By ROD LEE

Mike Hare, who is a principal in Harbro Auto Sales, believes that family and faith are why the dealership has survived and flourished for fifty years now.

Harbro, with locations in Whitinsville and Webster, is operating in typical low-key fashion as the business celebrates its golden anniversary. But this does not mean the milestone is going unrecognized. For brothers Mike and Mark Hare, there is enormous satisfaction in carrying on a venture started in 1973 by their father Tim and Tim’s brother Dave (recently deceased).

They take pride too in knowing that younger members of the family are now part of Harbro, which is highly respected in the Blackstone Valley and South County.

Mike Hare credits this to his elders’ insistence on honesty and integrity. “We want people to have the right moral compass,” he says. “I attribute that to my dad and my Uncle Dave; and my grandfather raised them that way.”

Mike is three and a half years older than Mark. Both were introduced to the business at a young age. “As soon as I could hold a screwdriver my dad had me working in the bicycle shop, on pedals and reflectors and then I graduated to helping build bikes, then washing cars, emptying trash. I couldn’t reach the roof of the cars, I wasn’t tall enough. I literally grew up in the store. I think it was more of a babysitting thing! The conversation, it was interesting for a kid to be around that environment. I chose management, sales and finance. Day-to-day, Mark oversees inventory, mechanical prep, service, reconditioning. I still work most Saturdays. We work hand-in-hand on most management decisions and those areas blend a lot. We are on the phone with each other at all hours of the day.”

With so many loved ones including sons and daughters and nieces and nephews involved, “I think of it as almost a family farm,” Mike says.

One aspect of plans to mark the 50th has been a renovation of the building on Providence Road in Whitinsville.

Best of all, “being a small business you can get home to see your family at night,” Mike says.