Familiar face, new business on Route 4

Orson Kingsley New Business (1)A familiar face has opened a new business.

Orson Kingsley, a lifetime resident of Whitehall, recently opened Kingsley’s Sales and Service, an automotive sales and repair business located at 10148 State Route 4, just east of the village.

“I just opened two weeks ago,” said Kingsley. “This is just the start of it.”

Although the two-bay garage is new, Kingsley is hardly an unknown quantity in the community. His family has owned and operated automotive-related businesses in Whitehall on and off for the past century.

“It’s been in my blood,” Kingley said.

His grandfather opened a Ford Dealership in Whitehall in 1914, only a few years after Henry Ford introduced the iconic Model T, generally regarded as the “first affordable automobile.”

Six decades later, Kingsley started his automotive business on Route 4 and for a time operated an Artic Cat dealership in the community.

After running the business for a few years, Kingsley decided it was time to “venture out and try some new things” and he sold the business. 

But Kingsley always knew that one day he would return to the automotive field.

“I bought this property after I sold the other business with the intention of building a business later on,” he said.

Last year, he and a friend began constructing the two-bay garage just east of the County Route 18 intersection. The building features a large hydraulic lift and a separate area to work and park vehicles, as well as a small office.

Unlike some automotive businesses which concentrate on a specific type of repair or vehicle, Kingsley said he will fix and sell anything from cars and trucks to lawn mowers, ATV’s and tractors. He also has equipment to balance tires and computer for diagnostic repairs. He will eventually add towing to his list of services once his wrecker is ready to go.

“I’ve just started back up. I’m hoping to build the business back up,” he said.

Kingsley’s Sales and Service is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and until 2 p.m. on Saturdays. The garage can be contacted at 499-0804.