THE “JAY’S GARAGE” STAFF

DAYTON - Clara McQuary graduated from Dayton High School in 2004 and then attended Western Washington University in Bellingham. Before completing her degree, she decided to embark on a few years of adventure.

"A friend said she was moving to Australia, so I said, 'I'm coming too!'" After returning to the states nearly a year later, McQuary worked in Alaska for a few months, and then spent three years working for a cruise ship line in Hawaii, mostly working with youth programs. She later spent three years in St. Petersburg, Fla., again working with kids. In between jobs she spent several months traveling in Europe and South America.

McQuary returned from Florida in July and immediately jumped in to help Ball set up his shop. "She's been a huge help setting up the business end of the shop," he said. Now McQuary mans the customer service desk, orders parts and runs errands as needed.

Umberto Ramirez is a 1984 graduate of Dayton High School. He operated his own auto repair business in Tri-Cities for 22 years before recently returning to Dayton. "I came back because I got an elk tag," he said jokingly (we think).

Ball's stepson Daniel Harrington graduated from DHS in 2008. After attending the University of Idaho for three years, he and his Fiancée, Kahla Wood, moved to Seattle. "We just weren't sure what we wanted to do," he said. "Kahla went to massage school and loved it. And I went to work for Goodyear."

Harrington worked at a Goodyear service center in downtown Seattle for three years before Ball offered him the job in Dayton. Wood has set up her massage therapy practice at Main Street Salon in downtown Dayton.