EASTHAMPTON — If you’ve ever found yourself seeking refuge from car troubles at D & D Auto Parts & Machine in the past 47 years, you’ve probably been welcomed by a member of the Thayer family stationed at the counter.
But after decades of serving the community in more ways than just being a reliable machinist and mechanic, family patriarch and D & D owner Richard Thayer has decided to retire and close down the store next year.
“It’s something that’s always going to be in my blood until they plant me,” Thayer, 80, said of being a repairman. “I intend to stay busy with it. I have a lot of my own projects I want to do.”
The store opened in September 1972 in an old building which Thayer said was an old horse-and-buggy store dating back to the late 19th century. Situated right off of the Route 10 and Main Street roundabout, Thayer and his wife, Betty Thayer, have raised two generations of their family on the site.
Richard recently sold the store’s property to Florence businesswoman Sara Northrup, who plans to renovate the building for retail tenants by the end of the year. In the meantime, Northrup is renting out the back portion of the shop to Richard so he can continue to work until a personal shop at his home in Russell is finished being built — something he hopes to be finished by the spring at the latest.
Sitting back in a tattered leather rolling chair in an empty room in his shop during a recent interview, Richard reflected on his life in the automotive repair business. He said he started when he was 4 years old, handing wrenches and flashlights to his five older brothers who were all mechanics and technicians. His father was also a mechanic and his grandfather was an inventor.
“I would do anything to get a ride on their motorcycles, or a fast ride in one of their cars,” he said of his brothers.
Right out of high school, Thayer began working at an auto repair store in Westfield, where he learned customer service by working the counter and improved his repairing skills by working in the shop. In 1963, at the age of 23, Thayer joined the U.S. Army where, in a drastic turn of his career, he worked collecting meteorological data for howitzers in Hawaii.
“I was sure I was going to ordinance school to build engines and stuff, which they wouldn’t have had to train me for,” he said. “Uncle Sam has no rhyme or reason over what you do in the military.”
Even though he enjoyed working in meteorology during his two years of service, Richard couldn’t keep his hands away from the inside of a car hood.
“I still kept my mechanical skills up because I hobbied at it at night, keeping my buddies cars running and my own car,” he said. “I had a bunch of officers, and I kept their wives’ cars running.”
After he served, Richard worked at his brother’s shop in Russell and worked in the auto parts business until in 1972 when he bought the property where D&D Auto is located.
Over the years, Richard’s three sons, Brent, Brad and Brian, have all worked with their father in some capacity at the shop — whether they wanted to or not.
“Our Saturdays were busy. We would go get a good breakfast because I would tell them ‘That might be the last thing you’re going to eat until supper,’” he said. “We opened the door at 8 o’clock and they would come flocking in.”
“On Saturday mornings it was more like a family thing,” said Betty Thayer, his wife. “People would bring their babies in, wait in line and have coffee … We still know some of the kids that were in infant seats when they came.”
Brad Thayer, one of Richard and Betty’s three sons, said he didn’t care much for mechanics growing up. When his father brought him to the store on account of bad behavior, Brad said he would retreat to the loft upstairs.
“We would have forts upstairs and a TV that didn’t get any channels,” he said, noting his brother Brent took more interest in mechanics than himself and his other brother Brian. “I would just hang out in the dirt for a while and watch TV.”
The business fell into a rough patch in the 90s due to discount stores selling parts for cheap, he said, but the support the business received from locals helped keep its head above water. Every Christmas the family would throw a massive party, with hundreds of guests eating lasagna, macaroni and cheese, salad and other home-cooked food that was laid out on the counter of the shop.
“We’re very serviceable to the community. They were good to us, too, so we did the same for them,” he added.
Even after hours, when the three boys finally cornered their father for help with fixing up their bikes, there would almost undoubtedly be a stranded driver with a busted car knocking on the back door looking for help, Brad said.
“He never got paid, but he didn’t mind,” he said.
His children did not take the business over as Brad and Brian eventually moved on from the repair business, however, Brent keeps his hands busy as a mechanic by hobbying with race cars in his time off.
After a long career of non-stop work, Richard said he was glad to be moving on. But after building nearly 600 engines throughout the course of a lifetime, he’ll never completely wash away the oil on his hands — doing so would run counter to Richard’s nature.
“I’ve always wanted to see over the next hill,” he said. “But I’ve never really had the chance to do that.”
Michael Connors can be reached at mconnors@gazettenet.com.