It was a bitter-sweet day as the six children of Carl and Mildred Duff gathered around their 1951 black Studebaker car. The car has been in the family for many years, but now it was time to pass the car on to the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum where it will be on display for many guests to see. The family was called to Houlton due to the passing of their mother just 45 days after losing their Dad.
Duff’s Garage has been a landmark on the Bangor Road since 1969 and before that it was the John Cassidy place, Duff’s father-in-law who started the business in 1931. It began as a service station, then to the Willy’s dealership that covered all of Aroostook County, with the exception of the Caribou area. As time went on Duff added a Studebaker franchise.
All of the Duff children worked in the business, each finding a job that suited them. Tom still operates the garage doing service work, inspections and selling lawnmowers, roto-tillers, snow blowers and other small engine/yard care accessories.
In its day, the service station featured fuel and a 24-hour towing service. The family remembers many trips out in the middle of the night with the wrecker. Although it wasn’t a favorite thing for them to do, they said their Dad never complained and seemed to enjoy it.
