Woodway / Texas / United States
One evening in October of 1936, just before the shop was closing, a muddy Model A pulled into the Ford agency on 5th Street between Washington and Columbus. Jack Kultgen got out and introduced himself as the new operator of the store that he and Arthur Bird, a San Antonio investor, had just purchased. Since that evening, Bird-Kultgen Ford has been a trusted fixture in the Waco area. No other dealership and very few other businesses have managed to evolve to meet the changing needs of Central Texans through a depression, five wars, several recessions, and all the good times in between. Our first location only exists now in old photos...the McLennan County Records Building now occupies the entire block. In 1947, we moved to a new, state-of-the-art facility on the business outskirts of town at 13th and Franklin, where we grew to take up almost two city blocks. In 1993, we were the first dealership to move to what is now called Wacos Motor Mile on Highway 6 (which many of our long-time customers still call our "new location"). Through all that time we have continued to change to meet the desires of generations of Waco Ford buyers, but weve never lost sight of the need to provide fair, honest, affordable, and quality service. One other thing Jack Kultgen brought with him back in 1936...a dedication to making his city a better place for everyone living there. Through four generations the Kultgen family has been involved in more civic projects and agencies than we have room to list. However, if youve been a patient at Providence Hospital, driven on Waco Drive or I-35, studied at TSTC, gone to a football game at Floyd Casey Stadium, enjoyed boating on Lake Waco, or received assistance from one of many of our area social service agencies, your life has been touched by Bird-Kultgen Ford.
