STRAIGHT AHEAD - The Stennes sit in their classic 1970 Chevy Chevelle.
LOOKING AHEAD - Pete Stennes eyes his wife Jane as the couple sit on the rails of the camper they plan to travel the country in. Star Eagle photos by Eli Lutgens
By ELI LUTGENS
Publisher/Editor
The saying goes if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.
Pete Stennes, with the help of his wife, Jane, restored classic cars, provided mechanical repair and ran the car wash at Pete's Service Center in Hartland Minnesota for 37 years.
“I mostly did it for other people,” Pete said. “If I didn’t do it, then who would? More importantly, who else would put the time and effort into restoring all those vehicles?”
At 72 years old, and recently diagnosed with myositis, a rare autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks healthy muscle tissue, Pete decided it was time to close the service center.
“It wasn’t an easy decision,” Pete shared. “This is the first time since I was 13 that I don't have a job.”
Pete talked about how difficult it was to be diagnosed with an incurable disease. “When I finally got the phone call and was told that, the phone kind of went dead. Cause what do you say? We can go to Mars, but we can’t find a cure.”
It took three years for Pete to be diagnosed. Nevertheless, Pete persists.
“I never feel sorry for myself,” Pete went on. “Eventually it will get me. There’s no stopping it. But my life is far from over.”
Pete said working so late into life, so vigorously, may have saved his life. “Luckily for me, I didn’t know what it was, so I kept working. Which actually was the best thing I could have done. I kept using my muscles. If I had retired when I was 65, I’d probably be in the care center now.”
Pete’s continual optimism shows itself when he speaks. Looking back at his life, it's apparent that his continual optimism led to success.
Pete was born and raised in southern Minnesota, living in New Richland most of his life and attending school there until he joined the army in 1967.
Pete was a rifleman and quickly moved up the ranks from private to sergeant in just eight months. He served in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive, saw some of the bloodiest fighting of the war and earned two purple hearts and two bronze stars along the way.
Pete finished his time in the service in 1969 and returned to southern Minnesota where he met his wife, Jane, at the Flame Theatre in Wells. She worked the counter at the theatre, and, as with most things in life, Pete was persistent.
“Jane was making popcorn; I knew from the moment I saw her that I was going to marry her.” Pete went on. “You know that theory. It was love at first sight. From that moment, I knew exactly who I was gonna marry.”
“I didn’t,” Jane responded. “It took some convincing.”
Pete kept coming to the theatre to see me. He got close with my mother too. I think that was the trick… He actually asked my mother for permission to marry me. And now we’ve been married 51 years.”
Pete worked for the New Richland Co-op for ten years until he and Paul Pfeffer, together, ran Warkes Gas station. In 1984, the business was resolved and the Stennes moved to Las Vegas where Pete worked repairing taxis for Yellow Checkered Cab.
A year later the Stennes returned to Minnesota, looking for better work. And that’s when Pete’s Service Center began.
“There were no jobs available, so I basically had to buy a job,” Pete said. “I had no down payment, but Farmers State Bank helped me all the way. I’m very thankful for Farmers State Bank.”
Pete’s Service started as a regular mechanic shop, but Pete soon found a passion for restoring classic cars.
The first car he restored was his brother’s 1965 Impala. Despite Pete’s grumblings about doing a poor job, his brother loved his “orange peel” colored car. Orange peel refers to the paint looking like the dimples on the surface of an orange.
“I made a real good living in Hartland,” Pete said. “The body work was always second. The mechanics always came first. When there was nothing to do in the repair shop, I pushed back in a car, oftentimes by hand, to start on the body work.”
Over the last 12 years, Pete said most of the work he did was bodywork, restoration, and paint. “The new cars are too sophisticated. And unless I wanted to spend thousands of dollars on new equipment, I couldn’t keep up. Luckily, I had a good talent that I fell back on.”
Everything Pete did, he said he learned on the job. “I never went to school for it. I learned from my mistakes, and some of my mistakes I really learned. Kind of like my brother’s orange peel car.”
Pete said his love of cars goes back to when he was a kid. “I always enjoyed putting model cars together and painting them. And you never thought, as a kid putting a model car together and painting it would actually end being what you do in life. Except in the bigger version.”
As he grew in his profession, Pete soon realized that some projects would take several years, and some improvisation to complete.
One car he remembers working on in particular was Jule Johnson’s ‘59 Impala, which traveled from the bottom of a Texas river to Pete’s garage.
“Everybody told me I was wasting my time,” Pete exclaimed. ‘It’s impossible’ they told me.”
The car suffered river silt damage, and after four years, Pete had all but given up on the car after running into one last roadblock. He couldn’t find the window metal, kind of like a windowframe, for the unique curved rear window.
“Those ‘59 Impala’s were rare because they all sat outside and got rusted,” Pete explained. “It was just sheer luck I found the solution. Walking by my garage I saw the curve on the fender of a ‘78 Chevy pickup. I took that and welded it on the car to use for the window.”
Pete took Johnson’s ‘59 impala from the bottom of a river, and turned it into a show-car in just four years.
He went on to share the story of an El Camino he sold, and purchased back 20 years later with the same tires, belts, and hoses, that he installed.
“Jane says it’s a labor of love,” Pete explained. “I enjoyed bodywork, but I am looking forward to spending more time with Jane.”
Pete said he looks forward to driving old cars more, camping and getting to do more home projects.
“Looking back, I have no regrets. I’m kind of like my dad. I’ve done what I’ve wanted to do. Whatever time allowed. Now I’m gonna catch up on all the things I didn’t have time for.”
Pete said he hopes the car wash continues and looks forward to seeing a new business take the place of Pete’s service. “Looking back, I’m so thankful. People don’t stop to smell the roses anymore. We’ve created our own problem of not having any time. Now, Jane and I have all the time we want.”
The Stennes would like to thank those in Hartland and the surrounding communities for their support over the past 37 years.