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Boyertown Auto Body Works photographs

Creation: circa 1960s
 Collection
Accession: 2023-212

Abstract

Boyertown Auto Body Works was a manufacturer of delivery truck bodies for commercial and industrial use, as well as specialty and military vehicles. The works manufactured electric, gas, and diesel vehicles and bodies on all types of vehicles. This small collection comprises photographs of food service vehicles manufactured by Boyertown Auto Body Works during the 1960s.

Dates

  • Creation: circa 1960s

Creator

Extent

27 item(s)

Physical Description

27 photographic prints : b&w ; 8 x 10 in.

Historical Note

Boyertown Auto Body Works was a manufacturer of delivery truck bodies for commercial and industrial use, as well as specialty and military vehicles. The works manufactured electric, gas, and diesel vehicles and bodies on all types of vehicles.

In 1925, Boyertown Auto Body Works was founded by B. Frank Hafer (1883-1968), Dr. W. Howard Swartz (1883-1958), and J. George Hoffman (1902-1957) when they purchased Boyertown Carriage Works from Morris F. Gilbert (1869-1947) and Milton Derr (1864-1926). Boyertown Carriage Works, founded by Jeremiah Sweinhart (1823-1896) in 1872, built horse-drawn carriages. Boyertown Carriage Works changed owners several times.

In 1932, Hafer purchased Swartz's and Hoffman's shares, and his son Paul R. Hafer (1910-2004) became president of the company. Boyertown Auto Body Works contributed to the war effort during World War II, earning an Army-Navy "E" Award.

During the late 1940s, the firm began producing trucks for the television industry and parcel delivery services. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, they manufactured recreational vehicles, bookmobiles, and ice cream trucks. In 1963, the company introduced a new construction technique, a composite dubbed "Multalloy" used for truck bodies.

Paul R. Hafer retired as company president in 1978. Sales began to decline during the 1980s, and the company went out of business in 1990. Today the same site is now the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles.

Scope and Contents

This small collection comprises photographs of food service vehicles manufactured by Boyertown Auto Body Works during the 1960s. The types of trucks include bread delivery vehicles for companies such as Yoch's Dutch Maid, White Enriched Bread, Wonder Bread, Pennington, and Bond Bread; vending services for companies such as Vend-O-Matic, M.R. Vending, and Kwik Kafe; industrial caterers such as Markey's Rolling Kitchen, N.E. Stetler Butcher, and Chow Chow Cup; dairy companies such as Tastee-Freez, Landis Dari Bar, and Wendt's Milk; snack companies such as E.J. Faller Pretzel Co., Bachman Pretzels/Snyder's Potato Chips, Curtiss Candy Co., Donut Kitchens, Archway (cookies), and America's Best Concessionaires (Tri-State Automatic Candy Corp). There is also a Mobile Canteen (Emergency & Disaster Unit truck) and a Standard Brands Inc. delivery truck.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions on access; this collection is open for research.

Language of Materials

English

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title:
Boyertown Auto Body Works photographs
Author:
Laurie Sather
Date:
2023
Description rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description:
English
Script of description:
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Audiovisual Collections Repository

Contact:
PO Box 3630
Wilmington Delaware 19807 USA
302-658-2400