Lawrence D. Hills could have invented the adage “Where there is a will, there is a way.” He didn’t, of course, but his story of the Hills Chevrolet Company in Oakridge is a great example of it.
When Lawrence was young and still living at home, he asked his dad to buy him a motorcycle. Dad was willing, but he cautioned, “Son, you have to be a good walker to own one of those things.” Lawrence soon found out that he had to be a good “pusher,” as well. After that, he just couldn’t get it out of his head that if he knew more about gasoline engines, why couldn’t he make that motorcycle run better.
After leaving home, Lawrence went to work for the Forest Service running a caterpillar. Through the depression years of 1929 to 1932, he was grateful for the job and learned a lot about machinery at the same time. In 1932, he had $300 in his pocket and gave his notice. He had decided to build and open a Chevrolet dealership in Oakridge.
Getting more money was not going to be easy, but he was determined. After several attempts, and several responses of “Are you crazy?,” he finally found a friend who said, “Darn you! I’ve got $800 in a savings account, and the bank is going to go broke. You might just as well have it, and you can go broke!” Lawrence was determined that he was not going to “go broke.”
The first task was where to build. It seemed to Lawrence, in sizing up the situation, that there was only one place that would be exactly right, and that was on the corner of First & Pine Streets (where Inbound is today). Somehow, he managed to talk the owner of the two lots that he wanted into letting him have the property and pay him later when he had the $2000 asking price. So far, so good.
He drew up plans for a garage and a service station in the front. The carpenters were paid $2 a day (10 hours each day), with the head carpenter getting $3.50 a day. Lumber was delivered, knot free, for $12 per 1,000 feet. In about 30 days, he was ready to open for business.
The first day was unforgettable. A man came in and asked Lawrence what he would charge to grind the valves on his truck. He told him $10. He patted himself on the back for a nice opening day and some cash in the till. But when the man came back later to pick up his truck, he told Lawrence, “Charge it to me.”
Soon Lawrence made a trip to Portland to see the Chevrolet zone manager about getting a dealership franchise. He was told, “We are not interested in any small towns. We want quality dealers, not quantity.” Undeterred, he became more determined than ever.
He went to Eugene with the idea of buying cars at a discount and reselling them in Oakridge. After a few purchases, and a few sales, Lawrence decided that the Eugene dealership was making all the money, and he was doing all the work. On to the next idea.
Lawrence then visited the Chevrolet dealer in Junction City. The dealer there told him, “Your dealings with the Eugene dealer isn’t so good. I’ll just set you up as an associate dealer to deal through me.” This was somewhat better.
Then one day, the Portland zone manager came and told Lawrence that he was doing a remarkable job for a town the size of Oakridge, and that he would make him a Chevrolet dealer. This was the day he had been working and hoping for.
Everything went well for a while. He had two salesmen and was selling a new or used car every day. All his bills were paid, and he had money in the bank. Then World War II started, and his business became practically non-existent. He decided to join the army. His zone manager told him that when he returned, he would have no problem getting his Chevrolet franchise back.
After three years, he did return, and a new zone manager told him that they were going to eliminate many of the small dealerships and that Oakridge was one of them. He wouldn’t budge, and Lawrence went home feeling very disappointed.
Soon, it happened that a new zone manager came to Portland. This was a man that Lawrence had known before the war who used to call on him to sell Chevrolet accessories. They had become friends, and it wasn’t long before Lawrence became a Chevrolet dealer again.
In 1948, Lawrence made a sizable expansion to the dealership almost doubling the space, and his business continued to grow. In 1952, Lawrence sold the business, but the name of “Hills Chevrolet Company” was retained until those owners sold it again ten years later.
SHEILA CHITWOOD
Sheila Chitwood is a retired accountant and treasurer of the Oakridge Museum. She lives with her husband Dwight and their cat, Callie. She can be reached at [email protected]. If you have any interesting stories about your local ancestors, please contact her.
