As a child, Mr. Joshua Herold, social studies teacher, would come home from school every day and go to his dad’s auto paint and repair shop. There, he would spend time working and learning about cars from his father.
Working on cars became a hobby for Mr. Herold as he currently he owns and works on a 1981 MakoShark Corvette and a 1968 Ford Mustang.
“I love cars and all things mechanical,” Mr. Herold said. “I also love the history of the automobile and me being a teacher played a big part.”
Mr. Herold focuses mostly on the paint and body of the cars he works on. He has worked on over 100 cars since he was 16 years old and considers his hobby a way of forgetting about work for a short period of time. He also buys and sells these cars to people in different places around the country.
“It is a diversion from teaching for me,” Mr. Herold said. “It is something I enjoy. I love driving. I found the Corvette in Louisville, Kentucky and the Mustang just north of Milwaukee (Wisconsin).”
Mr. Herold can recall two specific memories of working on some of his first Corvettes. He gave his dad a special gift and met a determined owner who wanted to buy a car back from him.
“The first Corvette I restored I wanted to keep,” Mr. Herold said. “The first owner tracked me down and purchased the car 30 years later. I restored a Corvette with my dad and gave it to him for Father’s Day.”
Mr. Herold’s dream job and backup plan would be to open up his own shop if he was to stop teaching one day.
“I had thoughts of it (owning his own shop) that if teaching never works out,” Mr. Herold said. “I love teaching still.”
Michael Szumlas, senior, also has a passion for working on cars and learned everything he knows from his father. When looking for his first car, Michael found a 1969 Chevelle.
“I saw it at an auto sale shop on the corner of Ridge and Indianapolis Boulevard,” Michael said. “It was beat up and I thought ‘This could be fixed.’”
The car instantly caught his eye and he knew this was the car for him. He liked the car due to its design aspects.
“It was a Chevy, so that was a big (reason for buying it),” Michael said. “It was because of the style. A lot of the new cars are rounded and sleek. Old cars have lines that look sweet with the right color paint.”
Michael has done a lot of work on his Chevelle over the last few years, ranging from fixing the metalwork to changing the motor transmission. He learned all he knows from his father and enjoys working with him.
“It is a big thing for my dad,” Michael said. “He had two cars when he was growing up. He spent time to make them better and his (own). I wanted to do the same.”
Michael usually works on his cars during the weekend. He does not consider it a calm hobby since it usually takes a while to make things run properly.
“It is not relaxing,” Michael said. “The end result is awesome, but doing the work is frustrating. (It is frustrating) when things do not work. They do not make parts like they used to.”
After working on his car, Michael enjoys riding around town. He sometimes goes to car meets to show off his car as well as taking note of how others work on theirs.
“I love cruising around by myself,” Michael said. “I like to go to meets to look around and get some ideas. I prefer to be myself and just cruise around.”
One day when hanging out at his dad’s house, Max Lawson, senior, discovered his love for old cars
“One time I was at my dad’s house and we ordered a pizza,” Max said. “The guys pulled up in a 1956 Chevrolet Chevelle. I really liked it. My dad said he would buy me an old car like that when I get older.”
His father bought him a 1968 Ford Mustang two years ago. Max likes the style and sound of older cars.
“They are really cool to look at,” Max said. “The way they sound is nice too because they have louder engines. It was just something I was into.”
Max has done some work on his car over time. His tasks included replacing the wheels to taking out the dents in the body of the car. Research was needed to complete these jobs the correct way, according to Max.
“I did it all by myself,” Max said. “All the stuff that needed fixing, I looked up. You learn by tinkering with your hands.”
While Max has a lot of interest in keeping his car in shape, he does not plan to pursue a career in auto repairs. He considers working on his car more of a hobby.
“I am not good enough to make it a career,” Max said. “I think I will make it more of a hobby than a career.”
Max enjoys the knowledge he has learned about keeping his car in shape. He enjoys solving problems with his car.
“It is pretty cool that if the car stops working, all I have to do is open up the hood and fix it,” Max said. “I like solving problems with my hands.”