Blair's Car Care is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. Located in Jackson, Mich., the business had has a long and much varied history - quite varied. But this makes it a great example of the evolution of tire retail businesses over time.
The Jackson Citizen Patriot recently ran this profile:
[Jackson Citizen Patriot] Jackson, Mich.’s foray into automobile manufacturing had just about fizzled out in 1922 when Vern Blair Sr. decided to give up the family’s carpet cleaning business for a new venture.
Blair Tire Service, 200 W. Pearl St. in Jackson, Mich., a second business opened by Vern Blair Sr. in 1936, added tire retreading to the company's line of services.
The tall and quiet, but competitive, businessman thought automobiles in general had a pretty bright future, so he took a chance on them and opened Blair Auto Parts at 514 E. Pearl St. in a then-bustling downtown Jackson.
Now, almost 90 years later, his great-great-grandson has joined the family business that’s still going strong as Blair’s Car Care at 2424 Wildwood Ave.
“Vern Sr. was a real entrepreneur,” said Mike Blair, now a partner with his father, Dick, in the business. “He’d try something, and when it was working well, he’d turn it over to his sons and start something new.”
Vern Sr.’s original business was really a junkyard with old cars and used parts in the inventory. When his sons Warner (who was Dick’s father) and Keith joined him, they converted to new parts and added U.S. Royal tires to their product line.
Vern Sr. figured his sons were doing pretty well on their own, so he decided to give them a little competition. He moved down the street in 1936 to 200 W. Pearl St. and started Blair Tire Service, which sold General tires and did tire retreading, auto glass and auto upholstery.
That move set the Blairs on their way to a successful future because they learned from Vern Sr. what U.S. automakers have sometimes struggled with: To survive, you have to adapt to the changing times and customers’ wants and needs.
“We’ve all not been afraid to take a chance, knowing that it would either make or break us,” Mike said. “We’ve changed with the times. If one department slowed, we’d back off from it and add a new department where there was a need.”
Keith eventually left Blair Auto Parts to join Vern Sr. at Blair Tire Service. He took over when Vern Sr. left to start a trucking business. Warner stayed at Blair Auto Parts and was joined by Dick, but when Warner died at 46, the family closed that store and Dick went to work for local manufacturer Kent-Moore Corp.
Vern Jr., better known as Bud, is another of Vern Sr.’s sons. Throughout high school and college, he worked for Devenow News Service. But around 1954, he decided the family business might be a better option, so he joined brother Keith at Blair Tire Service.
Kent-Moore Corp. was pressuring Dick to move to Detroit, which he didn’t want to do, so he left the company and worked for a time with Horne Vinson Ambulance.
Blair's Auto Parts opened in this store at 514 E. Pearl St. in 1922. Five generations of the family have kept the business, now at 2424 Wildwood Ave., going for almost 90 years.
In 1974, when Keith was ready to retire, Dick and Bud pooled their resources and bought him out. Two years later, they moved Blair’s to Wildwood Avenue into what was Pete Johnson’s garage.
“It was the best move we ever made,” Dick said. “The lack of parking and all the one-way streets downtown were killing us. We only had five parking spots in front of the store. Fail or not, I said we’ve got to get out of there.”
Mike joined the family business at 15, sweeping the floors and changing tires. He eventually became a mechanic and was Blair’s only mechanic when the store added auto repair service in 1983. He became a partner when Bud retired in 1995.
Mike’s son, Mikey, started the same way as his dad when he was 12 years old. He joined the business full time six years ago and hopes to help take the company to its 100th birthday, a feat not accomplished by many family-owned businesses these days.
“That’s our goal,” Mikey said. “We’re really pushing for it.”
Blair’s employs 14 people. The auto repair portion of its business is booming, thanks in part to people keeping their cars longer.
“I think our diversity and the loyalty of our customers have been key,” Mike said. “We treat our customers like we want to be treated – fair and honest. We’ve seen children of customers and now grandchildren of customers come back to us. Their loyalty has made us succeed.”