By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
With a celebrity spokesman and with dealerships all over the region, West Herr is the biggest automotive dealer group in New York State, selling more than 50,000 cars every year.
Things were a bit simpler when brothers-in-law Harold West and Joseph Herr started selling Fords from under a tent on Clark St. in 1950.
Herr and West took their commitment to Hamburg seriously, and in 1960, the dealership employed 30 Hamburg residents with salaries totaling $145,000. For many years, they also donated a new car to Hamburg High School for drivers’ education each year.
A 1960 ad underscored West-Herr’s civic pride even further:
“We would appreciate your support of our business and every business in Hamburg, be it the Chevrolet Dealer, the Plymouth Dealer, the department store, bakery or corner delicatessen. Their business investment means employment and salaries and the betterment of your community. Shop if you must, but then buy in Hamburg.”
After 15 years on Clark St., West-Herr broke ground on a new location in October, 1965. The new digs at Camp Rd. and Southwestern Blvd.—where the dealership remains today—was three times larger than the spot on Clark near Buffalo St.
“The move was made for customer convenience,” said Vice President Joe Herr, who said people could now choose among 66 different cars on the lot and in the showroom.
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Steve Cichon writes about Hamburg’s history for The Hamburg Sun, and about all of Western New York’s heritage and history at BuffaloStories.com.
