Earl Gervais

In the midst of the great depression, Earl Gervais started SPEEDY DELIVERY SERVICE. He remodeled an old car into a delivery truck and delivered flowers, groceries and later wood to people on relief. He proceeded into the automotive service field doing mechanical repairs, body work, welding and selling BA gas. He bought a dump truck in 1941 and in 1949 he  redesigned it, converting it into a tow truck. He began towing 24 hours daily, working for the Ottawa Police Dept., Voyageur Colonial, City of Ottawa and the public. His motto was “BIG OR SMALL – WE TOW THEM ALL”. He had very little education but with his mechanical experience and ability, dedication, hard work, honesty and a dream to design a better tow truck, he proceeded to build his towing company. Throughout these years his wife, daughters and three sons joined him in the business which he had built into one of the largest towing firms in Ottawa.

His sons and grandchildren are following in his footsteps and continuing his dream in his honor. The story of the Gervais operation is featured in the bound volume of major historical happenings in Ottawa, the capital of Canada.