Rick Walker Retires From The Automotive Repair Business

By: Rusty Wise – Wise News Network

Cherryville, NC (WNN) – We invited Rick Walker to the Wise News Network Studios for a one-on-one interview about his life in Cherryville, NC. Rick was born in 1954 and has lived in Cherryville all his life. He graduated from Cherryville High School in 1972 and later at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, NC, 1973 as a certified automotive technician. After college, Rick worked for automotive dealerships from 1973 to 1980.

Rick met his wife Carolyn while cruising Franklin Boulevard in Gastonia, NC. He said he used to be a “street racer,” and that’s how he met his wife. He explained, “I was cruising Shoney’s one night with my Hemi Cuda, revving the engine and speeding, and then I saw this car behind me. I looked back, and it was a GTO roaring its engine. So I signaled for them to pass me, and to my surprise, it was a tiny 98-pound girl driving the GTO. That’s how we met.” Rick and Carolyn got married in 1983 and are still happily married today.

Rick decided to open his own automotive shop after working in the dealership industry for a while. “So I told my wife, Carolyn, who was my fiance at the time, ‘I’m going on my own. If I make it, I make it. If I don’t, I don’t,'” stated Rick.

In 1980, Rick leased a gas station and automotive shop at the corner of South Mountain St and Academy St in Cherryville. He named it Rick’s 76. After saving enough money, Rick built a new shop at the corner of N Cherry St and Main St in Cherryville in 1983 and called it Rick’s Automotive. Rick’s Automotive served the Cherryville community for 41 years before Rick decided to close the shop in 2024, announcing his retirement from the automotive business.

Rick plans to renovate the building and rent it out. When asked about his favorite aspect of being in the automotive business, Rick said, “I enjoy helping people and solving problems. That’s always been my goal.” As for what he liked the least, he mentioned, “Dealing with red tape is a major challenge, and the constant changes in automobile technology have led to many buyouts.”

Rick and Carolyn also constructed and operated the Exhilaration Station behind the White Pines Plaza Shopping Center on E Main Street in Cherryville. The Exhilaration Station was established in 1990 and ceased operations in 2015. It was a children’s activity center featuring over 35 arcade games, a miniature golf course, a 3/4-mile walking trail, batting cages, picnic tables, and more. Over the years, they held numerous birthday parties and special events at this location.

Rick and Carolyn, who lived in one of their apartments for 30 years, recently built a new house in the country. Rick mentioned, “We had always planned to move to the country when we retired. My wife retired long ago, but I never did. She finally talked me into it.”

Rick is not only a great mechanic but also very artistic. At one point, he ventured into photography, mainly doing weddings. However, he found it too nerve-racking. Rick did it for a while and even had his own darkroom at one point, but ultimately decided it was too stressful. He shared, “I still play with it; I love it. I even had my own darkroom at one time, but it was the most nerve-wracking thing I ever did. I started doing weddings, and for the first wedding, I double-shot every photo to make sure. I was so torn up and nervous that I said no more weddings.” Despite this, he did receive an award for several of his photographs. One of his photos was sent on a Kodak traveling tour and made it to Paris, France. The “Fuzzy Wuzzy” photo was a close-up picture of a bright yellow fuzzy caterpillar showing its tiny eyeballs, green arms, and fingernails.

Expanding his artistic ability, Rick purchased a plasma cutter a few years back and now makes custom metal art for people and businesses, calling it Rick’s Custom Metal Works. One such artwork is a sign for the new Cherry Pit Restaurant and Bar, which will open soon in Cherryville. 

He is also quite the car collector, with many Chrysler-Dodge (Mopar) car models, including Dusters, a Cuda, a Roadrunner, and a Dart GT. 

While Rick is 70 now and has closed his automotive business, he is far from slowing down. He runs The Little Blue Choo, which started in 2000 and attends birthday parties, church bible schools, festivals, and other events. Rick drives the train with nicely painted and sculpted fiberglass cars that kids and adults can ride. He even devised a Polar Express event, where he goes to ten different schools in December and has the students ride the train hunting the North Pole. More info can be found at www.littlebluechoo.com.

Also, a current and relatively new business is Tranquil Acres Flower Farm, which sells flowers to wholesalers and a few florists. “We started it a couple of years ago when we bought land in the country; I thought I would set something up that my wife enjoys; we grow Peonies and Dahlias, Sunflowers, zinnias, cosmos, and so forth,” stated Rick. 

Some of Rick’s accomplishments include serving on several boards. He has served as the Cherryville Chamber of Commerce President, Cherryville Downtown Merchants Association Vice President, Cherryville Bass Masters, Gaston County Special Olympics Coach, and Presbyterian Ordained Elder.

Rick’s most cherished asset is his family. He and Carolyn have one daughter, Lauren, and two granddaughters, Kaitlyn, 12, and Camden, 7.

One of Rick’s favorite things is to sit on the porch of their new home with his wife, Carolyn, and look out across the pond at the blue herons, geese, and fish jumping, taking it all in.

And what is Rick Walker’s main goal now? Live to 100 years old, he said. 

Watch the full Rick Walker interview with WNN’s Rusty Wise below:

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