Keeping Sonoma Moving - Walt
Walt's Sonoma Journey - I Helped Build page
This is the third of three stories about Walt's relationship with Sonoma.
🟩 Fifty Dollars and a Help Wanted Sign - Chapter 1
🟥 I Turned Left and Found Sonoma - Chapter 2
🟦 Keeping Sonoma Moving - Chapter 3 (You are reading this story.)
-
Walt never thought of himself as someone involved in community organizations. He put his energy into repairing cars and building his business. In 1978, he opened his first shop on Eighth Street East and later established J&W Automotion in Glen Ellen. For decades, neighbors have relied on Walt to solve the problems that keep their cars off the road. His contribution to Sonoma grew from practical work, personal trust, and a business that helped people keep moving.
-
I never became involved with many community organizations. Most of my energy went into my work and into building an auto repair business.
That became my way of contributing.
While I was working at the Ford dealership, I met a man who came in for body and fender work. He owned a shop on Eighth Street East.
I told him I would like to open a shop of my own someday.
He said, "Come on out. I have a place I can rent you."
In 1978, only two years after my cross-country trip brought me to Sonoma County, I opened my own auto repair business on Eighth Street East.
I did not begin with a large amount of money. Whenever I earned enough, I tried to make two or three payments instead of one. I believed real estate would be a good investment, and property was still affordable enough that a working mechanic could slowly build something.
The same relationships that helped me find housing and buy a home also helped me build the business. People knew my work. Customers trusted me. One opportunity led to another.
After I bought my first house and later sold it, I used the value I had built to move into a better home. Eventually, I used that property to help make the down payment on the auto shop I bought in Glen Ellen.
That shop became J&W Automotion.
When Don asked whether I had been involved in community organizations, I initially said no. I had always thought of community involvement as joining a club, serving on a board, or volunteering with an organization.
Don pointed out that an auto shop also serves the community. People depend on their cars to get to work, care for their families, keep appointments, and live their daily lives. When a car stops working, someone has to help.
That is what I have done.
For decades, people in Sonoma Valley have brought me their cars and trusted me to repair them. The work is practical, but it matters to the person who needs to get back on the road.
Sonoma has been good to me.
I came here with very little money and no plan to stay. I found work, rented a home, opened a shop, bought a house, and eventually owned the property where I operated my business.
I do not know whether I could accomplish those same things here today. Housing and commercial property cost much more, and Sonoma is no longer the small, open town I first discovered.
But I am grateful that I arrived when I did.
I built my life by fixing things, working hard, paying what I owed, and taking care of the people who trusted me with their cars.
I may not have joined many organizations, but my work became part of the everyday life of the community.
-
Walt opened his first auto repair business on Eighth Street East in 1978.
A professional connection at the Ford dealership led to the opportunity to rent his first shop.
Walt used the value from his homes to help purchase the Glen Ellen property that became J&W Automotion.
He initially did not consider his work a form of community involvement.
Decades of keeping neighbors' cars operating became Walt's practical contribution to Sonoma Valley.
Walt credits timing, hard work, personal trust, and Sonoma's opportunities with allowing him to build a home and business.
-
This story was created from a recorded conversation with Don Lundgren as part of the Sonoma Stories project. The conversation was edited for clarity and length while preserving the story teller’s experiences, reflections, and voice. Once published, the story teller may request changes at any time or ask to have the story removed.
