EA's Sinclair Station in 1936

EA at the Sinclair Station, 10th & College Blvd.

 In 1936 one of the Topeka newspapers highlighted EA's 16 years as owner of the Burkhardt Battery and Electric Company.

It will be a big week this week at the Burkhardt Battery and Electric Co., 118 W Fourth. E. A. Burkhardt, owner, is celebrating the sixteenth anniversary of the establishment of his business in Topeka and is also opening a new Sinclair Super Service station at Tenth and College avenues. The station which will be fully equipped to handle all kinds of service, will be formerly opened the latter part of the week.

After Burkhardt had finished his work at Washburn college where he captained the football team in 1911, he started to work in the electrical department of the Santa Fe Railway. Later he became foreman of the Keele Electric Co where he became interested in forming a business of his own. After operating a Willard Battery Service Station in Osage City for two months, he returned to Topeka and opened his local store at the present location, 118 W Fourth street. From that time on his business registered a steady growth and his personnel increased from one employee until he now has a staff of 11.
So successful was he in retailing Willard batteries that he was given a district distributorship so that he could handle, thru other dealers, the entire Topeka trade territory of 16 counties. Since he distributes for 235 Willard Storage Battery dealers, he now has to buy batteries by the carload, a thousand at a time. This firm also is distributor for the following nationally-known merchandise: Delco-Remy automotive parts, Mohawk tires and Grizzly Brake linings.

The new Burkhardt’s Sinclair Service station will feature . . . . washing, cleaning and polish service for car owners. Cecil Haug will be manager of the station; O B Thomas is the retail sales manager of the Electric Shop; and Burkhardt spends most of his time doing promotional work in his distributing territory.