Gilmore Garage Works: Training the Next Generation

From some people's perspectives, cars provide pure utility. They can get you from Point A to Point B. For others, classic cars provide entertainment or recreation as a nice weekend hobby.

 

In the case of Gilmore Garage Works, cars can provide invaluable life lessons.

 

 

In 2012, MotorCities supported a grant to the Gilmore Car Museum to connect at-risk, Kalamazoo-area high school students with local mentors as they worked together on classic automobiles. The incentive was that you needed to remain enrolled in school in order to continue in the after-school vehicle restoration program. What the students learned about body repair and internal combustion engines paled in comparison to what they learned from auto engineers and other professionals serving as mentors from their community who showed them a world of possibilities.

 

 

After a brief interruption to the COVID pandemic, the program has expanded and continues to be a success. Many students who have graduated from the program have returned to act as professional mentors. 

 

According to the Gilmore Car Museum's Director of Education, Fred Colgren, this program has filled a void regarding student access to traditional auto shop classes that used to exist at many high schools, but now are relegated to vocational education centers at the Intermediate School District (ISD) level -- if they exist at all. Students come to the Gilmore Garage Works building on the museum's campus twice a week after school from September through June and work with a mentor to develop a variety of skills, including engine building, repairs and welding. They work on restoring actual vehicles from the Gilmore's extensive collection of cars, trucks and motorcycles. 

 

 

Gilmore Garage Works is hosting an upcoming Open House on Tuesday, September 23 where parents and students can tour the building, meet their future mentors and learn more about the specifics of the program.

 

I recently made the trip to Hickory Corners in Kalamazoo County to the Gilmore Car Museum's campus to speak with Colgren, Program Manager John Chapman, and Eli and Conner -- two recent participants in the program. You can watch the interview here.

 

 

MotorCities has also launched a new page on our website to spotlight amazing programs taking place at our partners. Gilmore Garage Works is the first program featured, and we will add new stories quarterly. You can find the new page by clicking here.