Sears Auto Center

I had been working at Sheets Gas Station on Marion Hill (between New Brighton and Allendale) since I was a sophomore. When I graduated I applied for and got a job at the Sears Automotive Center in the Northern Lights Shopping Center in Baden. I was hired to install new tires and to repair flats. I had learned how to do this very well at Sheets’ so I had no learning curve.

I was always a hard worker so the bosses were pleased with my work. I worked in the tire department for a month or so and I was making pretty good money—about $100 a week—which was really good for a manual labor job for a boy right out of high school in those days. One day the new boss (he had been one of the top mechanics and was promoted to service manager) called me over to one of the maintenance stalls. He said one of the head mechanics had an accident the day before and wouldn’t be able to work for a month or more. He pointed to a one or two year old Ford and to a stack of boxes in front of the car. He said, “That’s an air conditioner. Install it in that Ford.” In those days most cars didn’t have air conditioning and it wasn’t even an option from the factory on most models. He said he’d watched me work and he knew I was a quick learner. He told me to read all the instructions and then start installing everything. He told me he or another mechanic would advise me if I needed help. By the end of the day I had the air conditioner installed and working.

For the rest of the summer I either installed air conditioners or did other types of repairs on cars, such as installing exhaust systems, changing shock absorbers, replacing brakes, or replacing starters and generators/alternators. I was learning a lot about auto mechanics and I enjoyed the job and the money. I learned lots about tools and auto maintenance/repair during this time.

Near the end of the summer people stopped buying air conditioners so I continued to do other maintenance or I changed tires. Then they told me business was slowing down so I’d have to go to part time if I wanted to stay. Going to part time, as well as some issues at home, convinced me to look for something else to do with the rest of my life.