A Look Back: Hartwig Garage, Steele County

The Steele County Historical Society’s Dan Moeckly tells us about Henry “Hank” Hartwig, who owned some of Owatonna’s first auto dealerships, and this automotive mechanic’s service coat. Hartwig, a lifelong Steele County resident, first operated Paige Motors, then H.A. Hartwig Garage, a Buick dealership. Hartwig added additional lines of cars, moving to a larger location before selling the business in 1953. At that time, he had received national recognition as the longest continually operating Buick dealership in the United States.

New episodes featuring Rice and Steele county history are posted to the KDHL YouTube channel and kdhlradio.com each Sunday at noon, with information courtesy of the Rice and Steele county historical societies. You also can find previous episodes of A Look Back and AM Minnesota and Will Jerry Eat It?, as well as other videos, on the KDHL YouTube channel. Subscribe and follow KDHL on YouTube to stay up-to-date on our newest shows!

If you have a topic you'd like to know more about, let us know! Email tamara.gruhot@townsquaremedia.com and we'll pass your requests to the historical societies to consider for presentation.