Left - Bill Murphy
Murphy's Service Station
In 1925, Bill Murphy purchased a Shell service station from Eli Witte, located at the corner of Springdale Street and Hwy. 78 in Mt. Horeb. For the first two years Bill was helped by his brother Jack. There he changed oil, checked tire pressure, and fixed flats, in addition to selling gas. He kept his station open from 7:30 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. seven days a week. The station also delivered petroleum products by tank wagon to village and farm customers.
Bill, who was blind, determined a vehicle's model, and the location of its gas tank and oil dipstick simply by feel. With his wife, Agnes (Torphy) Murphy, daughter Patricia, and son Jim, Bill successfully operated the business for 27 years.
Bill Murphy, who passed away in 1969 at the age of 70, with the help of his family, a trust between seller and customer, overcame a disability that would keep most from participating in this type of business.
The following is from a Phillips 66 publication, "Selling Sixty Six" July -August,1948
Blindness No Handicap To Bill Murphy
"William Murphy of Mount Horeb Wisconsin, lives a perfectly normal and happy life although he is almost completely blind. Bill lost his sight when a boy of 11 in a summer hockey game. He was determined from the time of the accident that the loss of his sight would not cause him to become different from other folks.
With his Irish determination he started in the gasoline business with his brother while he was still a young man. Soon after, Bill;'s brother entered the teaching profession and Bill took over the station. His wife, Agnes, has been his eyes throughout their happy life together. Their two children are in high school and take part in musical and athletic activities with considerable success.
Bill's son, Jim, is a boy any father could be proud of. Every spare moment away from school Jim helps his parents in the station and delivers petroleum products by tank wagon to both city and farm customers in the area.
Few strangers discovered Bill's handicap when they stop at his pumps for service. Without any difficulty Bill. by one touch of the car, knows instantly where to find the fill cap to the gas tank. His computing pumps are equipped with bells that ring on the gallon mark and Bill knows the totals in money for the various quantities without any trouble. In checking tires he uses a dial set air stand with holes drilled and tapped at the pressure desired and lets the air chuck do the rest as he applies it to each tire valve stem.
Only in changing bills is Bill compelled to depend upon his customer's honesty. Usually, however, there is someone at the station who quietly indicates to Bill the amount of the currency he is handed and Bill hands back correct change out of his cash register. Only twice in his 23 years of operating the station has anyone attempted to cheat him by giving him the wrong information about the size of a bill. In each case Bill sensed something was wrong and recovered the loss with the help of friends.
Bill's ability to remember voices is uncanny. Mr. M.C. Reppen, vice president and assistant manager of the Fiore Coal and Oil Company which supplies Bill with Phillips 66 products, often attempts to confuse Bill by disguising his voice, but has never been able to do it. Folks who call at the station only a few times a year have been amazed that Bill recognizes their voice and remembers their name."""
The following story was taken from the Milwaukee Journal , May 21, 1950, written by Robert J. Doyle.
Mt. Horeb Wisconsin- Back in 1928, an ax handle salesman stopped at Bill Murphy's filling station here for gasoline. Bill Murphy is blind. The salesman said he was paying with a $10 dollar bill, so Bill gave him change. The salesman drove away.
The way the man talked and acted had made Bill suspicious. When his wife arrived at the station a few minutes later, Bill showed her the bill the salesman had given him,. It was a $1 bill.
Bill knew that the salesman was driving a 1927 Oldsmobile sports sedan-quite a car in those days and easy to spot in Mt. Horeb, 20 miles miles west of Madison on Hwy 18. Bill asked a neighbor boy to drive through town and look for the car. The boy found the salesman.
"I cant see very good," bill growled "but if you don't give me back that money I'll break your neck." Bill got his money"
That is the only time in 25 years Bill Murphy has had his filling station, he said last week, that anyone has tried to take advantage of him.
"A lot of people told me when I bought this station that I'd be stolen blind," he recalled. "They were wrong. The public is very good. A lot of strangers stop, especially in the summer. They are surprised to find a blind man running the station and I find that all of them are honest, whether they are rich or poor, black or white or Indians."
Bill is solid chunk of a man proud of his strength and of his ability to run his little business. He stands five feet 8 1/2 inches tall and weighs 240 pounds. He is 51 years old.
Tragedy hit Bill in the middle of a "shinney" game behind the school here when he was 11 , He took a swipe at a tin can and his stick hit a black hawthorn bush. A branch snapped back and a thorn pierced young Bill's left eye. Infection set in and soon affected his right eye."
In the same article Bill reflects on the challenges of business.
The hardest part of his business Bill says, is going out and in to serve customers in the winter time. He hopes that he can find a restaurant and tavern business for himself and his son so he can stay in side. If he does, the customers won't be able to buy him a drink. He has never tasted whisky or beer and doesn't plan to start now.