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Show Feature SOUTHERN UTAH NEWS TUESDAY JANUARY 12, 1993 Father and son automotive shop By Barbara Pyles Bill Goodall was a typical little boy. He tagged along after his dad, Alwyn whenever he could. In high school, he took mechanics and liked working on small engines. Later, his Uncle Frank, a mechanical genius, taught him more about engines. Today, the professional team of Alwyn and Bill Goodall, run A & B Diesel and Automotive Service at 1480 N. Main St in Fredonia. (A for Alwyn and B for Bill). We run it together. Were not official partners or anything, Bill has grown into the business, says Alwyn. A & B is an automotive and diesel truck repair shop. They do general mechanical work from small engines like lawn mows. ers, all the way up to A & B has a license and insurance, and can haul flat bed freight all over the United States and Canada. We can haul anything, anywhere, for anybody, says Alwyn. Other services offered by A & B include a towable forklift road service, wood work, steam cleaning and a certified inspection facility. Every truck on the road has to pass inspection every year, and we can do those inspections, says Alwyn. Father and son each have spesemi-truck- cial talents. Bill handles a com- plete small engine repair service. He offers prompt and courteous service on or engines. And, he performs most of the automotive and die sel truck repair. Alwyn, who has lived in Fredonia since 1958, drives the truck, and does some mechanical work. He makes and delivers storage sheds and has some cabinet business. The men say, they help each other in all areas. Alwyn says it all started back in 1970 when he was doing building work and small remodelling jobs. We built a small building next to our house and it developed into a hardware store, he says. The business grew, and Alwyn moved the building to its pre sent location. Later, he built a warehouse. We started with a hardware store and lumber yard. The men repaired their trucks and the business evolved into truck repairs. It wasnt planned that way, it just happened, says Alwyn. In January of 1985, Alwyn turned the warehouse into a repair shop. Working on trucks just kind of took over, says Alwyn. We want to get the word out that we are here, he says. We Kourtney Stirland, (c) talks to a customer on the phone Zion Pharmacy. Photo by Myma Cox. Hail the Corner Drug Store were concentrating on big By Myma Cox trucks. Recently, we have gone I recently read in the Daily more and more into automotive. Spectrum an article concerning Most of our advertising is by the merging of large companies word of mouth. People realize in regards to the sale of mail we do good work, says Alwyn. We are striving to do a good job. That is what our goal is, says Bill. Alwyn looked at his son and nodded his head in agreement. They grinned. as he fills a prescription for another in his Corner Drug Store, order drugs, at supposedly lower costs. The author of the article, in essence was describing the Corner Drug Store, as a less than convenient place to do business. It stated that the Old Corner Drug stores of America are on the way out. No longer will people have to stumble over water hoses to get to the druggist in the back, who issues the medications to the public. The authorfailed to mention however the nicer things we stumble across at the drug sto e. How about stumbling across an old friend that you havent seen in a long time? No mention was made about the local druggist a stumble. Its the fall, that seems to be the real issue-th- e fall of small businesses across this great country of ours. My husband and I made a trip back East in June of 1992. On the way, we stopped at some of the old familiar places to discover, to our dismay, the closures of cafes, motels and gas pumps. The number of gas pumps that had been pulled were more than we cared to count. The fall of small business is real. We are seeing it more and more all of the time. The small man can no longer compete with the big dollars. As far as Im concerned, the Comer Drug Store is one of is the Marshalls from Panguitch, as well as our own local drug- gists. Kourtney Stirland has built a large clientele and made many friends through the years of serving this area. When my family was younger, there were trips to the E.R. room, or a child on the verge of pneumonia, or a child with a high fever, I cannot recall the countless number of times that a caring pharmacist left his home in the night, after hours, to care for members of my family. If you can find a mail order service to top this, please let me know. Dont get me wrong. I am not opposed to change, and I, as well the last establishments that we as many of you, have accepted Americans can claim as a tradi- all sorts of changes in our gotional American institution-why- , vernment, community and its as American as Uncle schools. However, some things Sam, and football. If our Comer are just too American to replace whoknowsyoubyname-thema- n Drug store goes, so does an ample I believe that the old Comer memamount of family businesses, Drug Store is one of the last who knows your family bers and has their best interest ones which have been in exist- links to our past heritage which ence for as long as I can remem- we must hang on to. Sure hope at heart. connot that the ber, and many established way we can do it in this Its stumbling before my time. One such family from America. cerns me, as people recover fast-changi- Alwyn and Bill Goodall and Bill Goodall, father and son team, working on a car. They run B Diesel and Automotive Service in Fredonia. Photo by Barbara Pyles. Alwyn A & |