You could say he teaches a crash course - literally. Jerry McIntosh heads the collision-repair program at Carver Career Center. He's a painter and body man like his father before him, an old-line hammer and torch practitioner who progressed comfortably into a high-tech world of sophisticated equipment and keen thinking.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- You could say he teaches a crash course - literally.
Jerry McIntosh heads the collision-repair program at Carver Career Center. He's a painter and body man like his father before him, an old-line hammer and torch practitioner who progressed comfortably into a high-tech world of sophisticated equipment and keen thinking.
He teaches with a contagious enthusiasm that reflects how he feels about his work. He looks at it more as a calling than an occupation. The former longtime owner of Mac's Body Shop believes God put him in this place. Perhaps that explains the rapport he enjoys with his students.
Nearly 20 years at the academic wheel has its rewards. Accolades include Teacher of the Year titles and dozens of laudatory letters from contented customers.
He's a new man at 62, the joyous survivor of a heart condition that nearly took his life seven years ago.
"We lived on the West Side until I was in the third grade. Then we moved to Nitro. I started going to the garages when I was 5. My dad was a painter. Painters like to drink.
"I would go with my dad on Saturdays, and that meant he would come home. He was a good provider, but if I didn't go, he wouldn't come home. When I went, I never saw him drink.
"Sometimes I would sleep in the cars until he got done. Other kids got to stay home and watch cartoons. I went to the shops. I had a great time. I learned about life.
"Those were tough days. Painters did not make a lot of money. One Christmas, he worked two weeks for $15. There just wasn't a lot of money then. I learned how to survive. Life is survival.
"Watching those old body men, I was fascinated. They would stand back with the old hammers and beat the work up and take the torches, and they would use lead. I loved it. It got into my blood. Once it gets into your blood, you can't get it out.
"I never wanted to do anything else. In high school, I thought maybe about wanting to go to law school. But those are dreams. Then reality hits. My taste was really for the garage.
"My first car was an old Oldsmobile my dad gave me. He said if I could make it run, I could have it. I was 16. So I learned how to do mechanic work. I finally did make that car run. I took it apart and fixed everything. I pulled it through the neighborhood for a month, and that broke me of wanting to do mechanic work.
"I started doing body work when I was about 11. The first car I ever painted, I was 16. On the old cars, the roofs were high, and I'm short, and I couldn't reach it. It looked like sandpaper up there, but my dad helped me straighten it up. I'd like to have a dime for every car I've painted since then.
"After high school, I went to Akron University for a year. I worked in the steel mills at night and went school during the day. I just didn't like it. I came back and went down to State to try it again, but college wasn't my thing.
"My dad had gone into business for himself, the You Fix It Garage and Quality Body Shop on Virginia Street. So my dad said to come work with him. Later, I took it over. It was renamed Mac's Body Shop. I had it 26 years.
"I came here when I was 43. The '80s were really tough on the body business. The economy had gone bad. We lost everything, but that's OK. There's always some place in life where God means for you to be. This is where He meant for me to be.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- You could say he teaches a crash course - literally.
Jerry McIntosh heads the collision-repair program at Carver Career Center. He's a painter and body man like his father before him, an old-line hammer and torch practitioner who progressed comfortably into a high-tech world of sophisticated equipment and keen thinking.
He teaches with a contagious enthusiasm that reflects how he feels about his work. He looks at it more as a calling than an occupation. The former longtime owner of Mac's Body Shop believes God put him in this place. Perhaps that explains the rapport he enjoys with his students.
Nearly 20 years at the academic wheel has its rewards. Accolades include Teacher of the Year titles and dozens of laudatory letters from contented customers.
He's a new man at 62, the joyous survivor of a heart condition that nearly took his life seven years ago.
"We lived on the West Side until I was in the third grade. Then we moved to Nitro. I started going to the garages when I was 5. My dad was a painter. Painters like to drink.
"I would go with my dad on Saturdays, and that meant he would come home. He was a good provider, but if I didn't go, he wouldn't come home. When I went, I never saw him drink.
"Sometimes I would sleep in the cars until he got done. Other kids got to stay home and watch cartoons. I went to the shops. I had a great time. I learned about life.
"Those were tough days. Painters did not make a lot of money. One Christmas, he worked two weeks for $15. There just wasn't a lot of money then. I learned how to survive. Life is survival.
"Watching those old body men, I was fascinated. They would stand back with the old hammers and beat the work up and take the torches, and they would use lead. I loved it. It got into my blood. Once it gets into your blood, you can't get it out.
