After 50 years, Tommy’s Shop closes its doors

The community gathered and honored the remarkable career of Tommy Francks at his retirement party June 5 at Tommy’s Shop.

Francks opened his shop June 1, 1976. At just 19 years old, he started his business after he bought Tommy Tarter’s Bug Shop. He leased that building for more than a year-and-a-half until Tommy’s Shop was built in 1978. After 50 years, the shop officially closed its doors Monday, June 1.

From a young age, Francks would find himself taking anything and everything apart that had bolts including toasters, TVs, and his father’s dairy farm machinery. At 14 years old, he was building engines for his father’s friends.