By Jolene Farley
M & M Repair, owned by Melvin and Minnie Van Batavia, will celebrate 25 years in the auto repair business with an open house from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday.
M & M Repair has been a constant on Main Street in Steen, a community of 190 people, for many years.
Melvin, a 1971 Hills High School graduate, purchased his car repair business in 1976 from retiring mechanic Clarence Erickson.
"When I started we still had gravel on Main Street," he said. "About two years after I started they black-topped Main Street."
Van Batavia attended Jackson Area Vocational School for auto mechanics and worked for three years at a Pontiac dealership in Rock Rapids before the purchase.
M & M Repair remained in the same location until 1990 when Melvin and Minnie moved to Alexandria where Melvin attended classes to update his mechanical skills.
In the fall of 1991, the Van Batavias moved back to Steen and reopened M & M Repair. They built a new building in the current location.
"My old building was really run down, dark and cold," Melvin said.
He said he really missed Steen when he was in Alexandria.
HeÕs pleased with how his business has grown over the years. "It gets more and more each year; I turn down a lot of customers," he said.
Most of his clientele comes from within a five- or six-mile radius of Steen.
"I just kind of do everything from go-carts to washing machines, lawn mowers all the way up to four-wheel-drive tractors," he said.
Automobiles have changed for the better over the years, even though cars are more dependent on computers, according to Van Batavia.
Cars last longer without the major repair work required in the past, so Van Batavia does more normal maintenance now.
He suggests customers service their cars regularly. He said replacing the fuel filter in an engine saves wear on the fuel injection system.
He added another tip. Some newer model cars have electric fuel pumps in the gas tanks that are lubricated by gas, so running your vehicle out of gas may ruin the fuel pump.
Van Batavia expects 250 to 300 people to attend the open house on Saturday. He will pass out free pens and screwdrivers. The Beaver Creek Sportsmen's Club will serve burgers and brats, and door prizes will be given away.