Joseph “Penny” Andreini, son of John and Rose (Carietti) Andreini, was born in 1903, in Catabagli, Italy. At the age of 18, he and his brother, Ernesto came to the United States to work in the iron mines in Eveleth, Minn. After four years he returned to Italy.

When Andreini returned to the U.S., he sailed on a ship landing in Montreal, Canada, then coming through the St. Lawrence River bound for Detroit. He wore a tag showing his destination was Detroit. The entire voyage took 30 days.

He eventually made his way to Loretto, where his brother, Louis “Vampa” Andreini resided. He got a job at the Loretto Mine for $2.10 a day, but the job only lasted two weeks, due to the slump in the ore market. Louis got him started in a small pool hall in Loretto that sold soft drinks, snacks and candy. The school children would stop here for penny candy. Someone noted Andreini did a landslide business with the children and said he should be called “Penny” due to the penny candy he sold — the name stuck.

Andreini was recalled to the Loretto Mine and worked there for a year until 1923. The recently-built Iron Mountain Ford Motor Co. offered the highest wages in the area, and he went to work there for a year.

(Menominee Range Historical Museum) North Side Service Station in Iron Mountain is shown as a Texaco station in about 1950.

Andreini then became an apprentice mechanic with Gregory “Greg” Argentati, who operated the Oakland Sales and Service at 102 E. Main St. in Iron Mountain. He stayed with the garage for four years to become a proficient mechanic.

In April 1928, Andreini rented an old building owned by Mary Gaudio on Vulcan Street, opposite the Iron Mountain No. 2 Fire Station. There he worked as a mechanic, along with Jimmy “Gan” Dennocenzo. He also had a gasoline pump and sold Sinclair products.

In 1931, the new U.S. 2 highway was being relocated. Also, the Oliver Iron Mining Co. closed the Chapin Mine in 1932 and was disposing of much of its land. Andreini showed interest in the property on the southwest corner of U.S. 2 and East Main Street, which also had a lot of competition because it was prime business location. He closed the deal with Oliver Iron Mining Co. Superintendent Otto C. Davidson for $3,000 and obtained a loan through the First National Bank in Iron Mountain.

The modern Sinclair station designed by George Wallner featured a two-bay garage, six pumps and living quarters on the second story.

He and his mechanics also built a wrecker to add towing services. The mechanics and helpers included Joe “Friday” Carollo, Jimmy “Gan” Dennocenzo, “Chick” and Mario Pietrantonio.

(Terri Castelaz/Daily News photo) Krist Food Mart now occupies the Main Street and Stephenson Avenue corner lot.

Sinclair was pressuring Andreini in certain areas as they wanted to have the pumps painted a certain way and he had his own ideas. The controversy ended when Andreini got a franchise with the Texaco Oil Co.

Americo Senatori and Bill Jenkins managed the garage and gasoline sales.

In 1939, Andreini built the “G & H” station on the 100 block of E. Brown Street. The service station had two garage bays, one on the south side and the other on the east side for larger vehicles. A sales room also featured Texaco products.

In 1949, he added another service station at the southeast corner of East C Street and Carpenter Avenue. This facility had a two-bay garage to service automobiles and trucks and several gas pumps were installed. A large display and sales room was also adjacent to the garage. A large modern apartment was on the second story. This station was managed by Jerry Rittenhouse.

Andreini’s business grew to the point that he needed a bulk storage facility, and a bulk plant was built on north U.S. 2 within the city limits. Four upright and two horizontal tanks held a capacity of 95,000 to 100,000 gallons for gasoline and fuel oil storage. A large cement block warehouse was constructed to store all the bulk oil, solvents and greases.

The Twin City Service Station built of concrete blocks and brick was on six lots at the northwest corner of Carpenter Avenue and Woodward Avenue. The building was 60 feet by 65 feet and had three service garage bays.

Andreini later had several other stations in the surrounding area.

Today, the Krist Food Mart sits on the Main Street and Stephenson Avenue corner lot on the north side of Iron Mountain.