greybeard
Well-known member
108 Jones Rd Highlands, Texas. 1950s thru early 70s.
I carried that address as my permananent address for all the years I was in the military. I grew up in a big building that was divided into two parts, with just a wall and standard door between the 2 parts. A big auto shop in the back,and a 3 bedroom living quarters in the front.
My father owned and worked in his autoshop after hours and on his off days when he wasn't working at Humble Oil & Refining Co (now Exxon Baytown). He had some help in the shop--- my sisters, my twin brother and myself. (I never said it was very good help, just help.) One of my brothers-in-law also worked there for a time. Same wages us kids got I suspect-zip.(Welcome to the family Bub!) But, we all learned a lot, including how to treat people-ethics and it has held with us ever since. Never cheat anyone. Be honest. My father was never without a yard full of customers. When us kids got home from school, there was a list of things to do on customer's cars, and then we had homework. My brother & I did the minor stuff till we got a little older, and my older sister did such things as valve and seat grinding on the Sioux valve grinding machine. Eventually, she run off and got married so brother & I did it all when Dad was at Humble. (Dam her!!) Ran accross some of his old invoices, thought I would share. Some showed labor-some didn't. Couldn't figure how he was charging the labor till it dawned on me he didn't charge any if one of the kids did the work. Free labor--so he passed that on to customer. Hope you can read them--they are about 50 years old.
it says:
51 Ford
(parts)
1 set points-1.60
1 condenser-.90
1 rt rear grease seal-1.50
1 set gen brushes-.60
(the labor)
Check comp-100+ (check compression each cyl =100 psi or more)
set timing adj carb
install gen brush and rear grease seal
clean and refill air cleaner
labor=6.50
Total bill=$11.10
51 chevy
1 set points-1.50
1 condenser-.80
Install points
clean & adjust plugs
check compression-#2 low
set timing
labor=3.00
Total=$5.30
Got one here that has an itemized valve job on a 6 cyl '49 Dodge truck
labor was $7.50
Total was $33.75
He had more work than he could do for as long as he had the place open--he closed it up in the late 80s and spent his time with his cows and farm about 50 miles north of there, but left everything in the shop, just as it was for the most part.
Upon my father's death in May 2007, (my mother had passed in 1995) my out of state resident twin brother inherited the property. He was in a hurry to liquidate the place for some personal reasons, and announced he would have the building demolished in Feb.2008 and then sell the 3 acres it sat on. The building itself was in bad shape, but was repairable, but was not up to current electrical/plumbing code. I did not agree with my twin's decision to so quickly sell what it took my father (and us) so many years to build up, but in the end, he was determined to do it.
He asked me to ride down and look it all over inside before releasing it to the real estate agent, so I did so begrudgingly but 1st went thru it and cleaned out a few things, but left an awful lot.
Mostly memories. Good ones. long with hundreds of 40s and 50s car parts, many still in the box new.
That was the place that formed everything I turned out to be in life, my work ethic, my family attachment, so many Christmases, so many "everythings". That, was "Home". 108 Jones Road--I still remember the phone #.
I rode down with him from my place here, helped him load a 52 Studebaker that had sat inside since 1953, a few other odds and ends, and just before we left that day with what we wanted to take, I spray painted on the front of the building:
York's Garage
1954-2008
My sister had stopped by to visit as we got ready to leave and I could see the pain in her face as I sprayed away a lifetime,, but she snapped a quick picture with her phone and looked away.
I was 58 in 2008 and wept all the way up main street as we drove out of my old home town that evening, thinking how wrong my father would have seen this.
I miss him so much.
I drive by the place about twice a year. It sold rather quickly to someone who has bought up a lot of the old property around that little town, but he's never done anything with it. The empty lot off to the side, that the big Catholic Church across the main street tried several times to buy from my father to use as a parking lot, but Daddy wouldn't sell it because it's where we all played softball and basketball, and it's where my mother had her little garden.
