After 52 years of service at Rink Brothers, Bruce Sherwin is
shifting gears and moving out of the shop.

Sherwin, who has been in automobile sales since he graduated
high school in 1949, has decided to retire from automobile sales
and get behind the wheel of one to travel the country with his
wife, Emma.

“We have done a lot of traveling, especially by plane. This time
we want to drive into the midland states by car and see the
country,” Sherwin said.

While Sherwin cherishes his time at home – “I do enjoy being
home and talking to my wife without telephone calls” – he will
surely find his adjustment to a life without Rink Brothers
interesting.

“For whatever reason I was blessed with the ability to
communicate with people, and that is what I will miss the most; I
am a people person,” he said with a smile.

“I have dealt with all kinds of people, and some people are
coarse and rude, but I counteract that with kindness and bring them
down to my level. After a couple of minutes you find that they are
in a better mood.”

For the friends and co-workers shuffling in and out of Sherwin’s
office Friday afternoon, the walls offered almost no evidence of
his half-century-plus spent selling cars at Rink Brothers.

But Sherwin will always have the memories and friendships he has
gained since 1949.

“I began at Nash Auto right after I graduated high school. After
I came back from the Korean War I went to Ford, then to
Packard-Studebaker and then came here,” Sherwin explained.

“In my time here, Ray Rink, who was 39 when I started here at
the age of 23, has been very close to me as an employer and
friend.

“Ray has stuck by me through some very difficult times,
including the death of my first wife and daughter, who died of
cancer. I will miss Ray, although I will drop by here and there,”
he said with a twinkle in his eye.

While Sherwin is leaving the office, he knows that he will never
truly escape the life of a car salesman.

“People stop me in Wal-Mart and ask me about prices and cars
that we might have on the lot. I never really get away from it,
even during my off-time.”

While the biggest change has come in the area of safety issues,
which Sherwin said automobile companies have changed their focus
toward, Internet access has greatly affected the work of the
salesman.

“I don’t have a computer at home, so some of the customers come
in and know more than I do about the cars,” he said with a
laugh.

“I’m sure if I had that thing – what do you call it, the
Internet? – at home I would know as much as they do. I could learn
about the Internet, but I started planning to retire about four
years ago and it is time for me to go.”

When he is not traveling, Sherwin will spend time with his
family; his son, Jeff, and wife, Karen, reside in Bradford with
their children, Kate, Chris and Josh. Sherwin’s wife, Emma, also
has several grandchildren who will now enjoy extra time with their
grandparents.

Sherwin is also involved in numerous charitable and volunteer
organizations that will keep him busy during his retirement. He is
involved with organizations that raise money and awareness for
cancer, Crook’s Farm, the Masonic Lodge, the Rotary Club and also
serves as treasurer for his church.

While he sat back in thought, Sherwin offered words of wisdom
that could be applied to all walks of life: “If there is one thing
that I learned as a car salesman it is to be upright and honest
with the individual you are dealing with and they will come back to
you.”