Leonard Tire & Automotive Repair

Leonard and his family moved here from Indiana in 1918…doing what he can to make a buck in this town where bucks don’t come easy. Known as “Fatz,” Mr. Leonard refused to say what the initials H.E. stood for. “My initials are H.E. and nobody knew my first name except my mother and my insurance company and I’m gonna keep it that way.” H.E. did however tell me how he came to be known as Fatz. His family lived on North 6th Street and their son attended fourth grade at the North Fourth School which was located on, what else, North Fourth Street where Sunwest Bank currently stands. “There wasn’t very many of us gringos around at that time.” Fatz recalled. “The native kids chose to call me ‘gordo,’ and I took exception to it. We had a huge principal and he had a hand twice as big as mine and everytime two kids got in a fight he hit them both. So, by the end of that day the name Gordo was alright with me.”