Early History

Chapter Two: POST-WAR PROSPERITY

In 1946, Charles and Morris purchased a 25,000 square-foot parcel of land—the first acreage belonging to the current site at 9000 Roselawn, in Detroit. A few fifteen- and twenty-thousand gallon tanks were constructed, which proved to be a lure to a handful of independent collectors. These "peddlers," as the independent drivers were commonly known, began to transport their waste oil to the new tank farm on Roselawn. Each driver maintained one special tank of their own on the Usher property, which was used exactly as Charles and Morris had utilized the rented facility during the war years: to store a percentage of the oil which was collected throughout the winter months. Soon these independent drivers began to share in the lucrative practice of "road oiling" during the spring and summer.

The decade of the fifties saw additions to the property on Roselawn, along with a modest expansion in the services and support offered by Usher Oil. In 1950, the first 500,000-gallon tank was erected. This enabled the company to retain a large inventory of used oil during times of diminished industrial need. Because Usher Oil was one of only three used-oil processors in southeast Michigan during the 1950s, the peddlers kept coming. Charles and Morris began to offer special benefits to those who provided their plant on Roselawn with a steady stream of waste oil. As the trucks driven by these peddlers became worn, and/or various parts atrophied through heavy use and old age, the company undertook the financing of repairs and parts replacement. The peddlers worked off this financing by supplying product directly to Usher Oil.

Other developments during this decade included the installation of a large, low-pressure boiler. Heating coils were placed into the 500,000-gallon tank, which enabled the company to process the used oil into a 'cleaner' finished product than had been previously re-refined. During the mid-fifties, Usher Oil Company took on its first employee who was not a driver. This young man, Walter Pitts, began to work with Charles Usher, tending to plant maintenance. He also learned how to monitor the quantity and quality of in-coming oil product.

Commercial oil reclamation grew very slowly during the 1950s. It was not until late into the decade that a second 500,000 tank was erected on the very small property at 9000 Roselawn. A 1200 sq ft office building was also built. Usher Oil was slowly transitioning its operations from a simple waste-oil transportation service into a full-fledged recycling plant.

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