The collection includes a Dura Lube Motor Oil Can; Plastic Cups (2); Mackinac Bridge Souvenir Glass; Soo Locks Souvenir Glasses (2); Hosiery Mending Kit; Matchbook Covers (4); Printing Plates (6); Water Heater Regulation Tags, Large (3); Water Heater Regulation Tag, Small; Golf Tees in Cover; Cigarette Lighter; Plastic Clip; Leonard Money Clip and Case; Golf Ball Markers and Case; Rain-Chek Tube and Holder; Rain-Chek Box; Kaysons Golden Rhapsody China "Ask Me" Button; and Kaysons patented Golden Rhapsody China Saucer, Tea Cup, and Plate, all dated 1961. Processing Note: Some items once contained hazardous materials such as oil or lighter fluid; however, all hazardous waste has been removed. Local gas stations and their owners noted on some items include: Eisemann Oil Company, Chelsea and Ann Arbor (Mich.); Geo. Freres, Muskegon (Mich.); and Al's Super Service, St. Johns (Mich.). Researchers may be interested in the Leonard collection and publications also housed at the Clarke Historical Library.
Processing Note: Some items once contained hazardous materials such as oil or lighter fluid; however, all hazardous waste has been removed.
Organizational History:
The Leonard Oil Refineries (Alma, Mich.) was once one of Michigan's leading refiners and retailers of petroleum products. In 1936 Leonard took over a refinery in Alma that had operated since 1934. Leonard was one of the best known companies in Michigan in the 1950s and 1960s. Its advertising campaigns were often innovative and built around the quality and high octane of its products. In 1956 Leonard marketed a gasoline with a 105 octane rating, enough to fly a plane. There was not high demand for it. Leonard also sponsored major television programs about the outdoors, including Michigan Outdoors. In 1970, Leonard merged with Total Petroleum and operated under the Total name. In 1972 Total moved the firm's headquarters from Alma to Denver, Colorado, and sold its Michigan holdings to Ultramar Diamond Shamrock (UDS) in 1997. In 1999 UDS sold 179 Total retail outlets to Marathon Ashland Petroleum. UDS stopped production at Alma, which was not purchased, in 1999. Later the plant was demolished.
