. NEWS ; photo Miko, ‘Wakefleta

CAR WASH t pioneer Elgin Arnold stands by at his Park k Royal Oasis car wash as a Mercedes trades
in some grime and salt for a steam und clean.

North Vancouver car wash operator
~ still laundering autos at the age of 74

: THE BUSINESS made insurance’ industry headlines in the
June 1964 issue of: The Agent as the cleanest risk in

Canada. :
’ Oasis Car Wash - ‘Ltd. “owner |
Elgin Arnold was. covered. bya
Safeco/General’ multi-peril
: package policy..He had just:open
‘ed another automated car wash at
“the ‘ultra-modern shopping cen-
‘tre’? at Park Royal in ‘West Van-
couver,
Reeve Alex Forst
; snipped. the ribbon. .
“~ Cars: were..bigger. back then —

of, ficially

all the more'surface area for nasty’

road grime to cling to. Whitewall
tires'and glitzy’ chromium fittings’
“were: ‘standard issue: _ tricky
‘stuffs 8 604 :

The main thing. is, 'it all got dir-

ty. ;

” The Park Royal Oasis was ‘biilt
to wash. ‘and . Wax ° 120° cars per
- hour. :

_ “Arnold, now « art and, living in

° North: Vancouver,' says ~ it’s «all
about time and motion; —'

~. He entered the. business in 1950

with little more than a.bucket, a

7 hose and ‘a, steamy dream ‘about:

yo Tinton coups ate
ind 3. coupons per party. os

Guest: Validation

By Michael Becker
News Reporter

cleaning many cars quickly. -

““] didn’t want to sell cars. 1.

didn’t. want to repair them, but I

-figured . that’ keeping them: clean

was, something. that. had to be
done. :

“1 figured that even if cars were
flying they’d have to.come down
:to earth to “be cleaned. up,”’ he
’ said,

The drive. ‘to automation: began
““auspiciously with the design of an
oil-fired steam cleaner. for
whitewall tizes.

‘“In'-those days. all “the cars
would run ‘around with — these
whitewails.. They were called

gangster tires. People drove their

cars. clean. but ‘with~ dirty .
whitewalls... So . we... started to
‘specialize in whitewalls,”” Armold

pine us ss Sunday thru

ea er

|e.

us offer.

A

NAME: Elgin Arnold

RESIDENCE: North Vancouver
AGE: 74

OCCUPATION: Owner, Oasis Car
Wash Ltd.

In the early 1950s Arnold said
car owners would generally bring
their. vehicles to service stations
for an ‘oil and lube job every
. 1,000 miles.

“The stations - ‘always had the
problem .that':the customers
wanted their cars washed. So they
would be looking at the cars sit- .
ting there not being done after
they were greased and lubed, .and
they would be a thorn in, their
side. '

“So we “approached: them: and -
said, ‘Why don’t we pick up the,
‘car and wash it?’ Pretty soon the
garages simply sent the cars to us
to be done,’’ he said,

Arnold purchased a: modest

"See No page 25

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FOUNDERS SCHOLARSHIP
An opportunity for a student entering Grade 8

In celebrating the school's sixtieth year, the York House
School Foundation is ‘pleased to offer. a scholarship,
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The successful candidate will:

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Applications for this scholarship should be made by Friday,
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Rebruary 19th, 1993. : .

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