Like the engines he repairs, Wilbur Bates just keeps on going.
Wilbur Bates continues serving customers with fast repairs, low prices and a passion for the work.
By Rich Wicks | Guthrie Center Times, June 2026
After doing the same type of work for more than 60 years, a considerable amount of expertise builds up. But for Wilbur Bates of Guthrie Center, the years have not dulled his enjoyment of the work. He recently took a few minutes to tell his story.
“I started in 1959, March 3, up on top of the hill here, right beside where the café is now,” Bates said. “From 1959 to 1969, we were at Midway Oil, and we had small engines there. In 1969, we got so darn busy because we were the only ones doing it in Guthrie County, so we turned it over to Keith Brubaker at NAPA. We got too busy with the automotive part of it.”
Wilbur Bates uses a low-tech but highly effective scheduling system.
Over the years, Bates has seen a gradual decline in the number of shops working on small engines. But he continues repairing golf carts, mowers, tillers, power washers, leaf blowers, snow blowers and almost any type of small gasoline engine.
“Now, a lot of these shops are drying up. A lot of them don’t want to do small engines anymore, partly because electric is coming in, and partly because it’s tough to find trained help,” Bates said. “So this year, I have a lot of customers coming from Audubon and south of Stuart, Perry, Waukee. I just had a log-splitter come in yesterday from northeast Iowa.”
Despite changes in technology and business, Bates continues to run his shop the way he has for decades, providing prompt service to get customers and their equipment back up and running. He has no computerized scheduling system. Bates pointed to a bulletin board in the garage where a variety of sticky notes are posted.
Wilbur Bates’ workshop is in his garage, behind his home.
“I don’t book ahead on anything. I just have a wall there with tickets,” Bates said. “I don’t like to have anything here over three days. I try to get them out in a day and a half.”
Bates himself has needed some maintenance over the years, and he has handled that with the same work ethic he brings to his business. In 2008, he was diagnosed with cancer. Then another obstacle arose, but he found a way to manage it.
“I had COPD so bad in 2013, I could hardly talk, and they wanted to put me on oxygen,” he said. “I refused it, and in six months I figured out my own program. Ever since then, I’ve been running 5K runs with my grandkids. That keeps my lungs open.”
Bates’ can-do attitude has served him well, and he shows no signs of slowing down.
A 1963 newspaper ad shows Wilbur Bates and his father, Don Bates.
“It’s a joy to be able to do it, because I’ve had cancer three times,” Bates said. “With the good Lord’s help, I always get by it and everything’s fine.”
Before moving back to Guthrie Center, Bates operated his business just north of Panora. While there, he also sold automotive tires in addition to working on small engines. The proximity to Lake Panorama led to some of Bates’ most memorable stories, when lake residents ended up with lawn mowers submerged underwater.
“We’ve had a few lawn mowers go in the lake, and they don’t swim well,” Bates said, adding how he was up to the challenge of flushing out such engines so the mowers could be back up and running promptly.
For Bates, winter offers a brief slowdown in his schedule. He has a pool table in his garage, allowing him to play a game with willing customers as time permits. But once warmer weather arrives, he stays busy.
According to Bates, the types of equipment he most commonly works on are mowers, tillers and golf carts. Therefore, his busiest season begins each spring, when many machines are brought in for repairs ahead of the warmer months. Throughout the summer, additional machines arrive because of equipment breakdowns. But Bates does not complain about his workload. He takes it all in stride and enjoys staying active. Somehow, he also finds time to grow flowers and vegetables.
“I enjoy it. I enjoy the people coming in and out. In the spring and summer, I belong to the triple seven club,” Bates said. “Seven in the morning until seven every night, and seven days a week.”
The Bates business model focuses on prompt service, low prices and free pickup and delivery. The shop is located in the garage behind his home at 602 State St. in Guthrie Center. The phone number is 641-757-1243.
When I get dressed each morning, I sometimes think about an old episode of “All in the Family” in which Mike and Archie have a heated debate over the proper order for putting on socks and shoes. Is it sock-sock, shoe-shoe? Or is it sock-shoe, sock-shoe?
