U.S. Rents It, while perhaps not the oldest rental store in the U.S., is certainly in the running. Founded in 1939 by original owner H.P. Gentges, the store opened in Jefferson City, Mo., as a roofing company, and later began to rent roofing tools. Gentges added general rental in 1951 and joined the American Rental Association (ARA) in 1957, following the trade association’s first convention in Omaha, Neb.

Soon after that, current co-owner and president, Jim Rau, began what is now a 50-year career at U.S. Rents It. He began working part-time at the company in 1960. A few months later, he moved to a full-time position and became manager of the Sedalia location, one of three locations U.S. Rents It had at the time. He later became general manager of all three stores in Sedalia, Columbia and Jefferson City, Mo.

In 1960, no more than six employees ran the entire business, Rau says, which also included Hertz car and truck rental as well as a recreational vehicle (RV) sales and service business. In 1973, Rau became president of the store and later, co-owner with Frank Gentges, H.P. Gentges’ son.

To read the rest of this article from the February issue of Rental Management, click here.