The grandkids were out for Easter… hopefully they both had a good time. We dug out a couple of Hess toy trucks to entertain Locke. The trucks belonged to his dad and were in a box of Dave’s toys and things that he had in his room when he was young.
The trucks were a big hit — what little boy doesn’t like trucks? When our kids were little we bought them a toy truck at the a Hess gas station every year. They had a new model each year and they always had real lights that worked and they came with the batteries included. I don’t remember how many we had over the years, but it looks like we only have three left.
The first Hess truck was offered for sale in 1964 at Hess gas stations. It was a tanker truck — an authentic reproduction of the B Mac tanker truck. You could pick one up at Hess gas stations for $1.29 (including batteries.) Since 1964 Hess has sold a different model every year — always at their gas stations, until recently when it became possible to buy them online.
The Hess toy trucks were, and as far as I know, still are made by the Markx Toy Company. The ones we have were all made in Hong Kong. Our “collection” consists of the 1986 Hess Fire Truck, the 1987 Hess 19-Wheeler and the 1988 Hess truck made to haul a racing car — the car was included. The 1987 model started the tradition of the Hess trucks being detailed in white and green.
The Hess Corp. has sold their retail business to Marathon Petroleum, but a few stations still carry the Hess name and color scheme (green and white) and they continue to sell the trucks, beginning around Thanksgiving time every year.
Watching Locke play with the trucks brought back lots of memories of bygone days in our house.
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