Dammit all.
I carried that address as my permananent address for all the years I was in the military. I grew up in a big building that was divided into two parts, with just a wall and standard door between the 2 parts. A big auto shop in the back,and a 3 bedroom living quarters in the front.
My father owned and worked in his autoshop after hours and on his off days when he wasn't working at Humble Oil & Refining Co (now Exxon Baytown). He had some help in the shop--- my sisters, my twin brother and myself. (I never said it was very good help, just help.) One of my brothers-in-law also worked there for a time. Same wages us kids got I suspect-zip.(Welcome to the family Bub!) But, we all learned a lot, including how to treat people-ethics and it has held with us ever since. Never cheat anyone. Be honest. My father was never without a yard full of customers. When us kids got home from school, there was a list of things to do on customer's cars, and then we had homework. My brother & I did the minor stuff till we got a little older, and my older sister did such things as valve and seat grinding on the Sioux valve grinding machine. Eventually, she run off and got married so brother & I did it all when Dad was at Humble. (Dam her!!) Ran accross some of his old invoices, thought I would share. Some showed labor-some didn't. Couldn't figure how he was charging the labor till it dawned on me he didn't charge any if one of the kids did the work. Free labor--so he passed that on to customer. Hope you can read them--they are about 50 years old.
it says:
51 Ford
(parts)
1 set points-1.60
1 condenser-.90
1 rt rear grease seal-1.50
1 set gen brushes-.60
(the labor)
Check comp-100+ (check compression each cyl =100 psi or more)
set timing adj carb
install gen brush and rear grease seal
clean and refill air cleaner
labor=6.50
Total bill=$11.10
51 chevy
1 set points-1.50
1 condenser-.80
Install points
clean & adjust plugs
check compression-#2 low
set timing
labor=3.00
Total=$5.30
Got one here that has an itemized valve job on a 6 cyl '49 Dodge truck
labor was $7.50
Total was $33.75
He had more work than he could do for as long as he had the place open--he closed it up in the late 80s and spent his time with his cows and farm about 50 miles north of there, but left everything in the shop, just as it was for the most part.
Upon my father's death in May 2007, (my mother had passed in 1995) my out of state resident twin brother inherited the property. He was in a hurry to liquidate the place for some personal reasons, and announced he would have the building demolished in Feb.2008 and then sell the 3 acres it sat on. The building itself was in bad shape, but was repairable, but was not up to current electrical/plumbing code. I did not agree with my twin's decision to so quickly sell what it took my father (and us) so many years to build up, but in the end, he was determined to do it.
He asked me to ride down and look it all over inside before releasing it to the real estate agent, so I did so begrudgingly but 1st went thru it and cleaned out a few things, but left an awful lot.
Mostly memories. Good ones. long with hundreds of 40s and 50s car parts, many still in the box new.
That was the place that formed everything I turned out to be in life, my work ethic, my family attachment, so many Christmases, so many "everythings". That, was "Home". 108 Jones Road--I still remember the phone #.
I rode down with him from my place here, helped him load a 52 Studebaker that had sat inside since 1953, a few other odds and ends, and just before we left that day with what we wanted to take, I spray painted on the front of the building:
York's Garage
1954-2008
My sister had stopped by to visit as we got ready to leave and I could see the pain in her face as I sprayed away a lifetime,, but she snapped a quick picture with her phone and looked away.
I was 58 in 2008 and wept all the way up main street as we drove out of my old home town that evening, thinking how wrong my father would have seen this.
I miss him so much.
I drive by the place about twice a year. It sold rather quickly to someone who has bought up a lot of the old property around that little town, but he's never done anything with it. The empty lot off to the side, that the big Catholic Church across the main street tried several times to buy from my father to use as a parking lot, but Daddy wouldn't sell it because it's where we all played softball and basketball, and it's where my mother had her little garden.
Dammit all.
