Evan, better known as "Doc" Ambler, was the seventh son of Andrew and Mary Johnson Ambler. An early Postmaster in the Village of Ambler, he operated the store at Butler & Main until his sudden death in 1893, the result of an accident. The widow, Mary Jenkins Ambler, continued operation of the business for several years, later leasing the store to others, before selling the property to Henry Biddle in 1909.

New owner Biddle altered the old General Store extensively, allowing the stable to remain unchanged. It was this frame building that was leased to Lee Myers in 1911 for use as a garage to store and service the new automobile, which many believed was not just a fad but was here to stay. By that summer Ambler borough already had 32 automobiles, with an additional 12 in a one-mile radius of Ambler. Just a year later, the total had risen to 69 in the borough and outskirts.

Few external changes were made to the original building. A native of Philadelphia, Myers moved his family into one of Leidy Heckler's Fairview Avenue homes in 1911. Earlier he had worked as a machinist in J. Clayton Reed's "Ambler Garage", as well as operating an auto repair shop at Arthur Hayden's Blacksmith Shop on Butler Avenue.

Calling his venture the "City Garage", Myers' business grew steadily. Besides offering service, he handled sales of the Oakland automobile, advertising that the garage was "never closed". An innovative business man, he announced in 1913 that he would, "give lessons in driving the automobile to ladies or any persons desiring same." Miss Ethel Heiss, on acquiring her brand-new Oakland touring car, learned its operation from Lee. Mrs. Charles D. Jones of Ambler Highlands likewise mastered the art of driving, with Myers remarking "the ladies are just as capable as any man in operating the automobile".

Arrival of the "horseless carriage" brought many new problems, one relating to the car's cranking mechanism. Local news items of the day declared that "William Walt broke his arm Saturday morning cranking his automobile", and that "William Jago of Broad Axe broke his arm recently while cranking his machine".

Speeding was cause for concern, with neighboring villages in 1912 enforcing speed laws for automobiles; 12 miles per hour in village limits, and 24 miles per hour in open country. The same year brought this ruling: "Everyone operating an automobile must now have a license, cost being $2.00. Exception - Truck drivers do not require licenses."

Business at the City Garage grew rapidly, soon outgrowing Doc Ambler's old stable. By 1914 landlord Biddle agreed to enlarge the premises. A larger stone building was erected around the stable with the old wooden building later removed. The new stone garage, 50 feet square, had an elevator to move cars from one floor to another. That building exists today on Main Street just off Butler Avenue.

As the popularity of the automobile increased, so too did the garage businesses of the two pioneers, J. Clayton Reed and Lee Myers. Several new garages emerged to take advantage of the growing popularity of this new means of transportation.

Soon the City Garage changed hands, becoming that of Harvey Heath who in 1917 had married Margaret Myers, daughter of his boss Lee Myers. Harvey's brother Charles, better known as Chubb, joined him in the business which prospered for a number of years. Chubb is probably better remembered as the security guard at the First National Bank of Ambler. During a 1933 robbery, he was bound and gagged by the bank robbers and held captive in the bank's basement until the hold-up men were captured sometime later.

It was here in Heath's Garage that Jake Yost's Taxi Service began many years ago. The garage business continued for years, with Doc Ambler's old stable property later becoming a beer distributor's warehouse. Today it houses automobile-related businesses.

The story on how this article evolved from discovery of early Ambler photographs in an Ocean City Candy Store follows:

HISTORIC AMBLER PHOTOS SURFACE IN OCEAN CITY CANDY STORE

Almost as interesting as the above article is the story behind discovery of the photograph illustrating it, by Ambler couple Bud and Mary Jane Wahl. Seems that Mary Jane's love for chocolates from Rauhauser's Candies in Ocean City brought them to this popular Ocean City store on a late-summer weekend.

While Mary Jane selected her chocolates, husband Bud Wahl engaged in a conversation with owner Nancy Blomdahl who spoke of her family roots in early Ambler and the garage business her great grandfather established there years ago. He was Lee Myers who founded the "City Garage" in 1911. This later became Heath's Garage, with Nancy's grandfather Harvey Heath marrying Lee Myers' daughter Margaret in 1917. Harvey and Margaret had three children, one daughter Mary Alice Heath marrying 5&10 assistant manager Curvin Rauhauser. They became the parents of Nancy Rauhauser Blomdahl, moving later to Glenside, where they acquired an interest in candy-making. That interest eventually took them to Ocean City where they established their popular Rauhauser's Candies business.

It was mentioned by Nancy Blomdahl that she had some old Ambler photographs of the Lee Myers' City Garage and Heath's Garage. As a result of Bud Wahl's conversation at Rauhauser's Candies, these rare photos were eventually forwarded to Ambler, with the earliest one illustrating the above local history article by Newton M. Howard

It might be timely to request that anyone having photographs of early Ambler tucked away should get in touch with our history writer (at 215-643-3684) or the "Enterprise" editor Mike Fisher (at 215-886-3023 ) You may have a treasure waiting to be discovered. Don't wait! Get up into your attic now! It'll be too hot next summer.

Margaret Myers Heath operated a store for a time in the former Ambler Gazette Building. It was known simply as Mrs. Heath's Store, and here she sold candies, pastries and Smith's Ice Cream. Address of that store is today 57 East Butler and some years ago was the site of the writer's first business location on Butler Avenue, and was called "Howard Camera & Art Center".

Harvey and Margaret Heath's daughter Mary Alice, conducted a dance studio in the basement location under her mother's store. While working in her mother's store, she met Curvin Rauhauser, assistant manager of the Woolworth Store. Marrying him in 1942, she persuaded him to leave Woolworth. Taking a position at Standard Pressed Steel, Rauhauser became acquainted with an amateur candy maker, and assisted him from time to time. This introduction to candy making led Mary Alice and her husband to Ocean City where they found a candy business for sale, the owner ready to retire. The Rauhauser Candies business continues successfully today, being carried on by second and third generations.

Incidentally, one of the Heath brothers, Charles, also known as "Chubby", was in the local news in 1933, while working as a watchman at the Ambler National Bank. During a bank robbery he was bound and kept in the basement until the bandits were apprehended within hours of the incident.