The story began as 1925 was drawing to a close.  Henry and Albert Shotmeyer, young Dutch immigrants, had landed a job in a service station on Lincoln Avenue in Hawthorne, New Jersey.  The owner of the station liked the boys and admired their enthusiasm for hard work, customer service, and their ability to repair automobiles.  After breaking them in to the gasoline and auto repair trade, he saw an opportunity.  He offered to sell the service station to these two hard working young immigrants.  Soon after they purchased the service station, the word began to spread about "the two young Dutch boys over on Lincoln Ave".  The business began to grow and, of course, they were on their way.

SHOTMEYER SERVICE on  Lincoln Avenue, Hawthorne   c. 1928

They began to look for other opportunities in the area.  It wasn't long before they had a small string of successful service stations, and decided to branch out into the heating oil business.  Their concept of providing better service than the competition paid off handsomely.  Soon they were adding more trucks and heating system service technicians. As the company grew, the boys would go on to build their own patented service station design, and make deals with the major oil companies.  The original Shotmeyer "colonial" station design is as timely today as if it were produced last week.  They couldn't build them fast enough.  The major oil companies lined up for the opportunity to get their foot in the door. Everyone wanted to expand, including Shotmeyer Bros.

The biggest decision for Henry came during the 1940 's. Shotmeyer Co. was being courted by the big names of the industry.  They all wanted to have the Shotmeyer chain of service stations display their brand.  The big oil companies wanted representation on the street that reflected cleanliness, good service, and lent credence to their brand.  Gasoline is an "invisible" commodity, in that one never really saw the product at the point of purchase.  It was important to create an image to appeal to a customer's decision on where to buy this necessary commodity.

The major oil companies wanted retail outlets that appealed to customers.  So, in 1944, Henry Shotmeyer decided to put all of his eggs in one basket and fly the Standard Oil Company of NY banner at all of his retail outlets.  You may recall the SOCONY trademark (an acronym for Standard Oil Company of NY) and ESS0 (a trademark for Standard Oil).  Socony-Vacuum Oil Co. was actually the birthing ground of what we now know as Mobil Oil Corp.  Well, SOCONY (Mobil) needed good representation to open up New Jersey, and Shotmeyer Bros. had been looking to hitch their wagon to a star.  To be the first outlets in the entire state was quite an honor and it was a relationship of great mutual benefit.  The brand was a winner in the NY market, and Shotmeyer Bros. had very lucrative import rights due to pre-war trading.  While the rest of the industry stagnated, Shotmeyer Bros. gladly assigned these rights to their new friends and enabled the brand to flourish during  the dark days of wartime rationing.

The 1950's and 1960's saw the company expand at a rapid pace, and Henry purchased chains of service stations extending from Massachusetts to Maryland.  It was an exciting time, and seemed that there weren't enough hours in a day to accomplish all dreams of expansion.  Things back at home were going beautifully and according to plan.  The Heating Oil Company was going full tilt, and the customer base continued to grow.  More trucks were purchased, and more people were hired.  The Shotmeyer family of employees were like a collage that complimented one another and the company with their special talents and contributions.  All employees were hand selected, and all employees (still today) are made to feel an important part the success of the company.

The winds of change in the petroleum industry blew harshly during the early seventies.  The concern of shrinking margins was only overshadowed by the looming fear of gasoline shortage.  The shortages eventually hit, and those that were to survive needed to play heads-up ball.  Shotmeyer Bros. did survive those days when service stations had lines of cars miles long waiting for gasoline, hoping that by the time they reached the pump, the station wouldn't be out of gas.  But by now, Henry had his two sons on board, and they proved their "mettle" early on.  Charles P. and Henry Shotmeyer, Jr. were just the ticket to buoy up the management team at the firm during and since the trying times of the oil crisis.  Both sons would become leaders in the petroleum field and earn respect of powerful icons in the industry. 

It was with much sadness and feelings of great personal loss that the family and company recently observed the untimely passing of Henry, Jr., a highly respected civic leader in his community.

When Henry Shotmeyer, Sr., 100 years young, reflected on the past 60 years as a Mobil brand distributor, you heard words like "pride" and "gratitude".  He also reminded you of the efforts made by Shotmeyer Bros. to perpetuate the fine Mobil image.  The long and untarnished track record that his company has had with MOBIL and the many awards Shotmeyer Bros. has won over the years from MOBIL made him extremely proud.  Henry Sr. once said, "Whenever you do something well where everyone benefits, and you do it right, it builds character. Don't ever let an opportunity slip by to build your character. It builds integrity, as well."