Family-owned Ford dealership evolved while staying true to its roots
Robert and Harold Krapohl were doing well in 1949. Robert, 38, was the sales manager at an auto dealership in Grandville. Harold, 36, was manager of the Firestone Rubber Co. store in Bay City.
Robert had a goal of buying a dealership and was in talks with the Grandville owner. The dealership was sold to someone else, however, after the owner suddenly died.
Robert was familiar with cities across Michigan from his time as a Firestone salesman and took up the search for a dealership. In Mt. Pleasant, he found Howard Clifford, who had purchased the Ford dealership at 114 Court Street in July 1949 — just a year earlier — but was open to selling it.
The Krapohl brothers, supported by other family members, reached a sales agreement with Clifford on May 17, 1950.
Krapohl Ford Sales, run by the brothers who had grown up in Bay City, was in business.
“We went through a lot of hard work and long hours early on,” Robert Krapohl said in an Mt. Pleasant Magazine article in January 1997. “It was really hot that first summer, and we’d work all day and then take some time to sit out front of the agency to cool off. We worked a lot of nights and Saturdays and Sundays to get the business established.
“We were lucky. We started off with a bang and had good luck at the business,” he said.
Now, 75 years later, Krapohl Ford is celebrating its semi-sesquicentennial, still owned by the family and still a community-focused dealership.
You’ll see stories and photos this year to highlight the many longtime employees, changes and events of the past 75 years. You’ll also gain insights into Krapohl’s commitment to the community, highlighting some of the causes and organizations supported by the family and dealership throughout the years.
When the Krapohl brothers bought the Court Street dealership, it included cars Clifford donated to sponsor the Mt. Pleasant Driving School. It wasn’t long before those cars displayed “Courtesy of Krapohl Ford Sales Co.”
For Robert and Harold, it was just the beginning of their community involvement.
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