A little bit o' journalism.

Feature article assignment for my Media Writing II class. Enjoy. Or don't. I had fun writing it.


The Shop Around the Corner

MISSION, Kan-- In two seconds, the world one is in can change. Outside, one can simply be standing on the busy corner of Johnson Drive and Nall Avenue, dodging careless traffic and listening to the unhappy melody of blaring horns. One second later, taking a few steps inside the doorway of the undersized shop labeled ‘Gass Camera Repair’ changes everything.

With the sign’s once orange background with faded black letters, one can see that the shop seems to be out of place amongst its more modern and flashy neighbors.

Over almost four-decades of time, Gass Camera Repair has been dubbed “the charming shop around the corner” by customers; the shop that one can go to and always feel welcome.

Many regular customers consider it as welcoming as a small town cafe. The shop is a place where one couple has practiced a lifetime of integrity and genuine customer service. This service is one that seemingly was only found in the days where businesses valued providing experiences as well as efficiency.

Clarence Gass, the shop’s owner and founder, began to learn the art of repairing cameras in his youth. He further studied the art by shadowing his brother-in-law from 1959-1960, who was a camera repairman in Oklahoma.

According to Clarence, his “natural ability repairing cameras” came with “a love of completing each challenging camera.”

Gass Camera Repair opened in the basement of the Gasses home in 1974, as Clarence and his wife, Betty, followed their dream of owning their camera repair shop. They had a teenage son and a daughter in elementary school, which created an environment where juggling a family and running a business under the same roof became difficult.

“People would call at all hours of the night wanting to know if we could fix their cameras. It got pretty frustrating,” Betty said.

In 1977, Gass Camera Repair’s basement success called for expansion, and it moved to its current site in Mission.

“We picked the location because it was a small enough area to start a shop, but also an area that promised growth and more business within a few years,” Betty said.

In time, they found their choice to produce good results. Clarence soon received a reputation as being the best camera repairman in the Midwest, according to numerous testimonials from customers, and even other professionals in the camera repair business.

Gass Camera Repair now seems to be a shop frozen in time, as pictures of classic cartoon characters hang on the walls, along with a poster-sized photo of five grandkids, dressed blatantly in nineties style clothes.

Upon visiting the shop, one can count on finding Betty behind the front counter, a short, curly-haired woman with just enough lines on her face to demonstrate how happy her full life has been. In the back of the shop sits Clarence, Betty’s faithful co-worker, husband of 51 years.

“I think that Clarence and I make a great team. If not, we wouldn’t have lasted 37 years operating a business together,” Betty said.

Neighbors to a French café, gas station, and violin maker, the Gass family has seemed to befriend the entire block.

“I worked for the Gass family for over two years and I can’t think of a time where I didn’t enjoy it. They really created an atmosphere different than any other I’ve ever seen,” former Gass Camera Repair Assistant Dennis Watson said. “I saw so many people be captivated by the way they were treated at the shop, and just couldn’t help but come back.”

Watson is one of only seven extra hands they have had at the shop.

Throughout the years, Gass Camera Repair has had to face the challenges that come with the ever-changing world of technology. In the eighties and nineties, the Gasses were receiving between 40 to 50 jobs a week, but now only take in an average of 15 jobs a week, a number that continues to devastate the shop.

“Time has totally changed things...we now make seven thousand dollars a month less than what we used to,” Clarence said.

There now stands only three camera repair shops in the state of Kansas. This has caused camera repair to become “an endangered art,” according to specialist Stuart Willis Sunny.

Clarence said, it takes him between “two seconds and six hours” to repair a single camera. His repair station contains many intricate tools, which Betty compares to a “rocket ship.” He has used these tools to repair seemingly unsalvageable cameras.

Among the most challenging and absurd fixes, Clarence referenced customers’ cameras where an ice chest turned over on it in the trunk, one dropped from two flights of stairs, and the body was filled with sand.

“There have been countless cases where cameras were doused with soda pop,” Clarence added.

Since the shop’s inception, Clarence has fixed some unique cameras, including a 1938 Leica TV camera worth $4000 one customer received from the military. Clarence has also done repair work for various TV stations across the United States, including KCTV5, FOX4, and KMBC9.

“I love projects of all kinds,” Clarence said. “Even though I know how to repair almost any kind, each one continues to be fun to me.”

Betty has never done any camera repair work, but instead holds her position in customer relations.

“I like it. What else would I do?” she said.

With drawers and cabinets full of scattered receipts and abandoned cameras, the shop may appear to be anything but structured. Betty considers this her “organized mess” and said she could answer any question one had about the location of anything in the shop.

Betty also manages the cash drawer, takes in repair orders, answers the phone, and organizes all of the various tasks that go into running a business.

The Gasses said they “never bother with much modern technology,” so they have never gotten a chance to read the shop’s consistent five-star reviews online. Various reviewers have called them “honest folks,” “lovable sweethearts,” and a couple that “leaves a lasting impression of genuine care for all who walk in the shop’s door.”

Betty seems to take on this task rather passionately.

“I’ve met a lot of people, good people, and some bad of course, but a lot of repeats. I love to see customers come back...I tend to get attached easily,” Betty said.

With so many regulars over the years, it is often difficult for the Gasses to see some leave.

“I remember a lady named Mildred Wilson. She came to the shop until she passed away at the age of 92. She taught school for many years, yet I would always have to help her load her film. We had some good conversations,” Betty said.

The Gasses accredit much of the shop’s history of success to having a balanced life outside of work. Clarence and Betty both live active lifestyles running the shop.

Betty’s hobby has been walking, and her daily routine involves walking four miles around their 17-acre property. For many years, Clarence’s outlet was running. Over time, he ran 69 marathons and six triathlons. On his 45th and 50th birthdays, Clarence ran his age in miles.

“It does me a lot of good. Everyone told me I couldn’t do it, so I had to prove them wrong,” Clarence said.

The future of Gass Camera Repair lies solely in the hands of Clarence and Betty. They plan on retiring next year, and say they will move the shop back to where it was founded. The Gasses have asked their granddaughter to create a website for the shop, so customers can have the opportunity to mail in broken cameras

“I’ll enjoy having the shop in the basement again, but I’d also like to learn a new skill and have a wood shop someday,” Clarence said.

Betty said her retirement plans are to “take it easy and become a Wal-Mart greeter, I’d just love that.”

Walking out the doors after a quick visit of Gass Camera Repair proves to be a difficult task for many.

“Clarence and Betty do not have a careless attitude towards life,” the Gasses daughter Christina Hillyer said. “They go above and beyond in the quality of work they do, and they always treat each customer like they are part of the family.”

Growing up with the shop in her life caused Hillyer to also note how her parents’ life philosophy often results in lengthy conversations with customers, about everything from faith to politics.

“Our doors on Johnson and Nall will be closing one day, but I’ll probably continue repairing cameras until I’m half-blind,” Clarence said. “I hope that together we have left a loving and caring impression on everyone we’ve met.”

Although America’s ideals of society are changing, Gass Camera Repair seems as if it will forever remain in its customers’ hearts as “the shop around the corner.”