Three generations of the Hinkley family pause to celebrate 30 years in business in Castro Valley. From left, John, Kevin, Karen and Chris.

By Robert Souza

CASTRO VALLEY FORUM

It is something of a traditional rite of passage for the younger members of the Hinkley family to spend time sorting and identifying nuts, bolts and tools.

By the time they were 12 or 13, those kids were brought to the family’s Kevin L. Hinkley Auto Tech shop in Castro Valley to help out with the clean-up chores while learning how to “wrench” cars. First generation John Hinkley brought son Kevin, who in turn brought his daughter Karen and son Chris.

“It’s a way of passing the business on...and it’s cheap labor,” jokes the senior Hinkley, who ran the Chevron station at Stanton and Heyer back in 1968. In 1982, Chevron sold its auto shop at 5269 Crow Canyon Road to the Hinkley’s and they’ve been there ever since.

“I am blessed to have a job I love,” he said of his three decades in the car repair business where he deals with second and third generations of customers. “We have a personal thing with our customers, they aren’t just numbers to us.”

John and Kevin agree their town has treated them well over the years and look forward to Karen and Chris to carry on the tradition.