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Texas | Columns

"Hindsights"


Looking back at:

Hal and Charlie Peterson -
Big Dreams

By Michael Barr
Michael Barr

Hal "Boss" Peterson left the family ranch at 15 years old to work at Mr. Weston's garage at the corner of Water Street and Sidney Baker in Kerrville. By the time Boss was 18, he and his brother Charlie owned the place. The Peterson Garage and Auto Company became the cornerstone of a family business empire.

Sid "Cap" Peterson, Hal and Charlie's father, broke horses on the Schreiner Ranch and drove cattle to Kansas. By the turn of the 20th century Cap owned a sizeable ranch west of Kerrville.

Cap's oldest son Hal, born in 1899, was a cagey horse trader and a natural businessman. Sid said Hal was "born serious." Family legend says Hal skipped childhood altogether. Sid nicknamed Hal "Boss" before Hal was in long britches.

Although Boss had a number of health issues, including a serious heart ailment he shared with his father and brother, he had the restless energy of 3 men. He hit the ground running every morning. He did not believe he had long to live so he was in a hurry. He had a lot of deals to make before his ticker conked out.

While Boss was impulsive, brother Charlie was quiet and easy-going. The brothers were perfect business partners. They complemented each other. Boss needed Charlie so Boss wouldn't go off half-cocked.

Not long after buying Mr. Weston's garage, Boss bought a Buick franchise. By 1925 the Peterson Garage and Auto Company sold Buicks, Chevys, Oldsmobiles, Pontiacs and Cadillacs, becoming one of the few dealerships to have all GM products under one roof.

Kerrville, TX - Peterson Garage
Peterson Garage
Courtesy Hal and Charlie Peterson Foundation

As Kerrville grew, Boss noticed that people needed transportation to San Antonio for medical services and shopping. Boss bought 3 stretched Buicks and began ferrying passengers between Kerrville and the Alamo City.

In 1924 Boss took the next step and launched Kerrville Bus Company - one of the first scheduled bus lines in West Texas. By 1939 KBC was the 3rd largest bus company in Texas.

Boss and Charlie had a variety of investments. A business they owned called the West Texas Auto Company tested tires on Hill Country roads. The brothers were part owners in KERV Radio. They were in the wool and mohair business, the photography business and the petroleum transportation business. By the end of WWII they were wealthy men.

Kerrville, TX - Hal Peterson Kerrville, TX - Charlie Peterson
L - Boss Peterson
R - Charlie Peterson

Courtesy Hal and Charlie Peterson Foundation

When Sid "Cap" Peterson's health began to fail he spent a lot of time at the Nix Hospital in San Antonio. Kerrville had a hospital, but it was too small for adequate treatment. When Cap died of heart disease in 1939 his sons vowed that someday Kerrville would have a first-class hospital of its own.

It was a big dream, even for Boss Peterson. Almost no one gave it a chance. Only Boss and Charlie believed.

To build the hospital and support it after it opened, Boss and Charlie started the Hal and Charlie Peterson Foundation. Boss contributed the first $100 in 1944. By 1948 the foundation had $700,000 in assets - mostly cash contributions from Hal and Charlie and the Kerrville Bus Company, and the hospital was under construction.

Built solely with funds from the Hal and Charlie Peterson Foundation and private donations, Sid Peterson Hospital opened its doors in 1949. It was Boss and Charlie's gift to their community.

Boss believed the hospital needed a source of income other than patient fees, so the first floors of Sid Peterson Hospital offered office space for lease. The ground floor had an 11-pump gas station. The concept drew attention from all over the world. Time Magazine did a feature on it.

Sid Peterson was the first hospital in the nation to have an intercom system connecting each patient to a nurse's station. It was the first hospital to have central air-conditioning although Boss had to do some serious arm-twisting to find an air-conditioning contractor willing to bid on an 88,000 sq. ft. building.

Today the Hal and Charlie Peterson Foundation has $60 million in assets. Between 1944 and 2000 it gave away $96 million - that's $281 million adjusted to inflation. It plans to give away another $3 million in 2021.

© Michael Barr
"Hindsights" February 15, 2021 Column



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