Remembering Phillips Chevrolet
Written by Justin D. Lamb
The crew of Phillips Chevrolet gathers for a photograph in 1938.
(Collection of the author)
Curt Phillips first entered the automobile industry in September 1929 when he and Jim Kinney purchased a Dodge-Plymouth dealership. A few months later, they expanded and purchased a Chevrolet dealership from Bill Williams on 12th Street in Benton. Phillips oversaw the business end of the company such as the sales and bookwork while Kinney focused on parts and repairs. In the first few months, the car lot only had one car, but when the 1930 models rolled off the assembly line, more cars soon arrived at Phillips-Kinney Dealership.
Phillips-Kinney Dealership dissolved in 1935 when Phillips purchased all of the interest in the Chevrolet used and new car dealership and Kinney purchased all of the interest in the shop and repair end of the business. The car lot became known as Phillips Chevrolet.
The dealership only kept two or three news cars on site and only an average of three cars were sold a month. Many were without money in Marshall County and the demand for automobiles wasn’t too high until the end of World War II. Phillips’ biggest clientele in the early years were bootleggers because they were among the very few whom always seemed to have cash on hand. Many times Curt Phillips was paid entirely in one dollar bills for a purchase by these bootleggers.
Most of the customers in the early days were farmers and they traded livestock, horses, and other items in exchange for automobiles. Due to the high volume of farmers in Marshall County, trucks were in more of a demand than cars and roughly two trucks were sold to every car. However, most of that all changed in the 1950s and 1960s when the car culture was ushered into American culture.
Besides being a successful businessman, Curt Phillips was very active in the civic affairs of Marshall County. He was a charter member of the Benton Young Men’s Progress Club and was active in the Marshall County Rotary Club and Red Cross. He served a few terms on the Benton City Council and was a director for the Bank of Benton. He was active with the Benton Methodist Church where he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Finance Committee. Curt Phillips passed away in October 1975 after 46 years at the helm of Phillips Chevrolet.
Curt Phillips (right) received recognition for his 25 years of service from General Motors in 1955.
(Courtesy of Tribune-Courier)
Curt Phillips’ son, Joe Brooks Phillips, joined the family business in 1945 after his graduation from Murray State University. “I was more or less raised in the garage.” Joe Brooks Phillips recalled in a 1987 interview. Joe Brooks Phillips remained in the business at Phillips Chevrolet until a heart attack forced him to retire in 1981. A third generation was welcomed to the business when Joe Brooks’ son, Curtis Phillips, took joined the firm in 1978. Phillips Chevrolet closed its doors for the final time in 1987 thus ending a 58 year era in Marshall County.