“There was two guys named Bill Gray and Harvey Hegstrom that started this in 1946,” Kyle Conger told the Standard-Examiner.

But at one point, not long after starting to work at the Gray & Hegstrom Servicenter himself in 1978, a much younger Kyle Conger wasn’t entirely sure he was going to stick around.

“I was just 20 years old,” Conger said. “And I came down and worked with Hegstrom. And then, after a year, he goes, ‘Too much computer stuff coming out,’ which is in the ’70s, so, he retired. … I remember thinking when he retired, I’m thinking, ‘Man, maybe I don’t want to stay in this line of work,’ because, you know, computers were a new thing.”

However, 48 years later, Conger is the proud owner of what is now Kyle’s Servicenter, retaining the stylization of ‘service center’ from the previous name.

Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner

Working alongside his son Chase, who has been working in the shop for 21 years, Sam Cottle, who joined the business around three years ago, and a 7-year-old Miniature Husky named Jett Blue — or just Jett — that keeps them all in line, Conger has guided the small business through nearly five decades of its existence.

Conger recently sat down with the Standard-Examiner to discuss what’s helped this small garage succeed in a world that almost seemed to leave the small garage model behind years ago.

The Brickyard

Conger noted that the main portion of the building they’re situated in — the two-bay garage portion — has been around over a century, starting life as part of the location of a brickyard.

“They parked two solid rubber tire trucks in here that were really long that hauled brick around Ogden,” he said. “This was kind of like a little garage or storage place.”

Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner

He said the building eventually fell out of use in 1929 until Gray and Hegstrom came along to turn it into an auto service center.

Conger said that it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to take over the business.

“It was pretty scary at first, you know,” he said. “I worked by myself for a while. It just kind of got busier.”

He said that one of the biggest changes he witnessed in the business was in the services offered — and what kind of services cars needed.

“The older guys, they only did tune-ups,” he said. “That’s all they did. But then as cars got better, they didn’t do tune-ups every year. They’d go longer — 100,000 miles — which is a big jump there, but then we started doing brakes, repairs and water leaks and fuel leaks and all that kind of stuff. So, big changes. And then you got those check engine lights on the dash that come on.  They drive us nuts until this day. In the old days, when you’d fix a car, went up the hill, ran good, you knew you were done. But now you can go and run good, and then two days later, that light’s back on. It drives us nuts sometimes.”

Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner

He said that as daunting as it was to work alone at the business in the early days of his tenure, or as much as cars have changed, he’s found ways to change as well.

“It’s just funny how you evolve,” he said. You just always evolve.”

‘Like a museum’

While there have been changes in how vehicles are serviced, Conger said the past is still alive in the shop.

“Eighty years is a long time to be in business,” he said. “I’m only 48 of those, but I still think it’s kind of neat. If you look around, if you look at all the stuff, it’s like a museum in there.”

Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner

Indeed, the interior of Kyle’s Servicenter does resemble a museum, with photos of old cars, an old Coca-Cola machine, antique gas pumps, neon signs and memorabilia ranging from old license plates to commemorations of Conger’s father’s military career. The only major addition to the original building — a garage on the north side where Conger has worked on his hot-rod hobby for years that doubles as additional shop space when needed.

“I always wanted to build a nice brand new shop with all these bays,” he said. “But that would have probably killed me. We like old things.”

Conger said Kyle’s Servicenter — despite being located far away from main roads, advertising pages and a major brand name — has thrived for a few reasons.

“Word of mouth,” he said. “Doing a good job. Being fair and being honest. I think that’s been the secret. I think being a good people person has helped, and just being straight with people.”

He said that these will be the values that carry it into the next 80 years.

“Just adapt,” he said. “Do the very best you can. Be fair and honest with people.”