Skyline Parts 'In Very Good Hands'

DAYTON – When Justin Wendt was a junior at Dayton High School, he spent a few months working an hour a day at Skyline Parts, on Dayton's Main Street, as part of the school's junior internship program. A little more than a decade later, he owns the store.

"This is a real testament to Rob Moore and Steve McClean and the internship program they started," said departing store owner Dave Schreck, referring to the two former DHS teachers.

Schreck said he was hesitant at first to get involved in the internship program, but after Wendt began working at the store, which is part of the national NAPA network, he became a great asset, working more than his assigned hour each school day.

"He'd come in on weekends and clean up around here," Schreck said. "He really showed an interest from the start."

After graduating in 2006, Wendt attended Spokane Community College for two years. While there, he worked in the NAPA warehouse in Spokane. Later he and his wife, Mandi, moved back to Dayton, and he worked for several months at the Ninth Street NAPA store in Walla Walla.

Schreck brought Wendt on full time in 2012, with plans to have him take over the business.

Skyline Parts was in the Schreck family for exactly 65 years. Dave's father, Fred Schreck, opened Dayton Motor Supply on July 1, 1951, on Dayton's Main Street. It was located in the space currently occupied by Manila Bay Restaurant. The business later moved to the building where the Dayton Chamber of Commerce is now located, before moving to its current location at 102 West Main Street in the early 1970s.

Dave Schreck says that the National Automotive Parts Association was his father's main parts supplier from day one. The store is still part of the NAPA network.

After graduating from DHS in 1969, Dave Schreck went on to get his bachelor's degree from Gonzaga University in Spokane. It was there that he met his wife, Sandy.

After leaving college, Schreck was hired by State Representative, and Dayton Democrat, Hubert Donohue, to work in the budget office of the House Ways and Means Committee in Olympia. After five years in that position, he worked about five more years in the governor's budget office, under both Dixie Lee Ray and John Spellman.

"One weekend in 1982, my dad came over to Olympia and sat down and asked me if I would take over the store," Schreck said. "It was a tough decision." (Schreck said he had to give up tickets to an Eric Clapton concert because of his parents' visit that weekend.)

He and Sandy decided to make the move. They put their house on the market, moved back to Dayton, and Schreck took over the business in 1983.

"It was pretty much a one-man show for 30 years, until Justin came on board," Schreck said. "I got so I would lay in bed at night and run part numbers through my head." But it's been a great career, he said.

Schreck said he looks forward to more time on the golf course and reading books. He will also continue to fill in at the store as needed.

Dave and Sandy also plan to do more traveling. Their daughter, Sarah, lives in Portland and works as an immigration attorney. Their son, Ryan, recently took a position with the U.S. Foreign Service in Washington D.C. He and his wife will soon be moving to take a position in Ho Chi Min City, Viet Nam.

Wendt says he looks forward to many years running what is already one of Dayton's longest-running businesses.

"I'm very thankful for the opportunity Dave and Sandy have given me," he said. "I'm very happy that Mandi and I can stay and be part of the community and raise our family." The Wendts have a 1 ½-year-old daughter, Lola.

"The store is in very good hands," Schreck said.