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By Edward Lewis elewis@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
Edward Lewis on Facebook   |   @TLEdLewis on Twitter

WILKES-BARRE – Miller Stella Sr. pulled a receipt out from under a large chunk of coal on his metal desk showing how he saved a customer $9.

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Mechanic Miller Stella Sr. celebrated his 89th birthday on Tuesday in his Wilkes-Barre auto repair shop, where he has operated out of for 59 years.

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Stella celebrated his 89th birthday on Tuesday doing what he enjoys the most – changing brakes on cars in his tiny two-bay garage at South Franklin and Wood streets.

If there is any such thing as a mechanic’s museum, Stella’s garage would be it.

Old sockets, wrenches, screw drivers and pliers dress peg boards on the wall.

An oil-stained work bench and that distinctive aroma of oil and gasoline fills the air. Family pictures and old photos of the garage hang on the wall.

Garages like Stella’s are a dying breed.

“I’m still going strong and I have the love for the Lord for that,” Stella said. “Not a day goes by that I don’t pray or read the Bible in the morning. The Lord has me here for a reason.”

Being a mechanic is all Stella wanted to be.

He recalled growing up in Plains Township and walking several miles to a relative’s garage in Wyoming as a kid to watch gasoline be pumped into cars.

“I would stay there for hours; all I wanted to do is own a gas station,” Stella said.

Stella served in the U.S. Army during World War II, earning a Bronze Star and taking part in three invasions in the Pacific Theater.

“When I came out of the Army in 1945, I worked with my father in the coal mines. Then in 1949, I started work in a garage. I wanted to own my own place.”

Stella has owned several garages, but has owned and operated Stella’s at its current location since March 1950.

“This place has helped me with four mortgages,” Stella said. “People call this an antique shop. I don’t mind.”

He has operated his business without the use of a computer to keep customers’ files, or to help him repair vehicles.

“It’s all up here,” Stella said, pointing to his head. “I have no need for a computer.”

He uses the chunk of coal on his desk to hold down customers’ receipts and purchase orders for car parts.

Stella primarily replaces brakes, bragging he can change front brake shoes in 15 minutes and all four brakes in about an hour.

He gave up doing major car repairs about 10 years ago after surgery to correct an aneurysm in his stomach.

He also had two surgeries for cancer, including having one-third of his lung removed.

“I was back in a month after my last surgery,” Stella said.

Miller Stella Jr., Stella’s son, said he remembered seeing engines in pieces on the garage floor.

“You would never think he would get the engine back together, but he did,” Stella Jr. said. “When I was a kid, my dad was a strong believer in keeping his shop clean. He’s still like that. You take a tool down from the wall, you better put it back where you found it.”

Stella said he knows all about cars from “on-the-job” training. He quit high school but earned his GED from the former Wilkes College School of Business.

Stella begins his day at the garage at 6:30 a.m., and usually replaces brakes on two or three cars by noon.

In the afternoon, his shop turns into a community room where friends gather to share a cup of coffee and discuss politics and hunting.

“I love it here; I cleaned this place up after the (1972 Agnes) flood. The flood waters reached 12 feet, up to the roof.”

Stella’s garage has been targeted by thieves at least eight times since he opened in 1950. He showed a safe that was cut open using his own tools and torch in June 2000.

“When they cut it open, they found nothing in it,” Stella said.

Stella said he’s not thinking about retirement.

“As long as the good Lord has me here, I’ll be here fixing brakes,” he said.

Edward Lewis, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7196.