The Schafer's are celebrating 100 years of towing. Please join the celebration on August 28th in Rochester, MN
The four generations of towing began in the 1920’s in Renville, a small town in western Minnesota. Willard “Bill” Schafer, a machinist and mechanic, built an auto repair shop in their garage. He later added towing to their business and built a small tow truck. His phone number was only 3 digits long! (237)
In the early 1940’s, World War II began and the nation needed heavy duty equipment to manufacture war supplies. The Federal Government told Bill they needed his machinery and it would be moved to Hopkins where Minneapolis Moline Manufacturing was located. The company made shells, warheads, Army Jeeps and tractors. Bill told the Government officials that if his equipment was taken, he was going with it. Bill, his wife Hazel and two sons moved to Hopkins for the duration of the war.
In 1945, the war ended and within five days 476 employees of the company were fired from Minneapolis Moline. Bill was happy to finally return to his hometown of Renville and resume his garage and towing business. David, the youngest son, went into the Office Supply and Music Business while Dan, the oldest son, followed in his father’s footsteps.
In 1956, Dan, his Wife Barb and two daughters lived in Marshall, Minnesota where Dan worked in an Auto body shop. In 1959, the family packed up and moved to Granite Falls. They moved into a small, one-bedroom apartment, upstairs, with no stove! Dan took his last paycheck and rented one stall at the Ford Garage. That was the beginning of Dan’s Body Shop and Schafer Towing. Dan and Barb never doubted it would be a success. Within a short time, the one stall was not large enough so Dan rented a building along Highway 212. Business continued to grow and needed more space, again! In 1970, Dan and Barb built a new shop and added more tow trucks.
In 1962 a son Mark was added to the family and he turned out to be a “very busy little guy”. One day at about age eleven, he asked Barb “Why do we have to sleep? Just think of how much more work we could do if we didn’t have to sleep”.
Mark joined his dad in the business at the age of eighteen. He spent many, many hours at the shop and became well acquainted with the tools, trucks and procedures.
In 1986, Dan and Barb sold the Business in Granite Falls and bought Pulver Towing in Rochester, a company which had been in business since 1945. The Pulver name was well known throughout the area so the name was kept rather than changing it to Schafer Towing. The shop was located just off highway 52 in southwest Rochester. Dan, Mark and two employees did the towing and the shop work while Barb served as the bookkeeper and dispatcher.
The Business continued to grow so in 1991 space was rented from Ken Keefe located off third avenue SE. Pulver Towing remained at that location for twenty-five years. In 2004, Barb retired and Dan Semi-Retired while Mark took over the business. Requests for service continued to increase so space again became an issue. A new building was erected in 2016 in northwest Rochester to accommodate additional trucks and staff. Opportunities for further expansion led to the purchase of two separate towing companies. Moody’s towing of Rochester and a Southwest Towing in Marshall, Mn.
Mark Has four sons, Josh, Ben, Sam and Max and two daughters, Amanda and Izzy. Josh works at the Marshall Location. Max and Ben do the Heavy Duty towing at the northwest Rochester location. Sam works as the dispatch and Marks Fiancé Gwen, is the bookkeeper. Mark has several roles to play: Towing, public relations, supervision and whatever else is needed.
In-coming calls guarantee a variety of challenges to Towing Services. Pulver has Towed some Unique loads; Elephants, baby chickens, and even live bullheads to Chicago, disabled ready mix trucks and overturned garbage haulers. One very interesting service call involved a government tractor/trailer hauling large tubes lined with three inches of gold bound for a nuclear plant. It was guarded by several security vans full of armed men.
Many well-known people have used Pulver Towing Service including Reba McEntire, Willy Nelson, Merle Haggard, Montgomery Gentry, King Hussein of Jordan, Tech n9ne and three U.S. Presidents; G.H. Bush, G.W. Bush and Donald Trump. There was also a time when King Hussein’s plane ran off the runway at the Rochester Airport. Pulver was called to come out and pull it back on the Runway. To make sure no damage was done to the plane, a call was made to Northwest Airlines in Minneapolis and they sent a mechanic to advise on the procedure. Prior to the arrival of the mechanic, Mark was given a tour of the aircraft by the king’s staff and bodyguard. His escorts carried guns. While in the plane, he met King Hussein’s Daughter. Mark recalls seeing lots and lots of gold and fancy white leather-sort of a flying palace.
Towing is definitely an interesting but challenging business. You work on calls twenty-four hours a day, three hundred and sixty-five days a year through all types of weather. There are times when you have a planned family affair, sporting event, graduations, concerts or plays, but you may find yourself on the highway up righting an overturned tractor trailer blocking the roadway. The family must understand the situation and be supportive. Towing is required to help maintain public safety and to keep traffic moving. It shall be and remain a vital transportation device.
Pulver Towing has added locations in Fulda, MN Worthington, MN and Austin, MN We continue to grow at a rapid rate in the state of MN.
The Company has been in Tow Times Magazine Multiples times. In November 2018 Josh Schafer, Mark oldest Son, was recognized by American Towman in Baltimore, MD for his family’s dedication to the community and the Towing Industry. Josh was inducted in to the Order of Towman
In 2020 Mark’s grandson Greg started working part time for Pulver. Greg Schafer is Josh’s son and is the 1st of the 5th generation to work in the towing and recovery industry
We will continue to exceed the expectations of our customers by following one simple rule: treat others as you wish to be treated. Also following the Advice of Dan Schafer, “Always worry about the customer and not the competition”.
The Schafer family remains proud of their accomplishments in the vital industry as they enter a full century in the towing industry.
The Schafer’s are working on a detailed timeline of the family's storied history in the towing industry. The Schafer’s also plan to celebrate their 100 year anniversary in the summer of 2021.
