Dick Habegger, owner of this Bluffton filling station, said that he did
This is not only a classic Bluffton photo – there's a classic Bluffton story attached to it. Here goes:
Head north on Main Street, cross Riley Creek, slow down and look to your right.
If you followed these directions you should be looking at Drive Time Driving School.
It's directly across the street from the Chinese restaurant.
In an earlier era it Dick Habegger operated the station there for several decades. In this photo you see Dick on the left with an unidentified customer, both standing against a 1932 Plymouth roadster.
The late Richard Jordan originally owned this snapshot. He told us that the man in white might be his wife’s uncle, Myron “Mike” Reichenbach.
We are unable to identify the gas brand offered when this photo was taken, but the station eventually became a Pure Oil Station.
A Habegger John Dillinger story
Habegger had one of the best John Dillinger stories ever told in Bluffton. According to Habegger the Dillinger gang stopped and filled up their tank with gas prior to their robbery of Citizens National Bank on Aug. 14, 1933.
He told customers that the men were well dressed and very polite. It gets better.
According to the Habegger legend, on their way out of town the gang honked and waved to him.
We have no way of verifying this story. And, adding to that, Habegger was known to tell some great stories. But, this one is so good that deserves a hallowed place in the Bluffton-Dillinger robbery story collection.
If there is ever a movie made about the Dillinger robbery, this story would be a great ending to the movie.
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