History

“Large or Small, We Tow Them All!”

– Don Wiltse

Wiltse’s Towing has been happily serving the people of Salem and surrounding regions since 1955 and holds quite the rich history as one of the oldest family owned towing companies in the area.

When George and Bertha Wiltse opened their first company, Wiltse’s Garage, on Silverton Road in Salem. Their goal was to provide the best quality mechanical repair available. Soon after opening, their son Donald Wiltse convinced them to purchase their first tow truck.

In 1973 the company was transferred to Donald and his wife Wanda Wiltse. Together they added additional tow trucks as well as an expanded body shop. The business had another family milestone in 1982 when Donald and Wanda’s sons: Robert, Victor, and Anthony became partners in the company. In 1986 their daughter Elizabeth Wiltse was incorporated into the business full time. The focus on family cooperation and operation has been a driving force in the company since the beginning.

In 1990, Don and Wanda retired from their company and ownership was transferred to Robert and Anthony. A year later, Robert and his wife Darbi Jo Wiltse took full ownership of the company when brother Anthony moved to Boise with his family to open his own body shop. At this time, Elizabeth Wiltse was made Vice President of the company.

July of 1998 found the towing portion of the company being sold to RoadOne, Inc. Elizabeth Wiltse, now Elizabeth Rumelhart, stayed with the company as Terminal President to continue the family mission of providing the highest quality towing and recovery services available in the Salem area.

On January 27, 2003 Elizabeth (Wiltse) Rumelhart purchased the company back from RoadOne. This milestone purchase brought the family business back home where it belongs and continues today as one of the oldest family owned towing companies in Salem.