This is the second part of Tom Holmes’ interview with Mike Mohr. Part I ran last week:
Michael “Mike” Mohr describes himself as old-fashioned, old-school.
Nowadays, old fashioned often means stuck in your ways, atavistic, oldfangled, quaint, antique, retro, behind the times, antiquated, outdated, obsolete, outmoded.
But that’s not what Mike means by old-fashioned. At the risk of putting words in his mouth, I looked up the Boy Scout Oath and Law, and I think he would say “amen” to both.
Scout Oath: On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
Scout Law: A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent.
The Scout Oath and Law are all about values, about treating others the way you would have them treat you. And the owner of Mohr Oil, the offices of which are located on Harrison Street right across the street from the Roos Center, would also agree that being old-fashioned doesn’t necessarily mean being stuck in your ways.
Mohr Oil was founded by Mike’s father, Howard Mohr, in 1950, the year Mike was born. At first his dad worked in sales for Pure Oil, located at 47th and Harlem.
“He was taking orders on the phone,” Mike recalled, “and said to himself, ‘I can do this.’ He borrowed $1,500 from my grandfather, hired two men, and Mohr Oil was born.
“He’d put on a suit in the morning, drive around town and wherever he would see a coal chute he’d stop and knock on the door and ask, ‘How’d you like to convert from coal to heating oil?’ He would come home for lunch, change into work clothes and do installations of fuel tanks and oil burners in the afternoon. It was hard work, partly because he had to clean out the coal bins, which were really dirty.”
After World War II, the big shift in home heating was from coal to oil and Mike’s father got into the business just as that market was opening up. At one point the business had 3,200 heating oil accounts, but just as home energy moved from coal to healing oil, homeowners began switching from oil to natural gas in the late ’50s. Today there are only 10-12 homeowners that Mike’s business sells heating oil to.
Like his dad, Mike is an agile businessman. He shifted the focus of Mohr Oil from heating oil to diesel fuel, which he sells mainly to construction companies. Many of the contractors he sells to are road builders, sewer companies, contractors who put in driveways, bus companies and trucking companies.
Every night, Mike’s drivers fill up to 40 vehicles and construction equipment.
One way Mohr Oil has remained competitive is by investing in specialized equipment. “Our company has changed so much, based on our customers’ needs. For instance, we have one truck with a super-long hose to get into difficult places — like one of the sightseeing boats down at Navy Pier.
“We used to buy trucks for $40-50,000,” Mike said. “My last two were $320,000 each.”
Old-fashioned values certainly have not impeded Mike’s business acumen.
In 2021, Bill Kristol, a neo-conservative, made comments about Democrat Joe Biden that could also apply to Mike Mohr.
“[His] speech to a joint session of Congress tonight was old-fashioned and pretty uncomplicated. [He said] ‘In another era when our democracy was tested, Franklin Roosevelt reminded us, in America: We do our part.’ That sentiment, in fact, is kind of old-fashioned. The speech was old-fashioned but it was also present-oriented.
“[His] desire for national unity, his respect for most of his fellow citizens, his wariness of flights of fancy, his suspicions of leftist utopianism — and, to be fair, his commitment to liberty and decency — can provide at least some resistance to woke hectoring.”
Pope Francis’ values were old-fashioned in the sense that they went all the way back to Jesus, which also made them radical. They were fashioned over the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church. Commentators I have heard tend to focus on how DEI Francis was. Maybe they should also focus on his old-fashioned, 2000-year-old values as well.
One of Mike Mohr’s old-fashioned values is generosity. According to Laurie Kokenes, executive director of the Forest Park Chamber of Commerce, “Mike continues to generously support our chamber because of his commitment to the community and his belief that the chamber’s work contributes to the long-term success of the business community and Forest Park. He signs up for the highest level of membership each year and although Mohr Oil doesn’t get foot traffic from events like the parade and holiday walk, Mike sponsors each one and shows up whenever he can. Bias aside, he’s just a great guy.”