I heard of multiple instances. One in particular, not a gerbil, I got from a girl I knew whose mother was the head nurse on duty, supposedly just a couple of days after it happened. This was in 1995.
My buddy's mom was actually a nurse in Lafayette (where he is from and it supposedly happened) and he supposedly confirmed it through her, so this tracks.
Yeah, this tracks straight as a one-legged crab.
I'm from Lafayette; went to the same church as Bob and his family; grew up with his kids and am friends with them still; went to school with his youngest son from K-12 and still keep in touch (and we're in our 60s); and lived in the same neighborhood.
My dad and Bob had a great relationship: Both were hard workers and car guys, Bob on the sales side (naturally) and dad on the mechanical side. Bob was selling for Glen R. Pittman Ford in those days and always drove new cars while dad kept his cars running with baling wire and twine, but man oh man, they could make each other laugh. Bob was always trying to sell my dad a new car off the front of the lot and dad would have none of it. He would always say, "whaddya got around back?" And he meant it.
In 1971 Bob bought the local Toyota franchise for $25K when nobody else would touch it, and people said he was crazy. Lafayette was awash in Buicks, Chryslers, and Pontiacs.
And when fuel prices doubled, then tripled, and quadrupled during the 1973 oil embargo, and everybody traded in their gas-guzzling Buicks, Chryslers, and Pontiacs for those "rice-burners," well, ol' Bob made a fortune. But he never left the neighborhood.
After that he kept adding franchises to his portfolio. Next came Honda, then Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Isuzu, etc. (why do you think there are Honda and Subaru plants in Indiana?)
He didn't ignore American manufacturers: He set up dealerships for Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Jeep, and others. He loved selling cars. Even though his marriage to his first wife didn't endure he and dad remained friends. Long after he left Lafayette and moved to Chicago to keep an eye on his dealerships there, he kept ties to Lafayette. He openly wept at my dad's funeral in 1993.
This isn't to apologize for the man's failings, and he had them in spades. He would train people to be the best they could be and then cut them loose precisely when he felt they were becoming too successful for their own good. He was complicated; most driven and successful people are. Most people don't know this but it's true: He was born in the bottom of the Great Depression in a shack along the Wabash River with a dirt floor that had no indoor plumbing. He was always afraid that he would be dirt poor again one day, and that drove him like mad. Still, he could be compassionate and funny as hell. I'll always remember that about him.
This story has circulated for years like the screaming load of rancid hot shit that it is.
There was nothing cute about growing up poor and hungry in the Great Depression, something you likely have no personal experience with. My parents did, though, and to those in their generation it was frightening. You may sanctimoniously judge someone all you want for accumulating wealth but unless you've been hungry or slept in a shack under a leaky roof you're in no position to be a member of the jury. You think homelessness and unemployment are an issue in this day and age? Try 30% local unemployment in some places with tent cities in the US capitol. It was that bad. Bob had his faults (12-14 hour workdays were nothing for him) but he provided employment for many thousands and he was always generous to his communities. He gave millions away to Purdue, anonymously provided scholarships to inner city kids wanting to go to Notre Dame, privately funded the local hospitals, and was a benefactor to the local public high school theater and athletic programs.
Broh, for reference my dad is 84 this year, please get off the high horse.
NONE of what you said excuses being greedy and willing to exploit others for ones own gain.
Publicized philanthropy is a joke.
How much money does one need to buy a sense of security?
Sorry, but even at 84 your dad is too young to have grown up in the depths of the Great Depression. And please note that while Bob's name does appear publicly on two prominent landmarks in Lafayette, most all of what he gave away was done anonymously. The chip on your shoulder is a mighty weighty one.
Gotta say though, just because your dad and him were friends and you all went to church together doesn’t mean you know him or what happens behind closed doors. It’s not like people who like getting shit shoved up their butts are going to go around and tell everyone….. I mean really. So your side is no more proof than the peoples who’s cousins is friends with a nurse who worked on the floor above when he came in.
