It was the late 40s. Harry S. Truman was acting President between hunting expeditions. The Studebaker Commander was the best-selling car at $2,468 and everyone was jitterbugging to the top hit, "In the Mood." Meanwhile, young Raymond Slomkowski was taking steps of his own to open an auto body repair shop on Grotto Street in St. Paul's Frogtown area.
It was at that little shop that the cars of the day such as Chevrolet Fleetline Deluxes, Dodge Coronets, Plymouth Special Deluxes and Oldsmobile Futuramic 88s were restored to their original, sparkling beauty with welding torches, ball peen hammers and hours of relentless, painstaking work. It was at this same little shop that the Raymond Auto Body reputation for quality craftsmanship began to take shape.
