http://news.aol.ca/article/globe-garage ... er/360090/
Note: there is a mention of this building in Harry Sanders' Historic Walks of Calgary
Beltline garage closes after 81 years of businessSource: CBC News
Posted: 09/29/08 3:03PM
Filed Under: Canada
Citing a lack of skilled staff, a family-run business in Calgary has called it quits after several decades.
The Globe Steering Clinic, a weather-beaten garage on the corner of 15th Street and 11th Avenue S.W., closed its doors for good on Friday, saying goodbye to loyal customers and staff with a barbecue.
"People come in and say, 'My grandpa used to bring their vehicle in here, and my dad,' and that made me think maybe I was here too long," joked owner Ernie Duchscher, who has run the 81-year-old garage since the mid-1970s.
Longtime client Dave Crawford said the garage, which opened in 1927, had a great reputation.
"Because these people are more honest," he said. "Always wanting you to come back when you need repairs but will not charge you for things you don't need."
Added customer Bob Sundberg: "We all stuck together, all the old customers. We just came, a gathering place is what it was."
Lead mechanic and assistant manager Tom Leteta wanted to take over the business but couldn't find enough licensed mechanics to make a go of it.
He said he knows the closing will be a disappointment to older customers who came from Canmore, Gleichen and Saskatchewan to get their vehicles fixed.
Even though business had been steady, Duchscher decided it was time to retire.
"He has a lot of customers who have already told him they're going to miss him, some are even crying in his office," said Audrey Duchscher, Ernie's wife, on the last day of business at the garage.
In past years, keys were often left in cars and bills were sometimes settled with cash dropped through a letter slot, said Duchscher.
"It's a whole new district down here at nighttime after eight o'clock. You wouldn't want to leave a car outside at night now, I tell you," she said.
There have been other changes too; Crawford now owns a hybrid car.
"They're not my mechanics anymore, but they're still friends," he said.