The Last Laugh- Jaffe's Ford

The Last Laugh: Isaac Jaffe’s Final Word on Worcester’s Roads

In the dusty, sun-drenched streets of 1930s Worcester, the rivalry between the town’s motor moguls was the local version of a heavyweight title fight. On one side of the ring was Frank Vos, the suave Chevrolet dealer who marketed prestige and convinced half the Boland that a "Chev" was the only way to travel in style. Frank Vos Motors was the primary Chevrolet dealer in the region, established in the early 1900s and flourishing by the late 1920s as the local face of General Motors. On the other side was the legendary Mr. Isaac Jaffe, a "live wire" in the town and a man who lived and breathed the Blue Oval of Ford.To hear my father, Solly Kramer, tell it—who was a teenager at the time watching this automotive chess match from the High Street pavements—the competition was fierce. If Frank Vos sold a sleek New Master sedan to a prominent wine farmer on Tuesday, Isaac Jaffe would be seen polishing a rugged Model A on Wednesday, loudly extolling the virtues of Henry Ford’s engineering to anyone within earshot. While the formal business known as "Jaffe’s Ford" was officially awarded in 1940, Isaac Jaffe was a prominent motoring figure and community leader active in the trade for years prior. However, Isaac Jaffe possessed a secret weapon in his inventory that Frank Vos simply could not counter. Jaffe held the exclusive dealership for the Worcester hearse, a long, dignified vehicle built on a sturdy Ford chassis. This somber black carriage of the afterlife hummed with a reliable V8 engine, ensuring that the final journey would be punctual even if a car might break down during one's life. In rural settings like the Karoo and the Boland, a motorized hearse was a sign of modernization and local prestige, replacing the horse-drawn carriages of previous generations. Isaac Jaffe was acutely aware of the tactical advantage this gave him in the local popularity contest. Whenever the rivalry reached a boiling point—perhaps after a particularly successful sales month for the Chevrolet team—Mr. Jaffe would lean back, tuck his thumbs into his waistcoat, and deliver his trademark punchline with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Let Frank Vos sell his Chevrolets," he would chuckle to the gathered crowd. "Let the people of Worcester drive whatever they fancy. They can have their chrome trim and their fancy upholstery today. But I’m not worried". He would then pause for dramatic effect, nodding toward the black Ford hearse parked nearby. "Because in this town, it doesn’t matter what car you choose to drive during your life... eventually, you’re all going to end up in a Ford!".