"I never wanted to do anything else. In high school, I thought maybe about wanting to go to law school. But those are dreams. Then reality hits. My taste was really for the garage.
"My first car was an old Oldsmobile my dad gave me. He said if I could make it run, I could have it. I was 16. So I learned how to do mechanic work. I finally did make that car run. I took it apart and fixed everything. I pulled it through the neighborhood for a month, and that broke me of wanting to do mechanic work.
"I started doing body work when I was about 11. The first car I ever painted, I was 16. On the old cars, the roofs were high, and I'm short, and I couldn't reach it. It looked like sandpaper up there, but my dad helped me straighten it up. I'd like to have a dime for every car I've painted since then.
"After high school, I went to Akron University for a year. I worked in the steel mills at night and went school during the day. I just didn't like it. I came back and went down to State to try it again, but college wasn't my thing.
"My dad had gone into business for himself, the You Fix It Garage and Quality Body Shop on Virginia Street. So my dad said to come work with him. Later, I took it over. It was renamed Mac's Body Shop. I had it 26 years.
"I came here when I was 43. The '80s were really tough on the body business. The economy had gone bad. We lost everything, but that's OK. There's always some place in life where God means for you to be. This is where He meant for me to be.
"Dennis Davis used to be with Kanawha County Schools and was a customer of ours. He said I should apply for an opening at Carver. Five people interviewed. I didn't hear a word for two weeks. Mr. Davis called Norma Miller, the principal here. He said she wanted to talk to me. She only had one question: Could I work for a woman? I said I could work for anybody.
"I came here in '89. They gave me six years of credit for being in business. You have to go to Tech to take three years of classes to be able to teach. I've got my certificate.
"I get kids from four high schools - Capitol, GW, Riverside and Hoover. The first class I had, I worked out in the shop like they did. Miss Miller came by and said, 'Jerry, you are not supposed be working out there. You are supposed to be teaching them how to do it.' She really changed the way I do things. Now I'm a teacher. I demonstrate, but I don't do the work.
"My kids do great work. We have the latest equipment. There's a waiting list of people wanting to bring in cars. Last year, when we finished up, we had 100 that didn't get in. It's a $125 shop fee, plus materials. What we buy materials for is what you pay for. A paint job we do for $600 would cost you $4,000 downtown.
"The kids don't like sometimes being at their home school, but when they come to Carver, it's a whole different world. They get to use their hands and see a finished product.
"We teach so many different things here. Think about it. When you are mixing paint with hardeners, that's chemistry. It's a ratio. We teach ratios. We teach math. We're doing frame work out there now. The other day, a kid looked at me and said, 'This is geometry, isn't it?' I said, 'Yes, go back to your school and tell them you had a geometry lesson today.' When they're doing geometry on the blackboard or computer, they don't see it. Here, using their hands, they see it. It didn't take them a minute to realize we were doing geometry.
"Used to be, if you had a hammer and went out there and beat on it, you were a body man. It's a high-tech field now. I have problems with the pay. They want to start these kids at $8 an hour. You can't live on $8 an hour. We have some meetings coming up, and I'm going to try to change things.
"If you come to my class for two years and pass a big test and score above 75 percent, you can get college credits. West Virginia State and Tech have set up this associate degree program. You get 30 hours for my collision-repair class. You go to State or Tech for one year to take academic courses and you have an associate degree.
"I had a real bad heart problem seven years ago. I died three times. They didn't expect me to make it through the night. And here I am. I have a defibrillator and a pacemaker. God let me live. I think it was because somebody hadn't been through this program yet. God puts us in special places at special times. You've just got to open up and let it come.
"I'm an independent arbitrator. About 12 years ago, the state had an arbitration board of three different people, including me. The attorney general said the board wasn't fair because it was paid for by the car manufacturers. So they set up an independent network.
"I work for a company out of Dallas called the National Center for Dispute Settlement. Say you have a problem and you can't work it out with the dealer or the manufacturer. You can come before me, and tell me your side. The manufacturer tells me their side, and I make a decision.
"I've got a farm in Culloden, 15 acres. We drive it every day. My wife teaches health occupations here, and my daughter is in the vet-tech program.
"What would I change? Every day is a blessing. God gives me these days. He doesn't owe me anything. My doctor told me they could take this defibrillator out. That's how strong my heart is now. I like working. I'd like to stay five more years. If my health is still good, I'll stay longer.
"These kids are great. They make me feel good. This is my world. Carver is my home."
Reach Sandy Wells at 348-5173 or san...@wvgazette.com.
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