This Is Our Story

Our father, Larry Homsher Sr, started the casing business in 1948. He would travel all over Pennsylvania to buy and sell casings. This eventually became a family venture and we, Larry, Don and Andy, would all go along with our father to help him. At the time, we lived on a property that had a barn. After getting home from school, the three of us would help him load trucks and unload tires into the barn. That barn was where our family business started. After a few years there, we parted from that house and barn and rented 2 barns a few miles away, so we would have more room for our growing business.

A few years later, our father got sick and was unable to work. Because our father was not working, it was up to us to keep money coming in. We started driving into Lancaster City after school to collect rubber dust. We would collect the rubber dust that we stored in a grain bin until it was full. Then, we would take the rubber dust to the train station, where we would sell it for $23.00 a ton. This gave us the idea to start picking up scrap metal, batteries, and inner tubes in addition to collecting casings and rubber dust. “Homsher Tire” was now in business.

Around 1970, we changed our name to “Pioneer Tire”, when we hesitantly transitioned to the car tire casings business. Pioneer Tire lasted for about 10 years. In 1980, we creatively changed our business name to Llads Ventures Inc., meaning- Larry Sr, Larry Jr, Andy, Don, and Sally (our mother). By that time, our business had grown to 4 stores: Potter County Tire in Potter County, Pa, Lycoming County Tire in Williamsport, Pa, Perry County Tire In Duncannon, Pa, and Llads Ventures in New Danville, PA. A few years later, we decided to deal only with truck tire casings. We decided to focus 100% on Llads Ventures, so we closed one store, sold one and gave the 3rd to our father. In 1990, we purchased Buck Roller Rink in Quarryville, Pa, where our business still resides today. We have since built a second warehouse on our property. We now have 20,000 square feet of warehouse space, 12 box trucks, and 18 employees that continue to aid in the success of our business.