A portrait of Arthur Smith Jr. as a dashing young soldier in the Korean War hangs among the keepsakes, civic awards, and Esso and Exxon memorabilia lovingly cluttering the cramped office of Smitty’s Service Center in Newark — one of the nation’s first to be operated by an African American.
Other symbols of bygone days litter the tight space like an exhibit from the motoring past: A weathered built-in phone booth, training certificates, a “Happy Motoring!” sign.
Dozens of historic photos on the wall capture the original 1920s station and its pumps, a smiling Arthur Smith Sr. – the original Smitty — and his all-Black staff of mechanics…