Hogarth family support keeps Pioneer success story alive for future generations. The storied history of Pioneer Petroleums, founded by Murray Hogarth in 1956, will be enshrined in the expanded Joseph Brant Museum as part of the family’s ongoing support of the Burlington Museums Foundation.
“Our family has become involved as a contributor through the Community Builders Initiative,” says Geoff Hogarth, one of five sons of Murray and Diana Hogarth. “The museum is a great repository for us about the legacy and story of Pioneer Petroleums, a greater Hamilton and Burlington business success story.”
The Hogarth family likes the fact that Pioneer will be be part of the physical museum as well as its new digital platform, allowing future generations easy access to the history of Pioneer and the Hogarth family.
Murray Hogarth opened his first Pioneer station on Upper James Street in Hamilton and built it into one of Canada’s leading independent gasoline and convenience retailers, pioneering innovations such as automated car washes, and creating multiple spin-offs that included companies like Pioneer Cleaners, Pioneer Pools and the Pop Shoppe.
Murray passed away four years ago, and the company was later sold to Parkland Fuels of Red Deer, Alberta. The Hogarth family remains involved in the business as Parkland’s single largest privately held shareholder.
Geoff notes he was first exposed to the Joseph Brant Museum as a Boy Scout. “We visited the house there next to Joseph Brant Hospital. I can remember thinking, wow this is very cool that this is the house that the first citizen of Burlington ever lived in.
“Fast forward into my early 50s and I was approached to sit on the board of the Burlington Museums Foundation which I did.” As a Board member, Geoff has been involved in efforts to raise funds and friends for the Joseph Brant Museum expansion project.