Mac Campbell shared a family memory with www.bladenonline.com recently when he shared this photograph of the first store that housed what would later become known as Campbell Oil.
Campbell said the beginning of the company pre-dates himself. The photograph is of Campbell’s father’s store which burned in 1939.
“That store was located on the opposite corner from the Kentucky Fried Chicken in front of the Dollar General,” said Campbell.
He said some familiar faces in Bladen County once worked for his father in that store including Jesse Inman, Harry Bostic, and B. J. King.
Campbell said King was actually in the store at the time it burned and thankfully escaped the fire.
Campbell said his father was one of the first men in Bladen County to be drafted into the Army in 1942 and he went off to serve his country. When he returned from his military service, Campbell said his father opened a store and Campbell Oil was incorporated in 1948 and signed its first contract with Shell Oil in 1950.
The store at that time was located on the lot where the current Tidewater store is located.
Campbell said the company originally signed a contract with Shell Oil Company. Campbell said the company evolved into other brands and is now no longer a Shell distributor.
Campbell said the company also has second, third and fourth generations of the Campbell family all working there.
“We are thankful to be in Elizabethtown,” said Campbell.
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