Herb Gartner was a man who preferred to plot his own course. Following a brief tenure at the electric utility in Duluth he went on to work at Westerlin Campbell in Chicago and Grand Rapids, MI.

Wanderlust struck again during the early war years, when Herb relocated to Minneapolis and worked for Rosemount as an independent contractor on a power plant project. He also began working out of his garage, calling on refrigeration customers part-time.

Meanwhile, World War II found George based at Fort Belmont, Virginia, perfecting

U.S. Marine landing craft and early outboard motors. Following his discharge, George joined York as an engineer, then he too, moved on to Duluth. Tragically, Al who had started Gartner Refrigeration in Duluth, and Kurt, his brother, had died in separate accidents, so George pitched in and ran the service department for Al’s widow.

Not long thereafter, in the summer of 1945, George drove to Minneapolis to join Herb in operating Gartner Refrigeration.