By Bruce Donaldson
As 2024 comes to an end, I look back to my 50 years working on autos and lawn tractors. Donaldson Motors will be the last repair shop in the Borough of Emlenton when I, Bruce Donaldson, move south.
The Donaldson repair business started back in 1929 when J. A. Donaldson started selling sprayer units and potato equipment. As he planted more crops he needed better farm equipment, so in 1934 the Allis Chalmers farm equipment was added became J .A. Donaldson Farm Supply near Nickleville. Later a store was opened in Knox and later Titusville. The Knox store was closed at the beginning of the War and the Titusville closed in 1951. Robert Donaldson managed the farm and in 1947 a lot was purchased on River Ave. to build a new store for selling farm equipment, adding John Deere in 1950. Farming started slowing down after the war so he signed a contract with Nash to begin selling automobiles.
The other dealership owners had a meal together once a month at Mary Best’s restaurant, now the home of Otto’s. They said that Donaldson’s would not last in the car business.
Cars that were sold in Emlenton included Buick, Pontiac, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Ford, Dodge, Nash, and some Studebakers. Donaldson outlasted all of them.
In 1957 the farm equipment was dropped and the name was changed to Donaldson Motors. In 1954 Nash-Kelvinator merged with Hudson Motor Car Company to become American Motors Corporation, known by the Rambler nameplate. Early in 1984 the AMC/Jeep dealership was dropped and became the last auto dealer in the Borough of Emlenton.
I remember as a kid that in the fall the new car dealers would set a date for showing the new models for the year. We always kept two cars hidden at our house until that day. The town was always busy that day.
As my family grew up, we spent many hours cleaning off the new cars, our showroom floor, and counting thousands of nuts and bolts over Christmas vacation. I am packing the old, yet new, OEM parts stock to move and will take my AMCs to move south. I still own a truck and a car from our dealership sold new.
My dad still had the business books from 1938 stores and invoices of all the new and used cars plus GMC trucks and IHC Cub Cadet Tractors sold up ‘till 1984. I took over the business in 2010, which will end with the selling of the building and I will be the last Donaldson to live in the Emlenton area since the farm was purchased in 1822. The farm was sold in 1951 and also the farm at Barrs Corners was sold.
Maybe someday you can visit my toy and history display in North Carolina.
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