“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Most little boys would answer that question with a starry-eyed look—an astronaut, a firefighter, a rock star. For Allan Sawatzky, the answer was clear from a very young age. He wanted to be an auto mechanic, and he wanted to own his own shop.
Through his teen and adult years he never wavered from that dream, excelling in his high school auto mechanics trade class and pursuing training wherever training could be had. He worked hard at his passion, achieving his goal of driveability and diagnostics technician in his early adulthood.
It was clear to me, from the time we were married, that we would one day be self-employed. In our early thirties we finally put shovel to dirt and built the foundation of what would become Sparkline Autoworks.
It wasn’t hard choosing a location for our new business. Both of us had grown up within a 10 mile radius of Niverville and had connections to the town which made it an endearing option. Though an almost-too-good-to-be-true proposition had come our way for an existing repair shop in St. Anne, Niverville somehow felt right.
On October 13, 1992, we opened the door to our first customers, and for the next 23 years we would be busy servicing vehicles from the township and surrounding area. Having worked in the bigger, corporate automotive circuit, and being witness at times to the ways customers are deceived, we established from the start the business ethic under which Sparkline was to operate. Honesty and integrity would be our first and foremost principles. Developing solid customer relationships and being a valuable contributor to the community would come a close second. Within 2 years we moved our young family to Niverville and made it our home. Allan would soon become “Sparky” to many, and to a number of our customers, “The Magician.”
Running an automotive repair shop, we found, was far from easy. During the course of our 23 years, cars changed dramatically. Our mechanics’ skill and training levels needed to be upgraded from mostly mechanical to requiring knowledge in hydraulics, electrical, computerization, and aerodynamics, to name a few. We had an ongoing need to equip the shop with more current tools, equipment, training, and repair data to stay abreast of these changes. They came at exorbitant costs.
Our growing community was loyal and supportive through it all. Living and working in this town afforded us opportunities to build life-long friendships with the fabulous residents of this community, many of whom we might not have met had it not been for the business that kept them coming back.
On July 14, 2015, Allan and I sold our dream business. The response from long-time and newer customers has been heartwarming and overwhelming. Conversely, we will dearly miss seeing our customers on a daily basis, shaking hands, chatting in the office or parking lot, and building relationships. But a change is as good as a rest. We will still meet you on the street, in the grocery aisle, in the restaurants, and at the many events that make our community vibrant. It’s the people that make this community what it is, and we have been rewarded through our connection to so many of you.
