Out of Office: John and Lou Buhrmaster

Back in the late ’70s, the bank was in a lot of trouble, with a lot of losses. We had used up our loan reserve, and we had another bad loan. It was a taxi company, so my dad [Lou Buhrmaster] and one of our directors took it over, began running it, and [the] first thing they discovered was the taxis had been pillaged. So, there were only a couple of running cabs.

[To keep the taxi company afloat], they ordered six new checkered cabs. … I worked there for another year on and off, helping out, cleaning cabs and helping repair [and change transmissions and engines]. Eventually, they sold the taxi company … along with those checkered cabs and the other cabs that we were able to get running again, and it saved the bank. 

[Decades later,] I saw [a yellow cab] with a “for sale” sign on the side of the road. … And sure enough, it was one of the cabs I drove. So now, it’s sitting in our warehouse, nice and cozy. 

The thrill of [restoring cars] has been the time I’ve gotten to spend with my dad, because cars and vehicles and trucks are a passion of his. The time we’ve spent together working on these different projects has been priceless.