Wards 4×4 still going strong after 40 years

By PATSY STODDARD Editor

It’s been 40 years and the staff at Wards 4×4 Auto Parts store are still going strong. Rose Ward said her husband Dennis was involved with an auto repair shop with his brothers and father. It started in the early 1960s. It was Rose’s job to run to Price, sometimes more than once a day to get parts. She began to get the idea that maybe they should open their own parts store. She could manage the store and provide parts for their auto shop as well as serve the community.
“Who has time to always run to Price,” said Rose.
From there the idea grew to a reality and Wards 4×4 was opened in 1976. “We were pioneers at the time in the auto part industry. We had an all female staff. We really got along better without any men around. Nationwide we were the first auto parts store built and operated by women. Over the years it’s our great employees and all our customers that have kept us going. We’ve had slow times and busy times, but mainly we’ve remained steady. Even with the current economic climate in the county. We’re still here. We’ve survived mine disasters, mine strikes and closings and we’ve kept going. I really think the population of our area will come back. We are serving the grandkids now of our original customers. We’ve seen a lot of changes over the years. At first people weren’t used to an all female parts store, but this third generation now, they’re just used to us. We’ve really had some good times here at the store and made some lifelong friends.
“We do everything ourselves but my son Clayton will come across the street and lift batteries for us,” said Rose.
Rose’s daughter Tory Ward Killian has helped more with the business in recent years. About 10 years ago Dennis had a stroke and Rose only worked part-time during her years as Dennis’ caretaker. Dennis liked to come to town to be at the auto shop with his sons and Rose would get some work done at the parts store during that time. Dennis has since passed away and Rose continues to work part-time. “I really like the mornings, I open the store. I’m an early bird,” said Rose.
Tory said, “Big A auto parts was so proud and excited to be supplying an all-female parts store. Dad and the boys stayed across the street and this store was our territory.”
Rose said she learned the business from the ground up. They put in an extensive supply of auto parts to have on hand. They had catalogs the customers could come in and look through to order what they needed. Everything is computerized now, but in the beginning they relied entirely on the catalogs for part descriptions and part numbers.
Rose said, “The auto parts industry really has evolved over the years.”
Tory said, “Car Quest and Advanced Auto merged and they are now the biggest auto parts supplier. We can get any part overnight if we don’t have it in stock. For rare parts it may take two days. They have a big warehouse in Salt Lake and we put in an order and the delivery truck driver brings it during the night. It’s really a great system. If our warehouse doesn’t have the part they will also go to other parts stores in the city and get it there for us and take it to their warehouse to be sent down to us. We can help the customer find the thing they need. We have people come in looking for custom fit items like seat covers, dash covers and we help them find what they need. We even have people who have moved away from the area that call us to help them find a part. We’ve shipped back east and to Alaska.”
Rose said, “People are willing to pay to get what they want and need. In Emery County we have a lot of older vehicles and a lot of pick-ups to keep running. Farmers and miners like to work on their own vehicles and they stop in here for auto parts.”
Tory said, “We can also get parts for farm equipment, tractors and we offer ATV filters and batteries. At the auto repair shop they work on cars, trucks, tractors and do a variety of repairs including motors, U-joints, transmissions, brakes, radiators, etc.”
Clayton Ward does most of the inspections at the auto shop and goes out on the wrecker to pick up vehicles involved in car wrecks, DUI, etc. Von takes care of a lot of the auto repair in the shop. The shop also does oil changes and vehicle service.
“We have a lot of people who work on their own vehicles and stop by for parts. In a small community, you have to do a little bit of everything so you can survive. Our family has really loved it here. The kids love the mountains and desert and Clayton loves to golf. We have loved working and living in this area.
“We get a couple of shoplifters once in awhile, but we’ve really had no problems doing business here. We have a lot of walk-in customers each day. I think one of the keys to our success is we treat our customers really good. They are like friends and family to us. It’s been a learning experience for us. Cars have changed over the years,” said Rose.
Tory said her mom Rose has done a lot of things right over the years to make the business what it is today. Rose has dedicated the last 40 years to the store, said Tory and this year she’s going to take Rose on a couple of vacations.
Tory said, “Huntington, Emery County and Carbon County has been very good to us, We have a convenient location on Main Street in Huntington. This past year we had the number one Elvis impersonator in England buy a car from us. He came over to pick up the car. We got the car ready and loaded it on a truck and sent it to a place in Arizona. It was later shipped back to England. This business is very fun and we get to meet a lot of people. Our family has been involved in car shows over the years and we help with International Days car show and a burn-out. We also help the county with the Wings and Wheels festival at the airport each fall.”
Rose credits the great employees she has with the success over the years. Janice Wagner was a long time employee at the store and recently retired. Cathy Gunter, Toni Atwood, Nita Thayn and Stefanie Andrus are current employees. Tory’s daughter Chelsea also works at the store part-time. Rose said Tory is now the big boss and the manager and Rose has stepped back a little in recent years.
As the store enters its next 40 years, county residents are reminded to shop local as it keeps your friends in business.