For almost 60 years, Neal Johnston reported to work, like all the other employees of J&J Oil Company Inc. Now, for the first time in his life, Neal does not have to report to work every day. The company he founded with best friends John Johnson and Malone Johnson had sold in December 2017 to H. L. Martin Distributing Company Inc.

In 1959, childhood friends and Athens High School classmates John and Neal graduated from Auburn University after serving in the Korean Conflict. Wanting to move back home to Athens, John and Neal were looking for opportunities to start a business.

John’s older brother, Malone, was working as a delivery driver at Alabama Oil Company. The three approached Roy Thomas, a small Shell oil distributor who operated Thomas Oil Company.

At the time, Thomas had five or six small accounts, which consisted of supplying fuel to farmers and a couple of country general stores. After borrowing the money, the three purchased Thomas’ distributor rights to sell Shell products.

On July 7, 1959, John, Neal and Malone formed J&J Oil Company Inc. Malone was president, Neal was vice-president, and John was secretary and treasurer. The first office was located on North Clinton Street in Athens, next to the railroad tracks.

On one side of the warehouse, the company stored oil, grease and petroleum products. There was a small office located at the other end of the building for all three partners. The new owners sought to grow the business, and through Malone’s contacts, the upstart company started gaining new business while saving to acquire new gas stations.

In 1962, several events occurred that changed the course of the business. First, the three partners decided to buy Valley Gas Company, a small propane company owned by Jack and Van Gilbert.

Jack was ready to exit the business and sought to help J&J in any way that he could. In fact, Jack took the three young partners under his wing and showed them “the ropes” of the propane business.

Jack regularly loaned the three tools and equipment and offered advice whenever asked. Once the deal with Valley Gas Company was closed, J&J Propane Company, Inc. was formed.

Any successful business is built upon the strength of its employees, however, and this was the case for the young partners. The first employee hired was Lynn Horton, who came on board to help out as a bookkeeper.

After acquiring the propane company, the partners added two more employees experienced in the propane business — Leon Sandlin and Jessie Petty. Horace Faulk, also an experienced propane man, started in 1969.

Horace’s son, Eugene, started working after school in 1974 and eventually assumed the overall management of the company. Lynda Grant Armistead started her tenure in 1971.

These employees were the backbone of the companies, and their loyalty was invaluable. After many years of faithful service, most of them have now retired.

Throughout the years, J&J expanded their businesses and reach in North Alabama. This included a new distribution agreement with Union 76 (now Unocal), the addition of smaller distributors in Cullman, Hartselle and Athens and a bulk and distribution plant in Decatur, located on the Tennessee River.

In 1981, Malone Johnson died, a personal and professional setback for everyone. The 1980s also brought many changes in the way gasoline distributors sold fuel. Instead of traditional service stations, the industry started transitioning to convenience stores.

The first convenience stores were more of a kiosk-style store, with a small enclosed store offering a few items like cigarettes, newspapers and drinks. Today, convenience stores have replaced service stations and become something more akin to a small grocery store. They are located on about every busy corner.

In 2000, J&J sold its propane business to Heritage Propane. At the time, the propane business had six locations. In the early 2000s, John and Neal continued to work but decided to scale back on their long hours.

In 2009, family, friends and past and future customers gathered at The Plant on U.S. 31 South to celebrate the 50th anniversary of J&J. Athens Mayor Dan Williams commemorated the event by presenting John and Neal with a proclamation declaring the day “J&J Day.”

John and Neal, with their families, business colleagues and friends, happily reflected not only on their long partnership, but the friendship that predated their business interests. Although they each had slowed down, they were still going into the office and sitting at their infamous partners’ desk, where they worked facing each other. They continued to talk on a daily basis, even as they eventually transferred the running of the business to Eugene Faulk.

On Jan. 10, 2015, John Johnson died. At that time, the company had eight company-owned stores, three owner-operator stores run by a lessee and 47 employees (including part-time employees).

In December 2017, Neal sold the oil company to H.L. Martin Distributing Company Inc. of Huntsville. H.L. Martin is run by Mike Azziz and his son, Navid. Mike and Navid have the same core principles of fairness and respect as the founders of J&J, which was an important factor for Neal when making his decision to transfer into retirement.

The story of J&J is really a story of friendship and fairness, especially for John and Neal. Their lifelong friendship grew stronger every year. Although they enjoyed many years of success together, at their core, John and Neal were just two hardworking men from Limestone County who developed their business on the core principals they learned as youths.

They were truly brothers.