By Sara StrongEldon Bush has worked in a shop so long he doesn’t even notice the odor of gas and oil anymore — whether it’s on him, or just in the air at his business, Bush’s Service. After almost 50 years, he’s retiring now, and Bush’s Service is up for public auction June 17. Bush said he’s gotten a "fair amount of interest in the business over the years," but at 72, the time to quit is finally right. How it all started for him is a question he can’t answer. He can’t explain why he even became a mechanic, because it’s all he’s known. "It came easy to me and I enjoy it. And, you know, if you enjoy your work it just goes a lot easier," Bush said. Bush still runs the business much like it was done during his first years working at Van’s Motor, a Plymouth and DeSoto dealer. He jumps into action as cars drive over the service bell that rings in the shop and office. He asks customers how much gas they want, washes their windshields and brings their change to them — all as they wait comfortably in their vehicles. Change is still calculated by an antique, non-electric cash register with a big hand crank that opens the till. He can scarcely find receipt tape for that old register now. "I feel bad for those little old ladies who’ve never put gas in their own cars before," Bush’s wife, Wilda said. "Full service isn’t really around anymore. ... When he first started, there weren’t many women who drove at all." Wilda stepped in to help with billing or bookwork as needed. Bush has been at the current East Main location since 1964, and not much has changed other than the technological updates that have been necessary in the changing world of engines and car systems.Bush doesn’t look back on the good old days as easy ones. He worked seven days a week, and every other night, for much of his career.Rather than working 10 or 11 hours a day, five days a week, at the shop, he plans to enjoy the summer working at his rural home, where mowing the lawn takes four nights."I’ll definitely miss this place, that’s for sure," Bush said. "But then, time marches on."