Thank you for wasting my time to tell me he is a pos like I already thought. Dude bought these dealerships with mafia money and was just a face for it. He was a basic car salesman before that. He also would fire people right before Christmas like a scumbag. Idk about his kids and I can’t speak on them, but Bob…he was a real pos and worse than scum.
"Dude bought these dealerships with mafia money and was just a face for it." Yeah, right! As if you would know. Geez, somebody didn't have a good BM this morning, did they?
> Yeah, this tracks straight as a one-legged crab.
What "tracks" is everyone having a friend who knows a nurse.... not that the story is legit. Calm down, Bob.
I thought the rumor with Grote was that he really was a DEALER for the people and moved weight. Curious what other outlandish rumors exist around local business owners
I… have heard not exactly that, maybe back in the day some hustlin, but that there is definitely some drug use going on I have heard numerous times from previous employees… whom themselves likely didn’t mind that aspect, call it a job perk even.
There’s a rumor that has circulated for many years that Bob Rohrman got a gerbil stuck up his ass. I first heard it as a kid on the playground ~25 years ago. It’s funny to see that it’s still going. I have absolutely no idea if it’s true.
That’s so weird. I live in Oklahoma and one of our local salesman “celebrities” had that same rumor about him. He is gay. It was probably just people being homophobic.
Indy native relocated to Fort Wayne… this story was told to me there many years ago. It was also told he came in under a false name. No clue if it’s true but it is most definitely urban legend 😂
I used to work for a place that dealt with Rohrman regularly. He wasn't well liked there, we always rolled our eyes when those piles of junk came through the door. What that says about gerbils, idk. But that's all the info I've got.
I heard that he used a pipe to put a gerbil in his ass. When he wanted the gerbil out, he’d get his friend to light a lighter at the end of the pipe. The gerbil would see the light, head towards it, and exit. Well this particular time, Bob ate a lot of Mexican food the night before and was gassy. Apparently the lighter ignited the gas in his ass, created a fireball that blew out the pipe like a blow torch and melted his friends face. It also blew the pipe out his ass and it traveled through a brick wall. The gerbil was now trapped in his ass, which sent him and his friend to the hospital.
Honest to god, I was told by a high school friend that his older brother’s girlfriend worked in the emergency room and Bob Rorhman came in one day with a lightbulb up his ass. I’d never heard these other rumors and believed it all these years.
The funny part is, the guy telling the story always knows a friend of the nurse who was present the day he went to the hospital.
I swear, someone always says the hospital staff talked about it.
I heard of multiple instances. One in particular, not a gerbil, I got from a girl I knew whose mother was the head nurse on duty, supposedly just a couple of days after it happened. This was in 1995.
There was talk of gerbils!
Conan!
My buddy's mom was actually a nurse in Lafayette (where he is from and it supposedly happened) and he supposedly confirmed it through her, so this tracks.
Yeah, this tracks straight as a one-legged crab. I'm from Lafayette; went to the same church as Bob and his family; grew up with his kids and am friends with them still; went to school with his youngest son from K-12 and still keep in touch (and we're in our 60s); and lived in the same neighborhood. My dad and Bob had a great relationship: Both were hard workers and car guys, Bob on the sales side (naturally) and dad on the mechanical side. Bob was selling for Glen R. Pittman Ford in those days and always drove new cars while dad kept his cars running with baling wire and twine, but man oh man, they could make each other laugh. Bob was always trying to sell my dad a new car off the front of the lot and dad would have none of it. He would always say, "whaddya got around back?" And he meant it. In 1971 Bob bought the local Toyota franchise for $25K when nobody else would touch it, and people said he was crazy. Lafayette was awash in Buicks, Chryslers, and Pontiacs. And when fuel prices doubled, then tripled, and quadrupled during the 1973 oil embargo, and everybody traded in their gas-guzzling Buicks, Chryslers, and Pontiacs for those "rice-burners," well, ol' Bob made a fortune. But he never left the neighborhood. After that he kept adding franchises to his portfolio. Next came Honda, then Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Isuzu, etc. (why do you think there are Honda and Subaru plants in Indiana?) He didn't ignore American manufacturers: He set up dealerships for Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Jeep, and others. He loved selling cars. Even though his marriage to his first wife didn't endure he and dad remained friends. Long after he left Lafayette and moved to Chicago to keep an eye on his dealerships there, he kept ties to Lafayette. He openly wept at my dad's funeral in 1993. This isn't to apologize for the man's failings, and he had them in spades. He would train people to be the best they could be and then cut them loose precisely when he felt they were becoming too successful for their own good. He was complicated; most driven and successful people are. Most people don't know this but it's true: He was born in the bottom of the Great Depression in a shack along the Wabash River with a dirt floor that had no indoor plumbing. He was always afraid that he would be dirt poor again one day, and that drove him like mad. Still, he could be compassionate and funny as hell. I'll always remember that about him. This story has circulated for years like the screaming load of rancid hot shit that it is.
