In 1927, Leonard Holt, our grandfather, knew he couldn’t support his growing family working on his father’s 40-acre farm, so he bought a dilapidated Sinclair gasoline station. It was on the corner of E. 29th & Hubbell, the same location we are at today.
When Leonard Holt first bought the gas station, it wasn’t much competition for the other two prosperous gas stations located on the same intersection. So, the first thing he did was lengthened his hours of operation dramatically longer than the competition and showered his customers with exceptional customer service - washing the windows, checking the oil and inflating the tires…always going the extra mile. His wife was soon called ‘the gas widow’, because he was always at work.
In those days, Hubbell was the main route for traveling to and from Chicago. Leonard couldn’t help noticing all the delivery trucks coming and going along Hubbell and his innovative abilities went to work. He doubled the size of his gas station and filled the new space with sleeping bunks for truck drivers. The truckers that were passing by could park their trucks by the gas pumps and sleep the night. Then when Leonard got to work at 5am, he would fill the truck with gasoline and go wake the driver.
About this time, Mr. Caldwell of Caldwell and Hartung Co., a delivery service for The Des Moines Register, stopped in early one morning to buy gasoline. Leonard learned that Caldwell wanted his drivers to buy gasoline on a charge account, to which Leonard agreed. That was his first fleet account which launched the fleet service business that continues today.
Leonard soon realized these fleets needed more than just gasoline. He learned that Caldwell and Hartung assessed the condition of their tires twice a year and sent out an order for a quote to the local tire dealer. When the time came for Caldwell to order tires, Leonard received the list of tires needed and went to work. He contacted three tire companies asking for quotes; Firestone Tire & Rubber, Kelly Springfield Tire Co. and Fisk Rubber Co. Firestone came back with the best price, so Leonard sent a quote to Caldwell & Hartung and won their tire business. This was the beginning of long-standing relationships with many commercial accounts and quality suppliers like Firestone.
It’s pretty much all History from there...
Leonard added onto the gas station and doubled the size to add sleeping bunks for the truck drivers. He also started selling tires around this time.
Leonard bought the building next door and started vulcanizing tires. This was popular during World War II. Vulcanizing is the process of heating natural rubber under pressure to repair injured tires.
Rubber tractor tires were becoming popular, so Holt Service Station started selling tractor tires.
The original gas station was torn down and a new service station was built. The gas station was then leased out for 20 years, while the Holt’s continued their focus on tires and auto repair.
The Rubber Horse was built. Albert, Leonard’s son, built a horse out of lumber and old tires as a symbol that tractors replaced the horse and then rubber tires replaced steel cleated wheels.
By this time another service building was added with 4 bays and 1 alignment center.
The gas station facility was then taken back, and the bays were used for more brake and alignment work.
The business was still growing rapidly and quickly running out of room. So, the Holt’s and Berardi’s (cousins) divided the business. The Holt’s stayed at the original location and service autos, light truck and specialty tires. The Berardi’s moved to a new location and service large truck, farm and industrial tires. We then remodeled and moved the office into the main building and added 2 more bays to the alignment and brake shop.
Changed the name to Hilltop Tire Service, a family decision to remove our last name from the business.
80th Anniversary. The Rubber Horse was rebuilt and is still on the roof today.
A 2nd Location! Hilltop expanded to another location in Johnston, IA.
Hilltop Tire Service opened their 3rd location in the East Village to serve the downtown area.
Hilltop Tire Service Today
Today, Hilltop Tire Service is known in the area for providing superior products and quality service with the highest level of integrity. Many things have changed since Leonard Holt first started in business nearly a century ago, but one thing that hasn't changed is our commitment to you the HTS way. We still deliver fair Honest opinions, service you can Trust and always with your Safety in mind.
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