Obituary: Park Tool's Howard Hawkins kept bicyclists rolling

In the backroom of a small fix-it shop in St. Paul's Hazel Park neighborhood, Howard Hawkins and his business partner came up with the idea for a bicycle repair stand. The Model PRS-1 as it's known today was unusual enough to earn a patent.

That was the beginning of Park Tool, a company that Hawkins built into the world's largest manufacturer of bicycle repair tools. The Oakdale-based company now sells more than 400 items with its distinctive Pantone 2935 blue in 75 countries.

"He was proud of the way they started with nothing and built it into a retailing powerhouse," said Hawkins' son, Eric, who now runs the company. "He never dreamed it would become that big."

Howard Hawkins, of Mahtomedi, died Jan. 26 of cardiac arrest in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he spent winters. He was 82.

Park Tool may never have existed had Hawkins' career in welding taken off. After graduating from Minnehaha Academy in 1950, Hawkins attended Dunwoody College of Technology in Minneapolis, where he trained to be a welder and metal worker. He started his career selling welding supplies, but didn't find it to be his calling.

In 1956, he teamed up with a childhood friend, Art Engstrom, and they bought a small shop called Hazel Park Radio and Bicycle. The general store at 7th Street and White Bear Avenue handled everything from sharpening lawn mower blades to selling ice skates. It also sold and repaired Schwinn bicycles.

With the bicycle boom of the 1960s and '70s, the store's focus turned to bicycles. It moved to White Bear Avenue and Hwy. 36 in Maplewood and was renamed Park Schwinn. Two other stores opened in Mendota Heights and St. Paul. Park Schwinn was a leader in Schwinn sales, and in 1977 was the bike maker's No. 1 dealer.

The bike shops were sold in 1981, and Park put all its energies into tools. From that first bicycle stand, a line of wrenches, gauges and even storage hooks to hang bikes in the garage followed. As bicycles and their parts became more sophisticated, Park Tool products adapted.

"The sport of cycling is in constant evolution, and Park Tool has answered every advancement in bike and gear technology with tools to help cyclists maintain and repair their equipment," said Zack Grice, publisher at Bicycling magazine. "Mr. Hawkins' story as the driving force behind Park Tool resonates as proof that precious moments of inspiration and a commitment to problem solving through engineering can transform an industry and a culture."

Howard Hawkins retired in 2003, but would visit the plant, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2013 and moved to a new facility on Hwy. 36 and Hadley Avenue in Oakdale.

"He was the grandpa of the place," Eric Hawkins said. "He'd bring in old friends, sit down and see what was going on. He was always amazed to see where we came from and where we are today."

Howard Hawkins was a behind-the-scenes guy who quietly gave to Christian-based charities and went about his business. "The co-founder of Park Tool has never been a widely recognized figure, even in cycling circles," wrote Bicycling magazine. "His death reminded us of the impact his life had on the lives of cyclists and mechanics the world over."