by Bea Peterson
When you love what you do, you can do it for a lifetime. Ask Sonny Monroe, he’ll tell you. He has been an auto mechanic all of his life. His business, Sonny’s Motors, on Route 67 in Walloomsac, recently celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with a party that included 125 friends and family.
[private]After 50 years Sonny is still going strong and has no intention of closing up shop. He is the first to admit it is not a one man show. “It takes the three of us to make it work,” he said, referring to his wife and office manager, Kay, and mechanic, Lenny Chaplin. Lenny has worked
alongside Sonny for 24 years. “He’s like a son to us,” said Kay. Sonny added, “I don’t know what we would do without him.”
Customers walk into the office and the couple immediately makes them feel at home. “Years ago women weren’t comfortable coming into a garage,” said Kay. “We don’t have customers,” she added, “We have friends who let us work on their cars.” Their business, she said, is a 24 hour a day job. “We worry about our customers like family.” Sonny added, “We’ll never be rich, but we’ll be full of cookies and cakes!” They cater to their older clientele, picking up their cars at their homes and returning them when the work is done.
He also scouts out used cars for his customers at auctions and car dealerships. “If I don’t have a car here, it might take me a month or two to find one, but I will find the right one,” said Sonny.
Their daughter Terri grew up playing in the garage. “When she was three I handed her a screwdriver and a carburetor. She took it apart and put it back together,” said Sonny. The couple laughed because today, they said, she wouldn’t get her hands dirty.
Before moving to his present location Sonny operated the Texaco station at the corner of Routes 22 and 67 from 1962 to 1967. Stewart’s is located there now. And before that he worked with his father at Bulson Brothers, which later became Patire’s. “My father was a mechanic,” said Sonny. “When I was eight he had me cleaning parts to put back into cars.” Sonny said the best way he learned was hands on “with my father leaning over my shoulder telling me to do it right.”
Cars have changed in 50 years. “There’s a whole new generation of auto technicians coming up,” he said. Sonny still does all the basic auto maintenance and repairs, and he has the equipment to fix many of today’s technical problems. But, with some of the new models he doesn’t mind sending the customer back to the dealer if the job is beyond his scope. He recalls the days when you couldn’t buy parts. “We had to build them,” he said. He prides himself on his integrity and work ethic. Those qualities have paid off over the years as he hasn’t had to do much advertising to keep busy. That’s what they like so much about Lenny, said Kay. “He treats people like Sonny does.”
Sonny is happy coming to work every day. “As long as I can get around, I’ll be here,” he said. “I feel better working. Outside of the shop he loves attending car shows and flea markets, most often accompanied by Kay. “I live cars,” he concluded.[/private]