One of the best parts of neighborhood revitalization is the neighbors! The Bull City Cool Food Hub is on the same block as a convenience store, an urban garden, and a transmission shop… and they are all integral parts of our block’s revitalization.
Get to know Martin of Mike’s Transmission Service in this beautiful character sketch by Holly Bourne, an amateur photographer and student at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke who’s focused on food, farming, and sustainability.
Perched behind a sales counter at the center of his shop, Martin Terry efficiently handles incoming and outgoing customers. Behind his large desk are rows of neatly organized binders underneath a large wooden case holding rows of car keys. Relative to the mechanics moving about the shop, Martin stays in the center of it all, leaned over his work, his posture giving off an air of seriousness. The white and red patch on his standard issue mechanic’s shirt reads “Mike’s Transmission Shop,” a reference to his father, the original owner of the shop.
Martin has been in and around this shop his whole life, starting back in 1961 when his father opened it. “In the sixties it was nice here. The homes were beautiful,” Martin says. “I watched the neighborhood go down and come back up again. Back in the 80s things were so bad we had to keep the 8-foot gate locked during the day. But now the neighborhood has improved rapidly.”
Martin’s eyeglasses sit half way down his nose and a thick head of salt and pepper hair top off his full face. A white mustache works well at hiding his expression. As we talk about the changes in Durham he sits up straight and his shoulders settle down an inch or two. “I love downtown,” Martin says. “I stay downtown because my customers are all over the Triangle. It’s the only place you can be close to everybody.”
Instead of an 8-foot locked gate, Mike’s Transmissions now has an attractive looking black iron fence, a revitalization project partially funded by the City of Durham. “Peter at Reinvestment Projects helped make all that happen,” he says.
As Martin talks further about his shop and his history on Geer Street, one eyebrow unfurrows and rises into a slight arch. “All the changes are positive,” he says. “The neighborhood has changed for the better, and business is good. I’m feeding families.” Martin Terry is clearly proud of his business and happy to be part of the changing dynamics in downtown Durham.
– Holly Bourne, Student at the Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University (Recently featured in Bit & Grain — 5TH story down!)