#Hess #Truck #History #Christmas #Collectible #WorthPoint
We are less than two months away from Christmas, which means the arrival of a holiday favorite. No, not Black Friday deals and carols, but another staple that has reliably shown up for almost sixty years—the Hess Truck. It might have begun as a small toy offered at a few stations, but it’s now a holiday tradition for many families and a highly sought-after collectible.
HESS HISTORY
Hess Corporation began in 1933 when founder Leon Hess bought a used oil truck and started an oil delivery service in Asbury Park, New Jersey. At just nineteen years old and unable to afford college, Hess chose to go into business.
Hess sold “Number 6 fuel oil,” which was a substance that remained in the bottom of barrels after refining crude oil. It was cheap to acquire, and the profit margin was better than selling coal, which was difficult to deliver. If suppliers could keep it warm, it stayed liquid, so Hess found trucks that could keep the oil in liquid form.
By 1937, he expanded with additional trucks and equipment to help unload tankers and barges carrying oil from refineries. After serving in World War II (as a petroleum supply officer, of course), Hess continued the company’s expansion. In 1960, he opened the first Hess gas station. Soon, they were popping up all over the East Coast, and a brand was born.
HERE COME THE TRUCKS
In 1964, Leon Hess came up with the idea to design and sell a toy truck. Initially, he meant it to be only as an affordable toy that families could purchase. Hess grew up during the Great Depression and was a devoted father and family man, but the decision to sell a toy truck was a nod to the company’s beginnings and the trucks that built the business.
The first toy truck, issued in 1964, was a model of the Hess tanker truck used to deliver gas to stations. It came with a funnel and rubber hose, so kids could pretend to fill and empty it. The truck, advertised in local papers and with signs at Hess filling stations, became a hit with families. Today, it’s a prized collectible that can fetch hundreds of dollars on the secondary market.
HESS TRUCK COMMERCIALS LAUNCH A COLLECTIBLE
From 1964 to 1980, the Hess trucks were only marketed in local newspaper ads or with gas station signs. In 1980, the company produced the first television commercial advertising the toy truck. That year, the toy truck offered was a training van that resembled the RVs that went around to Hess gas stations training new owners and employees.
The van is now one of the more collectible trucks due to some supply issues in the surrounding years. There were only three holiday seasons that Hess did not release a truck. In 1973, the gas shortage meant long lines at stations. Leon Hess didn’t want families to have to wait for a truck when they might be unable to buy gas.
In 1979, the yearly toy was supposed to be the training van, but a longshoreman’s strike kept it from being unloaded and shipped, so the company delayed its release until 1980. In 1981, national financial conditions kept the company from releasing a truck.
Despite some of the supply chain hiccups between the nationwide commercials and the company’s expansion, by the early 1980s, the Hess trucks were a Christmas tradition in thousands of families.
A TOY TO BANK ON
While promotional piggy banks were common items that businesses gave away, Hess incorporated banks into five of its trucks. The first to include a bank was the 1984 version, which was also the first truck with printed logos instead of stick-on decals, so it’s popular with collectors. Hess trucks with banks were issued from 1984 to 1987 and in 1989. The models that included a “bank in the tank” are often difficult to find since these are only five out of all the trucks made.
WHERE DID ALL THE STATIONS GO?
By the 1990s, Hess stations were opening all over the Northeast and beyond. Combined with the commercials, which in 1988 started using the now iconic jingle, “The Hess truck’s here, and it’s better than ever,” the truck became incredibly popular. In this interview, Justin Mayer, the GM of Hess Toy Trucks, talks about the evolution of the Hess truck, which is now the “biggest direct-to-consumer toy ever.”
In 2014, Hess sold off its gas stations to Marathon Petroleum Corporation but assured the public that the trucks would still be a yearly product. That year, the company began selling Hess-branded trucks online instead of at the gas stations. Fans were especially concerned because 2014 marked the 50th anniversary of the trucks, and Hess did not disappoint. The company issued a Space Cruiser and a special collector’s edition; both are collectors’ favorites.
When Hess sold off its gas stations, it pivoted to more of an energy/exploration company, but the trucks have remained a staple. Company officials say that will stay the same now that Chevron has purchased Hess in an all-stock deal for $53 billion.
A TOY THAT WILL ENDURE
Corporations and mergers might come and go, but the Hess truck is here to stay. Collectors love finding vintage models for sale in thrift stores or online auctions, but like anything, the value depends on the condition. It’s rare to find vintage models in working order with their original packaging.
I was recently cleaning out a closet and came across several trucks I had purchased for my son. They wouldn’t fetch high prices if I sold them because most were missing pieces, and the boxes they came in were long gone. Still, to me, they are a priceless reminder of a time when a green-and-white truck under the tree was a cherished part of Christmas.
Brenda Kelley Kim lives in the Boston area. She is the author of Sink or Swim: Tales From the Deep End of Everywhere and writes a weekly syndicated column for The Marblehead Weekly News/Essex Media Group. When not writing or walking her snorty pug, Penny, she enjoys yard sales, flea markets, and badminton.
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