Classic vehicles will be sold at New Stanton auction

For the past 12 years, people from all over the country have traveled to New Stanton to get a glimpse of Dave Reese's antique cars. But on Sept. 29, seven antique cars, including a restored frame from a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air; a 1932 Hi-Boy Rumble Seat Roadster; and a completely restored 1969 Chevrolet Malibu convertible will be auctioned off as Reese closes the doors for the last time at Ageless Autos Inc.

Also auctioned will be antique memorabilia within the shop, including a license plate collection from 1906 through 1988, a phone booth, gas pumps, an original adding machine and a jukebox — as well as the building itself.

“I'll be 72 years old,” Reese said. “I still want to play with cars, but I don't want to be tied to the antique business.

“I have seven grandchildren between 20 months and five years old,” he said. “I want to do more with them … take them to Hershey Park, go to Disney and go on picnics.”

Mark Ferry of Mark Ferry Auctioneers said because the auction is a week before a huge car show in Carlisle/Hershey, he is expecting to get those folks to travel 150 miles to New Stanton as well.

He said the auction is unique because any one of the cars would be a rare find.

“I have been getting calls and emails about the auction from all over the country,” Ferry said. “I'm expecting a big turnout.”

The Ageless Autos building has always been a garage.

In 1929, the building was called Schrader's Garage. In 1939, Henry Walt turned the building into Walt's Garage, which also became a Kaiser Frazer Dealership, then a Ford B Dealership, then finally a repair garage until Reese bought it in 2001.

Previously, Reese was the owner of Parkway Food Services Co., which he started in 1966 in an old building on Otterman Street in Greensburg. In 1974, he bought the Charlie Brothers warehouse in an industrial park in Hempfield, where he nurtured his business to become one of the top 50 food service distributors in the United States.

When he sold that company, he bought the building that houses Ageless Autos.

“I always had a car collection at home,” he said. “I thought I would just buy and sell old cars, and keep the ones I wanted.”

Although the road was rocky getting started, Reese sold cars to buyers in Europe, Canada, Iowa, Texas and the state of Washington.

Local residents would tour the shop when they had family visiting or wanted to see what was new, Reese said. The exposure helped him tremendously, he said.

Classic car enthusiast Gary Hoffman of Greensburg attended Reese's car shows and would stop in Ageless Autos on a regular basis to see his inventory and do a little shopping.

“I, for one, will miss having a local dealer to visit that provides this service,” said Hoffman, who remembers when Reese and his business were featured in the 2002-2003 syndicated TV show, “Hot Rod News.”

“He always had such top-quality classic cars, it will be a loss,” Hoffman said.

Reese used to travel all across the United States to buy his cars. Many were bought in Phoenix — the ‘super bowl' of car auctions — and then shipped back to New Stanton, he said.

Reese said he could never have done it alone. Employees Peggy Kelly and Kelly Moore have been with him since the beginning. Moore's family owned Walt's Garage and Reese kept Moore on, relying on his expertise with cars and vintage vehicles.

Through osmosis, Peggy Kelly has learned about cars and Reese was confident she could answer any car question in his absence.

“It's been like a family affair, I'm going to miss it,” said Peggy Kelly, who retired for a year and then came back. “People from all different countries, Germany, Canada — you wouldn't think in a little town like New Stanton you'd come across all these people, but we did.”

For Moore, it's the end of a chapter. “I'm definitely going to miss it,” said Moore, who hopes to get a job with a freight company. “Dave has been real easy to work for.”

Reese, however, knows when his time is up.

“When I'm done doing something, I'm done,” he said. “And I'm done doing this. Maybe I'm a little melancholy, but just like with any major change, there's always a lot of good memories.”

The auction will be held at 9 a.m. (real estate offered at 12 p.m.) Saturday, Sept. 29, at Ageless Autos Inc., 201 E. Pennsylvania Ave., New Stanton. For more information, visit www.markferryauctioneers.com.

Michele Stewardson is a freelance writer.