Rusty Herlocher Auto Sales celebrates 35 years
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LOCK HAVEN -- Rusty Herlocher's car lot at 320 N. Jay St. is filled with well-groomed used cars bearing neat, handwritten signs.
In the small, cozy office behind the lot, his wife, Dawn Herlocher, sits at her desk with a cheery smile.
Daisy, the couple's St. Bernard, pads out to the office, doling out kisses to anyone in her path.
"I like to think that in the 35 years, we've done business the right way," said Dawn.
The couple has been in business since 1982, when they bought a car lot on the corner of Main and Washington streets and a garage where the current dealership now sits.
Running the auto dealership and full-service garage was a full-time job for the couple.
"We had 13 employees at one point," Dawn said. "We did a lot of reconditioning with some service work."
But in 1996, a man approached them with a transformational offer.
"(He) wanted to buy the car lot on Main Street; they had funding for an apartment complex, but it had to be in close proximity to a school, a church and a grocery store," Dawn said. "Our car lot was the one lot in Lock Haven that matched his requirements."
Reluctant to sell at first, the couple eventually did in September 1996.
In early 1997, Rusty demolished the service garage on Jay Street and moved his auto business there.
Besides that, things have been quiet for the Herlochers. "For us, really not much has changed," Dawn said.
"Forty-five years we've been married," she said with a smile.
When their youngest son, Ty, was five weeks old, Dawn took him with her to the business every day.
"Ty was raised in the shop," she said.
The business has supported the Herlochers and their three children steadily for 35 years.
Though things haven't changed much for the Herlochers, they both remember downtown Lock Haven as a much different place.
"Clinton County is the only county in the United States that has manufactured all forms of transportation," said Dawn proudly, reflecting on Lock Haven's manufacturing boom days. She said traffic used to run two ways on Main Street and downtown bustled every night, especially Mondays and Saturdays.
The city suffered after the 1972 Agnes flood badly damaged and destroyed many of the businesses and homes downtown. "It's amazing we ever recovered," she said.
When Piper Aircraft closed in 1984, Lock Haven lost many jobs.
"We've had some good years and some bad years," said Rusty.
This summer, the portion of North Jay Street where their shop resides was closed for road construction. "That had an effect on business," said Dawn. But, she said, it was a necessary improvement.
Despite setbacks, "last year was one of the best years we've ever had," Rusty said.
"We do have many repeat customers that have become good friends," said Dawn.
"We're not working on a big-volume business," said Rusty. "We have an awful lot of repeat customers that we take care of."
After Rusty's cancer and heart surgery in 1997, there was talk he might be slowing down.
But at 71, he refuses to retire.
"What am I gonna do, sit home and watch 'The Price is Right'?" he joked.
"He's always shuffling cars around," said Dawn, laughing. "Cars are all he's ever wanted to do."
She reports that Rusty is only working nine hours a day, six days a week--down from the 10 hours a day he used to work.
Dawn said her days are filled with customers turned friends, who come by to drink coffee and chat in the office lined with classic model cars. "The coffee's always made," she said.
October 15, 2017 marked the 35th year the Herlochers have been in business.
"We've always been blessed," said Dawn. "At the end of the day, look at what you've accomplished, and if you can say, 'This has been a good day,' what more could you ask for?"