On November 20, 1961, Ed Garber Jr. purchased
the Dodge, Chrysler, Ply-mouth, and Massey Ferguson franchise from the Hainen Motor
Company, owned by Andy Hainen. In 1964 he purchased the building, where the present Garber
Motors Inc., is located. Ed Garber employs 13 full-time employees, including two
on-the-road salesmen, Dennis Garber, who joined the firm in 1962, and Norman (Bud) Garber,
who came to work in 1968, both brothers of Ed.
Hainen Ford officially opened
January 1, 1971. Construction of the building on Highway 5 South was begun in June, 1970.
All construction except setting of glass was done by Benny Hainen, Herb Jackson, Paul
Davis and David Saffle.
At the time Hainen Ford opened, Benny was the
youngest Ford owner-dealer in the United States.
In the fall of 1973, the size of the service
area was doubled, including an auto body facility. Today Hainen Ford employs seven people.
Previous Tipton Ford dealers were Jess Hardy,
1923-1951; Lee Darby, 1951-1954; and Harold Albin, 1954-1970.
Embry Chevrolet was purchased
in 1967 by Okal and Dick Embry. Okal became the sole owner in 1970. Embry Chevrolet sells
Chevrolet cars and trucks as well as used cars.
Paul Gabert and C.O. Putnam were the owners of
the business from 1937 until 1967. Will J. Schmidt was the owner prior to 1937.
Mr. Bernard A. Hainen was awarded the Buick and
GMC truck franchise in 1954, hence forming Hainen Buick GMC Co. It is
located at the junction of Highways 50 and 5 on the northeast corner of the Hainen estate.
His mobile home sales is also located there.
The Tipton Farm Supply business was started in
1949 by John Braden and Edna Orr. Herbert Spieler was the manager. Glenn Schaffter
purchased the business in January, 1962, and changed the name to Schaffter
Equipment.
Schaffter Equipment sells John Deere farm machinery at their Highway 50
East location.
Schaffter's now employs eight people. The
building has been increased more than three time its original size. The size of the
largest tractor sold has increased from 84 h.p. in 1962 to 275 h.p. tractors at the
present time.
Tipton's other farm equipment dealer is Diversified
Machinery Company, a division of Lu Ranch, Inc. E.C. Ekstam, Jr. is the manager
of the business which opened in December, 1975. It is located on the corner of Ferguson
Avenue and Highway 50 East.
In addition to the Belarus tractors,
Diversified sells several lines of hay and farm equipment, lawn mowers, and motorcycles.
Houston's General Repair
(formerly ""Doc" Wolf's Welding) was purchased in March of 1957 from
Raymond ""Doc" Wolf. At that time, it was more than 50% blacksmith and
welding, as it had a forge and a trip hammer for shaping plowshares. Carl Houston recalls
""Doc" said, he would help me for two weeks until I got to know some of the
customers. Well, that week turned into six years, before he went into another line of
work." The shop is now 95% automobile and light truck repair, with some welding and
small engine work.
In August, 1967, Robert Nappier opened Nappier
Radiator Service. It is the only radiator shop in the area. His shop building is
located at the family home in east Tipton.
The Tipton Service Center was
started in 1975 by Henry Bell. The automotive shop specializes in front-end alignments,
wheel balancing, and electronic tune-ups.
The Tipton Service Center is located near the
4-Way stop just off Highway 50.
Nau Sales & Service is
located at the old Tipton Building Company building on Highway 5 South. Vernon, Dorothy,
and Lester Nau are the owners. Five persons are employed. Naus sell stock trailers,
recreational vehicles and equipment and miscellaneous equipment. The business opened in
June, 1976.