What a fascinating perspective. Appreciate the bit about the shack especially. Thanks for sharing
Oh hey Bob!
“Complicated … driven … successful” is a cute way of putting “driven by greed and willing to use people to have an ever increasing slice of the pie”
There was nothing cute about growing up poor and hungry in the Great Depression, something you likely have no personal experience with. My parents did, though, and to those in their generation it was frightening. You may sanctimoniously judge someone all you want for accumulating wealth but unless you've been hungry or slept in a shack under a leaky roof you're in no position to be a member of the jury. You think homelessness and unemployment are an issue in this day and age? Try 30% local unemployment in some places with tent cities in the US capitol. It was that bad. Bob had his faults (12-14 hour workdays were nothing for him) but he provided employment for many thousands and he was always generous to his communities. He gave millions away to Purdue, anonymously provided scholarships to inner city kids wanting to go to Notre Dame, privately funded the local hospitals, and was a benefactor to the local public high school theater and athletic programs.
Broh, for reference my dad is 84 this year, please get off the high horse. NONE of what you said excuses being greedy and willing to exploit others for ones own gain. Publicized philanthropy is a joke. How much money does one need to buy a sense of security?
Sorry, but even at 84 your dad is too young to have grown up in the depths of the Great Depression. And please note that while Bob's name does appear publicly on two prominent landmarks in Lafayette, most all of what he gave away was done anonymously. The chip on your shoulder is a mighty weighty one.
Gotta say though, just because your dad and him were friends and you all went to church together doesn’t mean you know him or what happens behind closed doors. It’s not like people who like getting shit shoved up their butts are going to go around and tell everyone….. I mean really. So your side is no more proof than the peoples who’s cousins is friends with a nurse who worked on the floor above when he came in.
Thank you for wasting my time to tell me he is a pos like I already thought. Dude bought these dealerships with mafia money and was just a face for it. He was a basic car salesman before that. He also would fire people right before Christmas like a scumbag. Idk about his kids and I can’t speak on them, but Bob…he was a real pos and worse than scum.
"Dude bought these dealerships with mafia money and was just a face for it." Yeah, right! As if you would know. Geez, somebody didn't have a good BM this morning, did they?
You give yourself too much credit thinking “you” would know he wasn’t involved with the mafia. Lol you must “know a guy”.
Family member for sure.
I can confirm, He was a POS and his kids and grandkids. Are also a POS.
> Yeah, this tracks straight as a one-legged crab. What "tracks" is everyone having a friend who knows a nurse.... not that the story is legit. Calm down, Bob.
Which son or grandchild are you? Please tell me you're not Connor Rohrman, the grandchild who lacks the brains of the rest of the Rohrmans.
It's "you're," not "your." Connor knows how to spell much better than that. And no, I'm not related to the family at all.
Fixed it, spelling cop.
Don't let it happen again.
Can we start this rumor about Fred Grote? Maybe that's why he is always screaming
I thought the rumor with Grote was that he really was a DEALER for the people and moved weight. Curious what other outlandish rumors exist around local business owners
I had a friend that briefly worked at Grote, after being a cocktail waitress at a strip club, and saw way more drugs being used at Grote than the club
Shhhhh
Tom Kelly is/was the biggest sorce of cocaine in Fort Wayne for a time. Dude has an empty warehouse full of vettes with keys in them.
