan. Back in 1986 a gentleman by the name of Leonard "Roger" Calloway, began working in the warehouse, and slowly but surely worked his way up the chain. It was 1997 when Dan Leaf decided to retire and Roger took his place as the sole owner of Reliable Transfer Today, Reliable Transfer is in many ways similar to the small company that first opened in 1914. The original phone number was 149. Now you can reach Reliable Transfer at 789-1490. The early slogans were "Courtesy and good service that's our motto, " "There goes Reliable, " and "Rely on Reliable." Some of these we still use today. We are still a small business dedicated to serving not only its community, but its employees as well. Although, in a few ways we have changed it has all been for the better. We now have a coffee service that was started in 1989. We became a carrier for the Xerox Corporation in 1991. In 1997 Reliable Transfer has achieved Xerox Corporation's "Top Quality Management" certification. This meets and exceeds "ISO 9002" and "Baldrige National Quality Award" standards. Reliable Transfer was the #1 Xerox Carrier in the nation for our distribution size in 1997. Reliable Transfer was the top carrier for North America and the Pacific Islands. In 1995 Reliable Transfer became the courier of liquor for local businesses. As you can see, Reliable tries to do all it can to serve the very best service to every customer.
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