First Posted: 2/25/2015
WEST PITTSTON — After standing tall for almost 95 years, the former Stackhouse Auto Electric building has been torn down.
The building at 720 Wyoming Ave. in West Pittston had been a staple point in the community since it opened its doors in 1920, when horsedrawn carriages were the primary means of travel.
“It had been there since the beginning of time,” joked Sean Stackhouse Sr., 45, current owner of Stackhouse Auto Electric, now located at 600 Tunkhannock Ave., Exeter. “As a matter of fact, my dad used to tell me a story that when my grandfather went for a loan, the bank told him the automobile was just a fad; the horse and buggy were coming back.”
The business was started by Roy Kenneth Stackhouse, Sean Sr.’s grandfather, and has been passed down through the family lineage to its current owners, Sean Sr. and his 20-year-old son, Sean Stackhouse II.
Although he’s been around the business his entire life, the senior Stackhouse does not know much about his grandfather or why he started the business, saying he passed away in the early 70s when Sean Sr. was young.
After Roy passed away, the business was taken over by his two sons, Roy Kenneth Stackhouse II, Sean Sr.’s father, and Robert Stackhouse, Sean Sr.’s uncle, who ran it until 1996. It was then passed onto Sean Sr. and his brother, Roy Kenneth Stackhouse III. Sean Sr. bought out his brother’s share and now co-owns the business with his son, Sean II.
“It was different from what everyone else wanted to do,” said Sean II. “I just started working with my hands, taking everything apart and building stuff. I was taking bikes apart, putting them together and then, as I got older when I got my driver’s license and I got a car, I was working on that, working here and I kept it mechanical. I was never big on being a doctor, or anything like that.”
The 2013 Wyoming Area High School graduate said one day he would like to take automotive technician courses at college but, for now, enjoys working alongside his dad.
The Wyoming Avenue location officially closed its doors in 2010 when Sean Sr. and his brother leased the property to RiteAid.
RiteAid had planned to tear the building down in 2010. Sean Sr. is unsure why the building was just torn down this week. The land is still owned by the Stackhouses but continues to be leased to RiteAid. Sean Sr. is unsure what, if anything, will be constructed at the property
“I wanted to leave there on a Friday and have them rip it down that following Monday,” said Sean Sr. with a laugh. “I was alright with leaving there at that time.
“This being a newer building is more efficient,” he said of the Tunkhannock Avenue building. “Heat-wise, size-wise and over there at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. you couldn’t get back on the avenue because nobody would let you out because schools and work were letting out. Accessibility is a lot better here.”
Sean Sr. has fond memories of the former building but is ready to make new memories in the new building.
“I keep telling people it’s bittersweet,” he said. “I have a lot of good memories there with my father, but now I’m making new memories here with my boys.”
