Ray’s Garage: 51 Years of Service, Family, and Friendship in Jackson County
For more than five decades, Ray’s Garage has been a cornerstone of Jackson County. A place where cars were fixed, friendships were built, and laughter was never in short supply. This Friday, August 29, the shop will close its doors for the final time after 51 years of service, leaving behind a legacy as enduring as the engines that rolled out of its bays.
The garage was more than just a repair shop. For many, it was like Cheers, the neighborhood bar where everybody knew your name, only here, the “regulars” came in with worn fan belts, faulty starters, or a story to tell. If you had been in Jackson County longer than a month, chances are you had either been to Ray’s Garage or knew someone who had.
Ray Lawrence, who opened the shop in 1974, was a lifelong mechanic before setting out on his own. He worked at Bob Pforte Motors and Cowart’s before deciding to build a business where skill met humor, and customers soon became friends. Ray, who passed away in 2022, built his life and his livelihood alongside his wife Charlotte, who still manages the books today. Their sons, Danny Ray and Rusty, followed their father into the trade, while their daughter Elaine chose a different path outside the family business.
Rusty Lawrence, who started working at the shop in 1980 at the age of 18, remembers the early days vividly. “Back then, customers weren’t just customers, they were friends. You built relationships that lasted for years,” Rusty reflected. “That’s something that’s changed over time. The newer generation doesn’t really do that. But for us, it was always about more than fixing cars, it was about people.”
Rusty worked side-by-side with his father and brother Danny Ray, and even the grandchildren had their turns helping out. Rusty’s daughters, Casey and Tiffany, spent many summers at the front desk before moving on to careers of their own.
Though Rusty admits he’s slowing down due to health issues, he doesn’t plan on full retirement just yet. Danny Ray, too, expects to continue doing some service work on the side, even if the family business is officially closing.
“I’m going to miss seeing the customers more than anything,” Rusty said. “Daddy helped a lot of people over the years, and I’ll miss that part.”
Danny Ray, who joined his dad in the garage in 1978, echoed those same sentiments. “I’ve made a bunch of good friends,” he said, reflecting on more than four decades under the hood. Like his brother, he’s seen the industry change drastically. “Technology, that’s been the biggest shift. And of course, age and health catch up with you.”
While he agrees that younger customers sometimes see car repair as just another service, Danny Ray says many long-time patrons still feel like family. “We’ve still got some of our older customers, and even some whose youngins started coming to us, they still come back.”
As for life after the final day, Danny Ray admits he hasn’t mapped out the future. “I’ll still be around, I just don’t know doing what yet. I haven’t made any long-term plans.”
The garage’s impact went far beyond car repairs. For Wesley Hatcher, a local wrecker driver, the Lawrences were dependable partners and friends. “They always helped me out, and I could always count on them,” Hatcher recalled. “Even if they were in the same line of work, they’d still lend a hand. That’s just the way they were.”
Victor Mock, who worked across the street at NAPA Auto Parts, said the Lawrences felt like family, sometimes in ways that included good-natured pranks and playful rivalries.
“We argued like family, but we were close like family, too,” Mock said with a laugh. “Ray was always up to something. He’d pull jokes that would scare you half to death or send the boys over to rough you up a little, but he’d turn around a few days later and buy you lunch. That was just Ray.”
Mock shared one unforgettable memory of Ray teaming up with their mutual friend J.Y. Folsom, who had invented a potato gun out of PVC pipe and lighter fluid. “J.Y. brought it to the shop one day and set it off,” Mock recalled. “The blast shook the ceiling tiles and scared us all senseless. That was classic Ray, always looking for a way to get a laugh, even if it meant giving you a heart attack in the process.”
As Ray’s Garage closes its doors, it isn’t just the end of a business, it’s the close of a chapter in Jackson County’s story. For 51 years, the garage wasn’t just a workplace for the Lawrence family; it was a gathering spot, a proving ground for young mechanics, and a place where neighbors became friends.
Though the shop will be shuttered, the stories, the laughter, and the friendships will endure. “Ray’s Garage was never just about fixing cars,” Rusty said. “It was about helping people, being part of the community, and carrying on a family tradition. That’s what I’ll always remember.”