All in the Family

In 1970, 18-year-old Ken Church hitchhiked from Chicago to Sister Bay to work in the auto garage and dealership of his grandparents, Marcus and Ellen Gobel. He left the city at 10 pm, and after hitching and walking all night, arrived in the village at 9 am.

(Left to right) Ken, Candy and Chris Church operate Sister Bay Automotive as a family.

That journey provided the link to what has become a long-time family business in Northern Door, Sister Bay Automotive, now operated by Ken Church, his wife Candy, and his son Chris.

However, the business extends even further back into the past. Ernest Isaacson opened the garage in 1919, and when he sold it to Leonard Swenson in 1927, only 18 automobiles were owned in Liberty Grove.

The business, after Marcus and Ellen Gobel purchased it in 1957, included not only a garage and Ford automobile dealership, but wrecker and telegraph service. Ken’s Uncle Kenny also worked for them.

Young Ken’s association with his grandparent’s business began even earlier than 1970. “I started pumping gas for them when I was 12,” he recalled. His parents lived in Chicago, and as a teenager he worked summers as a mechanic for them, and one year, for personal reasons, lived with his grandparents.

Ken Church left his grandparents garage to work in auto repair in Sturgeon Bay after they sold the building in 1975 to Arvid Strom who pumped gas and ran a carwash.

In 1978 Strom leased the building to Jeff Lundh who operated a garage and until 1982 a Ford dealership, the year Ken Church again became involved in the concern. He owned the garage business, and Lundh continued with auto parts. In 1983, Ken purchased both the building and auto parts, continuing the family business begun by his grandparents. He noted that his grandma Ellen will be 99 on July 31.

Sister Bay Automotive opened in 1919 and has been a constant in the community ever since.

Candy, who works behind the counter in the front office, was a local girl; born a Kwaterski, she had lived just down the street.

The Churches’s oldest son Chris graduated with a degree in Automotive Technology from Fox Valley Technical College, and after working part time in the business summers while he was in school, became a full-time mechanic in 1994.

Sister Bay Automotive, as a small family business, has been a fixture in the village beyond the memory of many residents and visitors to the peninsula. Ken and Candy Church walk to work each day, as their house is across the street from the garage, an enviably short commute.

“Ninety percent of the time it is good living across the street,” Ken said. “Ten percent of the time when I want the day off and people find me, it’s not so good!” he laughed. But it is not as bad as it once was, he added.

“There aren’t as many do-it-yourselfers,” Candy noted, so fewer home mechanics find themselves needing parts when the business is closed.

“We know a majority of the customers,” she continued, “and deal with them on a more personal level.”

“We’re helping them,” Ken added, “rather than worrying about the bottom line. We don’t get rich, but we make a living.”

The level of trust that comes from working with people you know is a positive side of a small business. “Customers trust you and you can trust the customers,” he said. The down side includes “the stress when things are slow.”

“One disadvantage is you can’t leave!” Candy said, as they are tied to the business.

Inside Sister Bay Automotive.

“Unless you just lock the doors!” Ken laughed, which is what they did when their middle son Clark was married in Colorado.

But the advantages prevail. “Most of our business is word of mouth,” Candy said. “We don’t do a lot of advertising.”

“And we’ve had the same customers for many, many years,” Ken added.

Then he told a story about the late Al Johnson. “After I first took over the business I tried not to accept charges,” he said. “When Al stopped and wanted to charge gas, Jeff Lundh told him that I didn’t want charges. ‘He better write it down if he wants to get paid,’ Al said, ignoring him, and left.”

While the present economy had affected some businesses adversely, Chris believes it may have helped their operation. “I think people are fixing cars now rather than buying new ones.”

A family business is a good way to live, the Churches all agree. “We all get along,” Candy said.

“Not too many bad moments!” Ken laughed. “You can count them on one hand.”

“Chris is very conscientious,” Candy added. “He has been a great employee. And we have more flexibility when working with family.”

“I wanted to come back here to raise my family,” Chris said. And he knows that eventually the family business will be his.

Ken and Candy Church have three sons. Chris and his wife Melanie have two daughters; Clark (who runs a café and catering service in Aspen) and his wife Jodi have a son; Cole (the youngest, is a career Army soldier) and his German-born wife Antje have two daughters.

Ken Church follows a basic business rule of treating customers fairly, one that has led to Sister Bay Automotive’s success. “You treat a customer well, and he’ll tell someone,” Ken said. “You treat a customer badly, and he’ll tell ten people!”

Visit Sister Bay Automotive, open Monday through Friday, 8 am – 5 pm, and Saturday, 8 am – 12 pm, at 10901 Hwy 42. For more information visit http://www.sisterbayauto.com.

Offering Up Ethanol-free Gasoline

In addition to offering parts and mechanical work, Sister Bay Automotive pumps gas. “We are one of the few stations that have ethanol-free gas, with a choice of super or regular,” Candy Church said.

Ethanol, Ken Church explained, is hard on a car engine because of carbon deposits; it also reduces gas mileage. Ironically, while ethanol might lead to less dependence on Middle Eastern oil, at the same time it leaves a bigger carbon footprint. And indirectly, the alternative fuel brings in more repair work for the garage.