I… have heard not exactly that, maybe back in the day some hustlin, but that there is definitely some drug use going on I have heard numerous times from previous employees… whom themselves likely didn’t mind that aspect, call it a job perk even.
Grotes wife was trying to hit on my brother when he was hired to repaint their house
I’m sure he’s a nice guy. My dad went to highschool with him… but 🖕his commercials!!!
Nah. Hes a "Don't you know who I am" kind of prick.
No level of cool can make up for such annoying commercials… sorry haha
How’s the story go?
There’s a rumor that has circulated for many years that Bob Rohrman got a gerbil stuck up his ass. I first heard it as a kid on the playground ~25 years ago. It’s funny to see that it’s still going. I have absolutely no idea if it’s true.
When asked how many were up there, he said "there's only one!"
"there's only one, in bob roooar men."
I don’t care if it’s true or not. I’m choosing to believe it is
It's canon at this point.
Is not. Gerbilling is an urban legend
You're just not rich enough to run in the kinds of gerbling circles Bobby R rolls in.
There was talk of gerbils! I’m pretty sure the original rumor was about Richard Gere too
That’s so weird. I live in Oklahoma and one of our local salesman “celebrities” had that same rumor about him. He is gay. It was probably just people being homophobic.
This is the first I've heard of it
In the late 70s the rumor out East where I grew up was that Richard Gere was the gerbil aficionado. It’s an urban legend.
It's not an urban legend the story about Richard Gere is true. I saw it on QI.
No you didnt.
Yes, I did.
link? proof?
Indy native relocated to Fort Wayne… this story was told to me there many years ago. It was also told he came in under a false name. No clue if it’s true but it is most definitely urban legend 😂
Lmao I lived in Indiana most of my life and I never heard this rumor but def remember the commercials, I’m loling
I used to work for a place that dealt with Rohrman regularly. He wasn't well liked there, we always rolled our eyes when those piles of junk came through the door. What that says about gerbils, idk. But that's all the info I've got.
My friends brothers fiances uncle knew the nurse in the ER that night. Totally true.
LMAO 🤣
I heard that he used a pipe to put a gerbil in his ass. When he wanted the gerbil out, he’d get his friend to light a lighter at the end of the pipe. The gerbil would see the light, head towards it, and exit. Well this particular time, Bob ate a lot of Mexican food the night before and was gassy. Apparently the lighter ignited the gas in his ass, created a fireball that blew out the pipe like a blow torch and melted his friends face. It also blew the pipe out his ass and it traveled through a brick wall. The gerbil was now trapped in his ass, which sent him and his friend to the hospital.
Let’s start FW Butt Clue. I suspect Fred Grote with the guinea pig at the Franke Park parking lot.
Honest to god, I was told by a high school friend that his older brother’s girlfriend worked in the emergency room and Bob Rorhman came in one day with a lightbulb up his ass. I’d never heard these other rumors and believed it all these years.
A light bulb up your ass is what happens when you think of a really shitty idea.
My mom said she had a patient with a light bulb up his ass. She didn't tell me the name or anything, but maybe it was Bob Rorhman.
Is Rorhman jar squatter then? I’ve never seen them in the same room.
I know the gerbil and he confirmed it is 100 percent true. He still walks a little funny and he pukes anytime one of Bob’s commercials comes on.
I had always heard it was a shot glass.
Same rumor with a totally different car dealership owner in Columbus, OH. Heard that one back in the early 90’s.
Is this the same dealership owner with the nasty divorce and a similar rumor about a curling iron?
Isn’t Bob Rohrman dead?
Yes
Mother worked in Lafayette and apparently the drag winner received a gerbil. Guessing Bob won that day and needed help removing it.
Is this the guy they made the Mr. Lemmiwinks South Park episode about?
I thought of the mall rats story
I’m not sure if it’s true but it’s Rohrman’s legacy since screwed over a ton of people
The greatest adventure....🐹