Adams Auto Body has been a neighborhood staple for more than 58 years

By Israel Webb and Steve Waring

Cleotha “Cleo” Adams has been at the same location in since June 1970. He is the owner of Adams Auto Body which is located off the corner of N. 5th and W. Center Streets in the Bronzeville area and he is “old school” – no debt for his profitable business and minimal use of computers on the shop floor and in the office.

He is now 87 years old and concedes that most people his age have retired long ago. Instead “I get to come down here [five days a week], deal with a little aggravation and get a little exercise. I guess I always had a strong work ethic. Even as a child in Mississippi when we didn’t have enough corn, I’d pick cotton,” he said.

Adams and his family relocated to Tennessee before he started high school. After he graduated, he relocated from Memphis to pursue a degree in auto body repair from a vocational school in Kansas City. He was inspired by an uncle who was in that line of work himself and convinced Adams that it might be a good opportunity for him as well. “Growing up, I was always the best mechanic in the family,” he said. “If something broke, like my mother’s foot-powered sewing machine, I’d fix it.”

After graduating from vocational school, Adams relocated to Milwaukee in 1959. When he was hired by American Motors. A special delivery telegram was waiting for him with the good news at his Milwaukee address by the time he got home from the job interview.

He saved a little money and acquired some tools before he decided to take over the lease on an existing auto body repair shop in 1966 at N. 10th Street and W. North Ave., but he outgrew the location within four years. He said throughout 58 profitable years in business, he has generally avoided loan payments with the one exception being a now retired mortgage to buy the current building when it became available for sale a while ago. Adams is also old school in that you won’t find a lot of expensive hightech equipment either in the office or the shop. “We deal in necessities,” he said. “Sure, we get all the catalogues, but we decide what to buy based on the answer to a simple question: what will the new thing do better for us than what we already have?” The office is where Adams spends most of his time nowadays and he said that he still prefers to write out most of his business transactions by hand. “I do a little with computers,” he said, “but I have a girl who does estimates and invoices for the insurance companies.”

While he tries to stay technologically up-to-date with all of the latest new developments in the auto industry, he said this is one his biggest challenges. “I have a lot of friends who are talented in areas where I am not,” he said. “I can usually reach out and find somebody to help.” Adams said his shop has all of the equipment needed to repair even major collision repair on the latest model cars. “We don’t wish bad luck on anyone,” he said. “Accidents will happen anyway. We’re here to help when they do.”