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River Heights man can fix anything -- except the future of the fix-it business By
Matt Flitton
At 534 E. 700 South in River Heights is a small wooden shop with aging yellow paint. Hand painted letters read "Paul's fix-it shop." This was the last independent repair shop in Cache Valley. In the yard, several lawnmowers wait for service. On the front door is a sign that says, "closed." It has been since Paul Merrill, the owner, retired for the second time. "About two years ago, my hearing wasn't as good as it should have been, so I decided to quit," he said. Merrill retired from the storage and moving business in the '60s. After a couple of years, he wanted something to do. "I about went out of my mind, I didn't have anything to do," he said. So Merrill took courses in small-engine repair and welding from Bridgerland Applied Technology Center. "I was just doing that for the fun of it, really," he said. After completing the courses, Merrill decided to open up shop. He turned an old barn on his property into a repair shop. "I just kicked the horses out of the barn and turned it into a shop," he said. For more than 30 years, Merrill repaired lawn mowers, chain saws and chisels. Occasionally, he would repair pots or weld trailers. Merrill said that business was busy the whole time he ran the shop. "I had more than I could handle," he said. "I just picked the customers that I wanted, really." Inside the shop, tools of his trade wait to be used. Fan belts hang by the dozens on the wall. Half a dozen chainsaws are piled against one wall. He went through the shop showing how all the grinders work and what all the machines are used for. After surveying the shop for a moment, he declared: "This is just a conglomeration of crap in here now." Merrill pointed to an orange chainsaw on the shelf. He said it's a Japanese chainsaw that runs on two cylinders, rather than one. It was priced too high, so the company had to stop making them. "I sure love it," he said. "You can start it up and set it on the floor. It won't move a quarter-inch, they run that smooth.+ He shows off his "Polish Chainsaw." It's a hacksaw with a sparkplug welded on top. Where the saw blade should be is a bicycle chain. "You'd saw yourself to death trying to use that," he said with a chuckle. During his "retirement" years, Merrill built a cabin in Sheep Creek Cove above Hardware ranch, as well as running his shop. He proudly shows the pictures, and describes the wind-powered generator that supplies it with electricity. Merrill knows that businesses like his are disappearing. He said that factories employ most of those who would start a shop like his. In addition, many people dispose of items rather than repairing them nowadays. "In the larger cities, especially, they [repair shops] just folded up," he said.
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