Goodbye, Garage; Hello, Steel Mill

I don't know why John Chester wanted to get out of the garage business; according to the News, he'd made good money as owner-operator of the Main Street garage. But in October 1917, not quite two years after he purchased it, John sold his garage business to a former Gary resident named Louis Crago.

John moved his family out of those rooms at the back of the garage and into the Baumer residence on East Street.

He wasn't entirely sure, at the time of the sale, how he wanted to occupy himself in the future. Among the possibilities he was considering was employment at a Gary steel mill.

That possibility became reality in early December, and shortly after the new year, John moved his whole family to Gary.

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Around this time another Hobart garage changed hands. Early in November Clarence Frailey sold his interest in the Nickel Plate Garage to his partner, Frank* Beltzhoover. Within a week Frank had sold the entire business to W.B. Owen, retaining just one car for his own little livery service.

The Nickel Plate Garage's weekly ads in the News henceforward reflected the new proprietor's name.


(Click on image to enlarge)

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*Earlier stories gave his first name as Calvin; now the News is calling him Frank; I don't know what to call him.


Sources:
♦ Advertisement. Hobart News 15 Nov. 1917.
♦ "John Chester Sells Main Street Garage to Louis Crago." Hobart News 18 Oct. 1917.
♦ "Local and Personal." Hobart News 10 Jan. 1918.
♦ "Local Drifts." Hobart Gazette 9 Nov. 1917; 11 Jan. 1918.
♦ "Sells His Garage." Hobart Gazette 26 Oct. 1917.
♦ "W.B. Owen Buys Nickel Plate Garage of Frank Beltzhoover." Hobart News 15 Nov. 1917.