History

1968 was a pivotal year in our history. While America was still ensnared in the Vietnam War, Lyndon Johnson declared ” I shall not seek and I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president.“   Martin Luther King was taken from our midst in April, and Bobby Kennedy would follow in June.  Madison had enough controversy and economic adversity to make one ponder how a young family man of that day could leave the security of a steady forty hours for the chance to own and operate his own Standard Oil filling station on Packers Ave.  That is just what twenty four year young Chet Hermansen, a father of one and soon to be a father again, determined to do. 

 After  a few years of long hours and lean wages, Chet got to know a good number of his north side neighbors and many valued  friendships began right there at the pumps.  As the years went on  Chet, now a father of three,  came to realize that he did not care very much for gasoline, and cars held no real attraction.  It was the people that came through the station that became Chet’s cause.  They needed his help and advice and it was a priveledge to provide it.  Many were looking for better repair service than they  could find to fit their situation.   If his friends and neighbors needed someone they could rely on to care for their cars, that is who Chet would become.    Chet was driven to acquire the knowledge and assemble  the means to provide the services his  customers wanted.  The oil embargo of 1973 and the resultant turmoil in the automotive industry  provided  great motivation to hurry the transition from a fuel station with light service available to the full service garage that Madison’s north side needed.   

It would take until 1984 for Chet to open the original Car Care Center  down the block from the station.  Chet was committed to providing the services his cutomers had asked for, and in two more years the volume at the new shop would allow him  to leave  the Standard station behind altogether.  No longer tied to the gasoline commodity, Chet will tell you today that“SERVICE IS OUR ONLY BUSINESS”   by putting it’s emphasis on service and helping the customers.

 Coming Soon: Chapter 2 of Chet’s History