that’s what helped make our business because you had one member of the family just as interested in service as you did in selling.” It’s quite extraordinary to have a family business as long as the Crenwelge’s. We were curious about the company’s succession from father to sons and so on to the next generation. “My dad had heart trouble,” Milton recounted, “and he passed away at the young age of 56. I think I was 28. “In those days,” he continued, “a woman couldn’t be a car dealer; it was just a different time. So, we continued working and [when] they finally renewed the dealership franchise, my mother was the owner, but they made me the dealer because I was a male, and I became a dealer at the age of 28. I kept it in the family.” And in keeping it in the family, Milton’s two sons also have been involved in the business. “They grew up in it just like I did,” Milton said. “And, of course, I tried to instill what my dad taught me.” Milton’s father would relay that some things never go out of style: good business ethics, good morals, good principles, and honesty. At one point after World War II, a customer offered to pay an extra $100 to be moved up on the delivery list ahead of other customers. “But we told him we didn’t work that way, and we’re still here.” In 1979, Crenwelge Automotive Group acquired the Kerrville dealership. Milton told us he liked how the gentleman who owned that particular dealership ran it and that he was a good dealer. However, he was at the age where he was looking to retire. He had two sons — one was a doctor, and the other liked the parts business but didn’t want to sell cars. So Crenwelge added this dealership to their group and expanded the family business. Part of owning and running a dealership means sometimes running into people with celebrity status. At one point in his storied career, Milton helped Willie Nelson trade in his Jeep. Another time, Bob Hope came to Fredericksburg as the entertainment for a grand opening of some sort. “His twin-engine plane had to use Lyndon Johnson’s runway in Stonewall,” Milton told us. “The Fair Association asked me (and two or three of us Jaycees) if I could furnish a car and go down and pick him up. You know, we had this brand-new Chrysler New Yorker with a white vinyl roof and leather seats. We all wanted his signature, but I didn’t have any paper. He walks over and says, ‘Your car?’ And he writes ‘Bob Hope’ on the roof! The next morning a lady came in and traded MILTON CRENWELGE— CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17 The third Crenwelge Motors dealership located in the 400 block of Main Street where Milton led the parade to its “Grand Opening” in 1948. Crenwelge Used Cars circa 1950 It’s quite extraordinary to have a family business as long as the Crenwelge’s. We were curious about the company’s succession from father to sons and so on to the next generation. 18
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