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Where it all started: In 1952 Jack discovered that the OK rubber business, located on North Thorington Street in Algona was for sale. The young business man came to look at the business and negotiated a price with the owner. Unable to obtain a conventional loan, Jack convinced his parents and in-laws to lend part of the money necessary to secure his dream of owning a business. Jack got the rest of the money he needed by selling the family car, with the intention of using the 1947 Dodge pickup truck which came with the business for all his transportation needs. He also cashed in his $300 life insurance policy.
While he was traveling to Algona to buy the tire business, a letter was on its way to his home in Storm Lake. The letter explained that the owner of the business had changed his mind about selling. "My first big sale was to resell him." Jack said. "I walked in with the money and found he had changed his mind. He finally accepted my offer." I was 28 years old. I had a wife and two kids to feed and $11.75 left to meet my first week's payroll. I had never changed a tire in my life or patched an inner tube. We met the first week's payroll and depending on your outlook, it has been downhill or uphill since then" he said.
In 1954, Jack rented the building next door for some additional space, and it also had a cement floor to work on. Work was all done by hand with a little help from a compressor and big ol’ heavy electric impact wrench. In 1954 Jack also opened a location in Humboldt in which he later sold to an employee. The also happened in Clear Lake, Fort Dodge, and several other locations along the way. Jack wanted to make it possible for his employees to start up in their own businesses.
In 1957, Jack’s OK Tire Service moved to its second location on the corner of State St. & Jones St. This location gave them some much needed extra space and service bays. Just five years later, Limbaugh, never standing still, was once again out of space and moved to his third location. In 1963 he moved across the street from Hilton’s Sinclair gas station. It wasn’t long until Jack had two-thirds of that city block under roof.
In 1966, Jack made an agreement to do retreading for the Bandag company. Jack’s OK Tire Service is proud to still be producing high quality Bandag/Bridgestone retread tires today!
With the addition of the retreading, it wasn’t long until Jack need more space again. He was ready to move to his fourth and current location. In 1971, Jack’s closed on Christmas and re-opened on January 2, 1972 at the current location on Hwy 18. The main building is over 31,000 square feet with over 20,000 additional square feet of onsite warehouse storage.
Now 65 years later, Jack’s OK Tire Service it still a family owned and operated business with multiple generations active in the business. Jack Limbaugh Jr. is the President of the company and manages the business every day. Jack Limbaugh III and Jordan Limbaugh, grandsons of Jack Sr., are also working at the Algona location. Justin Limbaugh a grandson manages the Mason City Tire Store as well. We do our best to have exactly what the customer needs, when they need it. Top notch customer service, products to fit every budget, that’s the Jack’s Way.
We're proud to serve Mason City, IA, Clear Lake, IA, Nora Springs, IA, and surrounding areas.
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