Ron Gabalis

Mayville High School

Class of 1960

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Ron Gabalis - Class of 1960 - Mayville High School

First Name	Ron
Last Name	Gabalis
Graduation Year	Class of 1960
Gender	Male
Current Location	Roscommon MI & North Port FL.
About Me	The BUSINESS LIFE OF RON GABALIS Maybe the oldest business man in Roscommon How did it all start? His father had a Gas Station and garage where Ron got his original business training working there and at age 9 he had a paper route, he started with 20 customers and soon grew to over 60 new customers. At age 11 his father sold the business and bought a farm in Mayville MI where he was a graduate of Mayville High School. While going to school, farming land, milking cows he managed to work 2 jobs in the town of Mayville, after school every night he worked 3 hours at Mayville greenhouse then going home and doing farm chores then returning to work the night shift at a John Lynch’s Mobil Gas Station, working until midnight never taking a day and never a weekend off. After graduating he took a job working for a large auto parts corporation out of Bay City called City Auto Parts. At the Time they had about 30 satellite stores in Michigan, one was at Vassar where he worked 6 days a week while farming for his father the balance of the time. At age 18 he left the farm and moved to Bay City to work at the main store. Part of his training was at Delta College for a management position. Then it happened at age 20 he was selected to open a branch store in the town of Roscommon, packing up I left my Bay City apartment and headed north, never being much further than Standish It was a new adventure and not knowing anyone or having any place to stay I felt like the pioneer’s felt going west. I was the youngest manager the Company has ever had in its history of management. After 4 years of working for the company he opened his own auto parts store just a ¼ of a mile from the store he managed. Maybe some of the older folks remember Automotive Parts Center. He helped Roscommon by creating 9 other new businesses in town including another Auto Parts store in St. Helen, called Richville Auto Parts. Many people called him Mr. Roscommon, he helped Roscommon grow. In between work and play he married the girl of his dreams, Carol Biddle and also brought the town’s population up by 3 more, the three was his son’s Jeff, Gary and his daughter Cheryl. Not enough work, his love of business and a taste of a new adventure, he opened Five Oaks Produce, keeping 4 to 6 employed during the summer months selling a full truck of produce daily. At the produce he also sold flats of flowers and shrubs and trees. Selling over 2000 flats of flowers and vegetables the decision was made to start growing his own shrubs and vegetables at his home location on Steele Rd. While running the two auto Parts stores, he had many requests for tires and if managing 3 stores was not enough he opened a tire store called Discount Tire and auto repair in the village of Roscommon, with two full time machinates and a manager the tire store was very successful booking customers several weeks in advance. Now back to Steele Rd. operation Ron became a distributor for Zelenka Nursery. With deliveries for all of Central and upper Michigan. Under contract he could not sell retail from that location, Somehow the word got out and he soon had many people stopping in trying to buy landscape products, shrubs, and trees. After 4 years of service he gave up his contract with Zelenka nursery and soon opened Five Oaks Nursery selling retail to all. The retail soon was too small and another location was chosen on Federal highway. Business was doing good, maybe too good and many of the buyers wanted to have someone plant and landscape their yards. With only one other Landscaper in the area I saw a new opportunity to service the area. After landscaping a few yards, I knew that I needed more education to do the job as a professional, so I enrolled in Delta college at Bay City for a one year course, I then opened Five Oaks Landscaping. Employing as many as thirty men for the season doing landscaping for places such as Chemical Bank, Catholic Church, and McDonald’s of Grayling and waters, the Gerrish high school and the St. Helen School. Landscaping included Higgins Lake, Houghton Lake, Grayling and Gaylord. What goes with good lawns? Of course, “Fertilizer”. Liquid fertilizer the type used to spray on lawns. After Buying a Truck with a 1000-gal tank and much training I opened Nu-Lawn a company that specialized lawn care, boasting over twelve hundred customers in three countries. Not having enough to do, many of our customers wanted to do their own landscaping but didn't have the equipment to do it, so I was in the lending and loaning of tools and equipment. Soon I had to start charging for the tools and that inspired the new business called Reasonable Rental. After 16 years in the business I turned the business over to my Son. After selling the Auto Parts Stores, the produce store, the Landscape operation, and the tire store. I now had time to relax. I bought houses that needed fixing up and with my carpenter ability I was able to repair, rent, and sell over 12 homes in the Roscommon area doing most of the work myself. Operation was called “Gabalis apartments.” While still running the Five Oaks Nursery and Reasonable Rental operation’s I had some extra time on my hands so while in Florida I noticed a growing company called Pods’, portable storage sheds that allows you to store rental units right on your own property. I came back to Michigan and contacted a Chinese steel company in Chicago that put me in charge with their headquarters in China. I sent them my blue and had units built to my speciation. I hired a trailer company in Georgia to build a Heavy duty trailer with hydraulics to pick up the portable building and deliver them to locations all over northern Michigan. Again, another success. Along with many accomplishments he gave the community. In the years passed he was a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Knights of Columbus, Gerrish Fire Department, usher at St Michael's Church, American Rental association, Eagles club and Moose club. Now with old age creeping in I have slowed down, now spending 6 months in Michigan and six months in Florida. I now have only one small business called Park and Save. I’m proud to have been a part in making Roscommon grows. Not many men have had the opportunity to serve a community for over 56 years like I have. It’s funny, but at one time I couldn’t walk into any gas station or business place and have a dozen people or so say hi or ask a question about many a subject, but with time, people passing, and moving on, I know but a few of the old timers and friends still hanging on. Like life itself, no one will even know my name...(read more)