Experienced and friendly
Himel's keeps Ponchatoula rolling
Staff Report
Himers Auto Parts has been doing
business in Ponchatoula for 38 years of
service, while changing all the time.
Of course, in the world of auto parts,
change can often mean that a distributor
has stopped stocking old parts because
he has changed his invento'y to just
new models.
Stanley Cowen's wasn't looking for
new parts when, after searching the
countryside for a hard-to-find part and
failing, stopped in at Himers Auto
Parts, 280 West Pine.
He was searching for an electrical coil
to fit his World War I! South Pacific U.S.
Amphibious Landing Vehicle (a Duck in
popular parlance). Himel's had the part
in stock.
Ron Latshaw, manager of the local
Himel outlet for the past seven years,
says he has many similar stories to
relate, including his own successful
search for complete brakes and hard-
ware for his vintage 1956 Oldsmobile
which ended at the Himel Auto Parts
counter.
Other local parts men working at
Himels all have their own favorite
stories: Joe Griffin, who has been 10
years in the business, another long-
timer Gene Coumes, and Frank
Scroggs.
One recalls finding all of the very
hard-to-find parts at Himels to provide
hydraulic hoses, adapters, and filter for
a log splitter, for example.
Assisting the operation in the office is
Miss Laura Silva.
Himers opened in Ponchatoula in
1947 at a location on Railroad Avenue,
having been started in Covington in
1918 by Herman Dennis Himel St.
Herman Dennis Himel Jr. and his
brothers and sisters still own the firm,
which has 49 stores in Louisiana and
South Mississippi.
Himel's moved to its current location
when the A&P Supermarket moved to
its new location and out of where
Himers Auto Parts now does business
on East Pine and North Seventh.
Himel's specializes in NAPA
(National Auto Parts Association) parts
and supplies - an extremely popular
brand nationwide, and locally:
"If you get your car fixed in Poncha-
toula the chances are excellent you are
driving off with Himel parts under your
hood. And a lot of people are doing
their own car work. The average age of
a car on the road today is eight to nine
years old. But our wholesale trade is our
main business, the merchants of the
area," said' Latshaw.
New' innovations at Himers Auto
Parts include a completely-computerized
inventory, which helps the store keep
up its reputation of always having parts
in stock. NAPA has also started
producing paint and body work supplies
which Himel is stocking.
Add to this the offering of surprisingly
priced items such as paint sprayers,
Igloo coolers, Homelite chain saws and
you get an idea of a well-rounded shop
for the male on your Christmas list.
Soon to come to the local store will be
a completely redesigned display area,
one of many improvements planned to
match the new road being completed
out front.
Their tractor, truck, diesel, auto
marine and small engine parts are ready
and waiting, for mechanics or Saturdays
for those "tree shade mechanics" out to
save money on car repair.
Himel's and Homelite
are proud to announce
that Himel now handles
the complete line of
Homelite Jacobsen Pro-
ducts. From chainsaws,
mowers, pumps,
generators, string trim-
mers & accessories. We
have it all and offer our
own service. Himel's &
Homelite built on quali-
ty, dedicated to service!
Reg. 229.95
I W/CASE & FREE I
BAR & CHAIN
s209.95
Reg. 369.95 I
.951
Pump it all... Don't get left
a Homel,te ® pump. in the darK.
HIMEL AUTO PARTS 4N00PA) ' .o+,,,..+
IINCE 1|15 + Heavy Duty Generators
"EVERYTHING AUTOMOTIVE" KC'rrN4 BRANDN
HAMMOND IDNCHATOULA Hammond
Hwy. 51 280 W. Pine 120 S. Cypress
542.41272 386-6664 345-5130
|
THE PONCHATOULA TIMES, NOVEMBER 28, 1985, SEC. B., PAGE FOU
Three generations of Gabriels
build top building supply ou t00et in area
Staff Report Harry (3abriel Jr. confirmed during his was a big job. Now the door comes as
... Times interview that an even larger unit and you just set it in place. I
Harry J. G'abriel Jr. and his family "jansion is in the company's future, roofing materials it's the same. Fil
developed a small lumber shop into the ATd still the Gabriel tradition of doing glass mats have replaced the t
largest building supply store from business in downtown Ponchatoula is covered paper. There is no deterioratiO'
Hammond ,o the lakes, from Livingston going to hold strong. "We have land whatsoever.
to St. Tammany parishes, here in Ponchatoula (a tract on the "There are less contractors ev
With the reopening of main street north side of West Pine near the current year. It's a hard row. so many su-
they are looking, forward to further location) for expansion, and we do plan contract a house these days." he addeO
expansions of their businesses within to expand." stated Gabriel. Asked to give a forecast for Poncha
the Ponchatoula city limits. He said that the nature of his business toula's future. Gabriel had this to offer:
Gabriel's huge indoor lumber and has changed significantly over the "I see us staying as a bedroOrt
building supply yard and spacious years, especially from the days when his community into the future. We will
display area facing South Eighth Street father and other contractors built a solid residential construction betwe
would have been hard to imagine in the house from the ground up. here and the Tchefuncte River (
pre-World War II days when Harry J. "We used to make the window, the Madisonville) on one side and right into
Gabriel Sr., a Ponchatoula contractor, sash. the frame. Now we sell the Baton Rouge on the other." , +
entered the retail lumber trade, complete unit - all metal. Making a door He had one comment to add: ' e l
"Louisiana Cypress didn't want the and hanclinq it and putting in the lock will always be here in Ponchatoula.'" |
retail end of it but people kept coming
out to the mill and bothering them, so
the idea was for my father to handle the
retail business. But World War 11 came
along and the government took all the
cypress," recalled Harry J. Gabriel Jr.
"After the war the lumber company
decided to go into the retail side of it.
This put dad in competition with them.
But he did a lot of trim and molding
work.
• "I came into the business in 1946. In
1951 I bought dad out and gave him a
note for $3,500, which paid for all of
the stock. I took it on my own and
renamed it Gabriel Building Supply
Company."
But for the second generation Gabriel
in the business, a name change was not
enough. And Gabriel's began to grow Big and getting bigger
rapidly. He expanded the business to I
trade in plywood, lumber, hardware,
and added to the original small building.
There was a rental house on the
property facing West Oak. And there
was a tin shed where the company
started and another building built for the
expanding business.
Finally, in the early-1970's the
cunent building was constructed. It took
a year to build an imaginative designer
to figure out how to complete the job.
Without shutting down the business
the new Gabriers building was erected
"over, under, around and through the
buildings that were here. Once it was
complete I was able to take down the
buildings inside of it," recalls Gabriel,
who has a framed photo history of the
construction on display in the public
coffee break area of the modem store.
Now working with the third ;
generation of the family to come into
the business, sons Bob and Harry, Old exterior New interior
ROAD OPENING SALE!
PRICES GOOD THRU 12-7-85
Box
Heaters
No. 26
Foam Pipe ..BJ xeter
Insulation' Inll In Minut...=.$ Years
2700/ft.
* Sold ,er. 5 or 6 foot length
W/Sprayer
Pre.cut
7505
1+2;s No. 2Pine..n
JL J Peerless q .,C
KITCHEN FAUCET
CLR Lawn Rake
XLR G d Sh 1
ar en eve ..
Your Choice Our 1986 Rerningtion
by Tr e 10 Calendars are in!
3 Mobile Home
Skirting
28"X60" PANELS
