In 1964, the Hess oil company got into the toy-truck business. It was the boss' idea, founder Leon Hess, whose Lithuanian immigrant dad once drove an oil delivery truck in Asbury Park, N.J.
Leon, who bootstrapped himself into one of the wealthiest men in the United States (including owning the New York Jets), wanted to sell an affordable Christmas gift, something for families trying to make ends meet. In this case: a toy oil delivery truck with working lights.
Price? $1.29.
Citizen Kane stuff going on with Leon? Maybe.
Fifty years later, that original Hess Toy Truck can be yours for about $1,800 — if you can find a collector willing to part with it. The price is a wallet-devouring testament to the obsession that now surrounds this holiday tradition.
Each year, the company releases a new toy truck — or some variation of ship, tractor, helicopter, van, patrol car, dune buggy, you get the picture. It's perennially old-school, a forever-cool physical thrill that can still delight in a digital world.
Justin Mayer, general manager of Hess Toy Trucks, wouldn't give financial details on the manufacturing, yet he did say the toys, which still retail for a reasonable price, are "a gesture of goodwill toward our customers." (Hess Corp., which has more than 1,300 branded stations in 16 East Coast states, recently sold its retail line to Marathon Petroleum; the Hess Toy Truck, however, will continue rolling, same name, same awesomeness.)
"There's definitely a mystique" to the Hess Toy Truck, says David Alexander, owner of Tampa's Culture & Thrills Collectibles Gallery (cultureandthrills.com). "Those trucks have been manufactured for quite some time. It's become an organized hobby."
In addition to boys and girls who simply enjoy vroomy things, Alexander says the Hess retail line appeals to myriad collectors, thus tizzying up the obsessive aura: toy car and truck fanatics, "advertiser" collectors (think people similar to those obsessed with Coca-Cola or Disney), offshoot collectors who gather helicopters, vans, patrol cars, etc.
For this year's golden anniversary, the Hess Toy Truck, which each year is designed by in-house staff, is a three-in-one beauty: a heavy-duty flatbed with hydraulic ramp, plus a space shuttle with retractable landing gear, PLUS a scout flyer with folding wings.
It retails for $29.99, six Energizer batteries included. (Every Hess truck, even that first one, has "working lights." This new one has 50 of them, not to mention motion-activated sound effects.) The 2014 edition can be purchased at Hess stations or online at hesstoytruck.com.
This new space-themed toy will draw in even more heated collectors, says Alexander, who has several Hess Toy Trucks at his store, the most expensive being about $50. "Now you'll get the NASA people," he says. "It's like a communicable disease."
To help commemorate 50 years of Hess Toy Trucks, a first-time mobile museum — with never-before-seen artifacts, video games, coloring sheets and more — is roaming the country, with a stop today in Tampa at the Hess Express at 6332 N Dale Mabry Highway. (See accompanying infobox for more details.)
The 40-foot mobile tribute will be fun for the whole family — not to mention a battalion of fervent obsessives. You've been warned.
Contact Sean Daly at sdaly@tampabay.com. Follow @seandalypoplife.