Clark, Robert Carlton, Ph.D. "History of the Willamette Valley Oregon." Vol. 3. Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company, 1927. p. 334. J. J. HERSHBERGER At an early age J. J. Hershberger gained his first knowledge of mechanical pursuits, to which he has devoted his life, and his constantly expanding powers have placed him with the foremost automobile dealers of Hubbard. He was born in Ohio, in 1885, of which state his parents, J. M. and Elizabeth (Schlabach) Hershberger, were also natives, and is of old Pennsylvania Dutch stock. He attended the public schools of Ohio and afterward took a correspondence course in engineering. When a boy of ten he aided his father in operating a threshing machine and also worked in the sawmill. He was thus engaged until 1912, acquiring valuable experience, and then became a salesman for an automobile firm of Millersburg, Ohio. He had purchased a car in 1908, his being the first automobile in that neighborhood. Mr. Hershberger was connected with the trade in Ohio until 1914, when he came to Oregon, and followed the occupation of farming for a year. In the fall of 1915 he opened a garage and repair shop in Hubbard and in 1916 started to sell the Willys Overland and Willys Knight cars. At the same time he became a Studebaker dealer and continued his operations until the autumn of 1919, when he sold the business. He then purchased a tract of eighty acres near Hubbard and cultivated the place for five years, following diversified farming. The business which he had established was incorporated in 1922 and has since been conducted under the style of the Hubbard Garage Company. In 1925 Mr. Hershberger purchased stock in the corporation, of which he is now secretary and manager, and his wife acts as vice president, while W. F. Gifford fills the office of president. The firm handles the Willys Knight and Overland automobiles, selling about fifty cars per year in Hubbard. The Studebaker line was discontinued in 1925 and in March, 1927, Mr. Hershberger increased the scope of the business by opening a sales office and service station in Salem, at the same time securing the agency for the distribution of the Falcom, Knight and Peerless cars in that city. The Hubbard Garage Company is established on a substantial basis and the business in the Capital city is rapidly developing. Mr. Hershberger has an expert knowledge of the automotive industry, and his well directed efforts contribute much to the success of the firm. He is also interested in the newspaper business and is one of the directors of the Hubbard Enterprise. In 1907 Mr. Hershberger married Miss Melinda J. Kramer, whose birthplace was the same house in which he was born. Her mother died in the east and about 1893 she came to Oregon with her father, J. J. Kramer, and her stepmother. Mr. and Mrs. Hershberger became the parents of four children, one of whom was a native of Oregon and died in infancy. The others are Mabel Fern, John Melvin and Amy Elizabeth, all of whom were born in Ohio. Mr. Hershberger manifests a deep interest in educational matters and while engaged in ranching served as school director. For many years he has been a member of the Hubbard Commercial Club, of which he is an officer and director, and lends the weight of his support to all movements destined to prove of benefit to the community, in which he is highly esteemed. ******************* Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in March 2012 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.