I spent a lot of my childhood growing up in the auto business.
Lets face it, I spent most of my childhood.. When I was barely young enough to vaguely remember my dad ran an auto repair out of this big blue building (see pics) and the business was named Mt. Zion Auto Clinic where he ran the business in front and we lived in a small apartment made in the back of the building. When our dog wasn't a Junky Yard Dog, but a Garage Bay Dog.. I remember we lived and our business was behind the local Dolly Madison store and I would occasionally talk my mom into walking with me to go to the building in front of ours to pickup a mid-afternoon treat. This building still remains a staple to the automotive industry and it is now Precision Recovery although when I pass it on infrequent trips to the area I still remember it as once being out home. Yes it wasn't beautiful and I'm sure I've blocked out the living conditions, but it built work ethic, principles and a true respect for the automotive industry.
After my parents saved up enough money we finally were able to rent out a real house and my dad decided to consolidate his expenses by running his business out of the house and building a large 2-car automotive shop behind the house. I'll always remember this house as the one when we had the auto repair attached our house down on Highway 121 in Mt. Zion, IL. One thing I was always thankful for and due miss is that my father Henry and my grandpa built me a clubhouse attached to the side of the garage so I had a space to dream and be creative. (Sorry can't find pictures of this one.) What is odd, as the years have passed even that building still stands, it definitely doesn't look like the home with the massive garage in the back anymore as it now is D&R Roofing, Inc. and the entire space is used for commercial property.. I'll always remember this house/business as the one where I jumped into a car my dad was working on, somehow grabbed the keys and started the car and toss it into drive and ran into a bumper block and honestly can't remember if I ran into the garage or not. I just no that was BAD! VERY VERY BAD!.. ;) It's also the place where I learned to ride a bike and started to grow more and more interested in the motor vehicles.
And finally when my dad hit it big-time and he grew his business into a larger commercial establishment where we shared the same land as a Citgo Gas Station (in front of the garage). We had a 3-bay garage, a great office space and I was FINALLY old enough to help out in the shop. When we (Henry) made this move he renamed his business A-1 Auto Service. I grew up the rest of my years in Mt. Zion hanging out working on cars, running my baseball card shop, hanging out with friends, building a clubhouse in the back of the garage and ultimately learning computers after hours using our drive-on car lift as a sudo-lab after hours and on the weekends.. Once my dad was done for the day and the drive-on lift was cleared. I would grab some old computer equipment that my parents had purchased at the Illinois State Government surplus auction and start tearing it apart, learning how a computer worked.. Not with books, but by trial and error.. These old monochrome displays, MFM hard drives, and 8088 processors really allowed me the opportunity to get good at my what eventually would be my craft. "Technology".. And my passion and hobby, auto mechanics & cars..
As you can see there is a-lot of rich automotive, military, and technology history at came together in our newest venture.. We had a family business, but as our family has grown there has been an evolution to our approach where we have partnered with my father, Henry Denton and drawn from 50+yrs of experience in the automotive industry. And coupled that with my years of tinkering and helping out in the shop and at home. Along with myself (Justin Denton - 20+yrs in tech) and my son's computer technical backgrounds to come up with 3Denton Auto by US Vet Designs. Where we draw from many years, our passion for automotive, and our keen technology abilities and skills to deliver high quality products, excellent customer service, and a commitment to ensuring you get the tools and experience to get the job done right!
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