The following
article appeared in the May 5, 1999 issue of the Houlton
Pioneer Times. At the time we were preparing for
our Spring Open House. We feel the article does a
nice job of presenting our history up to that
point.
PARTNERS— John Cassidy, left, and
Carl Duff, center, pose here with a friend during
the 50s. Cassidy, the original owner, hired Duff,
his son-in-law in the 4Os. The service station was
also a dealership for Studebaker trucks as well as a
place to fuel up. |
Duff’s Garage marks decades
in Houlton.
By Sam Macllroy
“It’s hard work
and you have to put the effort into it and be fair with
people.”
That bit of
management philosophy from Carl Duff, owner of Duff’s
Garage, is what he said has kept the business going for the
last 30 years.
The garage on the
Bangor Road has been a Houlton landmark since 1931 when it
was started by John Cassidy. Cassidy started the family
business and it grew from a small service station to the
Willys dealership that covered all of the County with the
exception of the Caribou area. In 1957, Cassidy’s
son-in-law and now owner, Carl Duff, came on as assistant
manager and served as a mechanic at the business. As time
went on, a Studebaker franchise was added to the growing
business.
In 1969, Carl
took over the business from his father-in-law.
He first acquired
an interest in automobiles as a young man working at his
uncle’s garage in Hodgdon.
“I took shop in
high school and worked for my uncle while growing up,” said
Duff.
He continued to
receive training and has been involved with many different
schools so as to keep his skills sharpened.
Things have
changed over the years. The addition of lawn and garden
machines in addition to automobile repair and, a 24-hour
wrecker service has kept Duff busy. As time has gone by,
Duff has passed on more of the responsibility for today’s
high-tech vehicles to his employees.
“I don’t do too
much work on the new cars, I just take the little easy jobs
now,” laughed Duff.
Being in the automotive
business for so long has given Duff the chance to see
amazing transitions in the automotive world.
“Cars and parts today are so
much more expensive,” explained Duff. “In the old days,
spark plugs used to be 75 cents; now they are $3.75.
Now we use scanners on the vehicles, but we used to use
timing lights and go by ear. There have been tremendous
changes.”
Even after 30 years of owning
the business, Duff’s is still thriving and employs two
people along with his son Tom, who has been working with his
father full time since 1981. What has kept this family-owned
business moving forward for so long?
Duff believes that hard work
and customer service is at the root of his success.
“There are some families that
we have worked with for 25 to 30 years and they keep coming
back. Fairness has a lot to do with it,” said Duff.
Carla, Duff’s only daughter, is
still actively involved with the business and is currently
helping her mother, who has been keeping the books for the
business for the last 30 years, convert the company’s
records over to a computer. Carla has been instrumental in
making arrangements for the open house.
Carla also attributed her
father’s success with the business to outgoing personality
and a desire to keep fairness in business at a higher
priority than becoming rich. She also appreciates her
parent’s ability to balance business with work while they
were growing up.
“All of us kids were brought up
on the wrecker, there isn’t any place we haven’t been with
him in that respect,” said Carla. Both Carla and her father
took pride in the fact that each member of the family,
including all of Carla’s five brothers, has had a .part in
the business through the years. Duff’s other sons; Dana and
Peter, still live in Houlton and still help out with the
family business when they can. Jim in Alabama and Dale in
Bangor, both spent many of their younger years working in
the garage.
“We are just so proud to be a
part of this family and this business,” said Carla.
She brought attention to the
fact that her father, with the help of her mother Mildred,
has kept the business going .strong despite health problems
and accidents, through good times and bad times.
As a way to celebrate more than
a half-century of business, Duff’s will be holding an open
house May 8.
As a part of the festivities,
refreshments and balloons will be available, with a drawing
for a free White push mower, as well as a raffle for a
Troy-Built roto-tiller.
The proceeds from the
roto-tiller raffle will be going to the thermal imaging
camera for the Houlton Fire Department, showing that local
business and families can give back to the community in
which they have invested so much of their time.
(NOTE: Since this originally appeared,
Carl has retired and Tom now runs the business. His
wife Nancy is also involved, taking care of the books.
The most important things stay the same: Duff's
Service is a family run business, committed to offering you
the best possible service, and real value for your hard
earned dollar.)
THE ORIGINAL — The original building
that houses what is now Duff’s garage began with the
building above owned by Duff’s father-in-law, John
Cassidy. The garage has seen several expansions over
the years including the addition of another bay to
the work area. |
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