Credit: Borough of Hatboro.
The Borough of Hatboro recently recognized a staple of the community and congratulated him on his retirement.
Bill Penrose, a U.S. Air Force Veteran, opened Oakdale Auto Body in 1960, which was located at 440 Oakdale Avenue (across the street from the old Hatboro Concrete Block Company and Lewis 'Lewi' Blair) was only one of three auto body shops in Hatboro at the time.
"Penrose worked on all kinds of things, including cars, refrigerators, and furniture, which includes some of the metal benches in Hatboro, and would only take off one week a year to enjoy time fishing and hunting," Hatboro Council member Don Hoover said.
The Borough presented Penrose with a certificate of appreciation for his outstanding support of Hatboro residents, business owners, and organizations.
Since 1960, he continued to impact lives within Hatboro and surrounding communities on a daily basis until he recently closed his shop and retired.
"The Borough is extremely grateful for all of Bill's hard work in making Hatboro a better place to live, work, and play, and we thank you for choosing Hatboro as your home for almost seven decades," Hoover said.
Penrose shared an anecdote of one of his more memorable memories of fixing cars and helping people.
"I've done a lot of work for Hatboro when I first came here," Penrose said. "All the police departments, all the fire departments, all the ambulances, they started me off pretty good. I don't think a lot of you were alive in 1960, but the one thing that I want you to remember, every one of you has seen accidents."
One of those accidents involved a woman who was driving down the shore when the steering wheel suddenly and unexpectedly fell off.
"Years ago, I had a car towed into me," Penrose said. "I took it in and wondered, why it was hit. I don't think anyone in the room would know why the car got in an accident.
"She was driving about half way there when the wheel came off," Penrose said. "The people at the factory forgot to put a nut on. So she brought the car into me. I never forgot that. I put the wheel back on."
