Hoisington native Gene Manweiler has concluded the 92-year-long run of his family business, Manweiler Chevrolet. This Chevy dealer is still located at 271 S. Main St., Hoisington under new ownership is Ehler Chevrolet LLC.

In December of 2022, Manweiler released a book titled “MChevy” that documents the family business’s history and legacy. As the fourth-generation owner of a local Chevrolet dealer, Manweiler was able to rely on family members, friends, and former employees when retelling this story.

Tuesday, the Hoisington Public Library hosted a book signing of Manweiler’s “MChevy.” 

The idea for the book dates back a few years. In 2017, Manweiler attended a destination boot camp that put him in touch with Rich Carraro, “an advertising guru who came to Hoisington and took over 1,000 photographs of the dealership and memorabilia for the book,” Manweiler said. This boot camp is where the idea of a book was sparked. 

“I made sure to include a lot of pictures for people like myself who don’t like to read a whole lot,” he said.

Choosing Hoisington

Manweiler began the process of enrolling in the Air Force Academy his junior year of high school. “I was the first alternate, a guy from Great Bend had beat me out,” Manweiler said. “He’s a good friend of mine now.”

Manweiler received an offer to run track in Oklahoma, but ultimately decided that there was no place like home. “Some of my family had went to Kansas University, so I went there too,” Manweiler said. “Lucky for me, because that’s where I met Paula” who went on to become his wife.

After graduating from Kansas University, Manweiler bought a mobile home to have his own space before he and Paula left to “light the world on fire.” He enjoyed having Cheyenne Bottoms right in his back yard to hunt and fish. That is part of the reason he stays local; hunting, fishing, friends, church, and taekwondo are the big five reasons that keep Manweiler here. 

“I never planned on staying here and now I don’t want to leave.”

Gene and Paula Manweiler currently reside in the Hoisington area. They have two daughters, and now that Manweiler is retired he has plenty of time to spend with his grandkids. Manweiler has two grandsons that recently started college, a granddaughter that has just joined the gymnastics team in Castle Pines, Colo., he recently attended his youngest granddaughter’s rock climbing event, and his youngest grandson is about to turn 3 in May.

Manweiler is a certified self-defense instructor and has taught taekwondo for the past 24 years for free. He is a member of the Concordia Lutheran Church located at 460 W. 9th St., Hoisington. Currently he is a trustee member but he has held every position on the church board except for secretary. In addition to being a member of the church, he is a member of the advisory board at Barton Community College, a member of the Hoisington Gun club, on the board of directors at First Kansas Bank, volunteers for the Nature Conservancy, and is part of the original Ducks Unlimited committee for Cheyenne Bottoms. Manweiler also enjoys attending Hoisington Cardinal sporting events and assisting Cole Reif and Blake Herres when he can. “I like to stay active, I can’t just sit around,” he said.As of this week, Manweiler can add his first book signing event to his list of life experiences.“My goal wasn’t to be a New York Times best seller,” Manweiler said, “it was to preserve the story for my family and the town.”

Community Connections is a regular feature of the Great Bend Tribune, showcasing people who live in the Golden Belt. We welcome readers to submit names of individuals who are active in the community that they would like to see featured in a future story. Send suggestions to news@gbtribune.com and explain their “community connections.”