Hight dealerships partner on beer to celebrate 110 years

PHOTO: Lt. S. Kirby Hight taking command of USS Babbitt in May of 1945. (Submitted photo)

SKOWHEGAN — The Hight Family of Dealerships is celebrating 110 years in business with a beer collaboration with Bigelow Brewing, the first known brewery and auto dealership collaboration in the country.

The two Skowhegan businesses have launched “Hight’s Tin Can Sailor,” a Scotch Ale honoring Lt. S. Kirby Hight’s legacy as a war hero and business icon. Tin Can Sailor — a term use to describe Navy sailors on destroyers — plays homage to Kirby’s service to his country and highlights his affectation for scotch, cigars and most importantly his dedication to the community. Hight died in 2018 at the age of 102.
Kirby Hight followed in his father, Walter’s, footsteps, entering the car business upon graduating from Bowdoin College. In 1941, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he joined the U.S. Navy. From 1942 to 194, he moved up the ranks as an ensign, midshipman, Lieutenant, and eventually the captain of the USS Babbitt, a DD-152 naval destroyer used during convoy missions in the North Atlantic.
As the Hights celebrate their 110th year in business, they honor Walter and Kirby Hight’s legacies of building a business that has lasted through two world wars, two global pandemic, and the Great Depression.
“None of it would be possible without the confidence and loyalty of our customers and this community,” said Sam Hight, dealer principal at Hight Ford.
Jeff Powers, of Bigelow Brewing, said, ”Community is the cornerstone of Bigelow Brewing, just as it has been for the Hight family for the past 110 years.”
The Hights have announced that they will donate $1to the Skowhegan Free Public Library for each can of Tin Can Sailor sold. “The Skowhegan Free Public Library was an organization that my grandparents Kirby and Grace were passionate about, it seemed appropriate to choose this organization as the first beneficiary of Tin Can Sailor,” Hight said.