OAKLEAF OLD CARS

Our founder Donnas Oakleaf started out like many farmers in the Midwest trying to make a living any way he could. Growing up Donnas loved to work with his hands and fix things, including cars. Slowly he started to amass a collection of cars on his homestead with his wife in rural Hartford, South Dakota. After complications when his second son was born, Donnas decided to make salvaging cars a full time business in 1955... During this time, Lady Bird Johnson started the cleaning up America campaign. Seeing an opportunity to boost an already thriving business, Donnas purchased the first car crusher to be owned and operated in South Dakota... This mobile crusher allowed Donnas to travel and help in Lady Bird Johnson's mission to clean up America. Crushing anything composed of iron including bicycles, farm machinery, and rusty dilapidated cars, Donnas was able to process more metal to send off to smelting facilities that would melt it down to make recycled steel.

Primary location: Hartford United States