Most of you old time Junkyard Puppies (and some of the new puppies too) that attended the last two Junkyard Dog Adventures held in the Medford, Oregon area will, no doubt, remember Haskins Garage in Ashland, Oregon. As you recall Haskins Garage is a vintage machine shop and parts house and it is owned and run by a great old dude known as Wally Cannon. A machinist by trade, Wally, in his younger days, was also an oval dirt track racer and in later years (prior to taking over Haskins Garage) he owned Harrison Auto Parts in downtown Ashland, Oregon as well.

Several of the Junkyard Puppies purchased new old replacement stock parts from Wally on the last two JYD Adventures and we all had a great time in his shop. Wally's vintage machine shop was so popular on the 2005 JYD tour that many requests were made to go back to visit his shop again in 2006...which we did.

Unfortunately, I have some very sad news. Wally was climbing a ladder in his shop yesterday afternoon (details are sketchy at this point, but I assume that it was the ladder to the parts loft above the machine shop.....most of you puppies will remember the loft I'm sure) and he fell off of the ladder. Apparently Wally hit his head on the concrete floor when he landed and he sustained massive brain and skull injuries. Wally was rushed to a hospital in Medford and he was immediately admitted into the Intensive Care Unit where he passed away several hours later from his massive head injuries. There was nothing that medical science could do to save him.

Wally was a very well known and historical figure in Ashland, Oregon and also in the local old car circles. He sold his parts at give away prices and his engine rebuilds for antique cars were well known up and down the west coast. Old car dudes brought their engines to him to be restored from far and near. He was a great asset to the old car hobby and his stories about the old racing days will be missed as well.

My wife and I visited Wally only a couple of months ago. While there I asked him when he was going to retire. Laughingly, Wally's answer was: "I love this shop and I never will retire. They will probably find me laying on the floor dead here someday."

:( :( :(

This posting breaks my heart. Although I have known Wally a relative short time I found him to be an example of the best of the old knowledgable mechanics/machinest. A man easy to get acquainted with. The last two times I was in his garage he, allowed me to roam all about and look in the boxes and bins. I found, and purchased many rare items that I needed. When they were placed on the table for Wally to price, it was a shock to hear such reasonable prices. In each case I gave him at least two times what he wanted.

Skip, thanks for passing on the word about Wally. Your report reflected the courtesy and honor for such a fine fellow mechanic and car lover. May he rest in peace.

He will definitely be missed.

dog,

sad news, indeed...I only met wally last year, but as you, others, and I have found, he was a genuinely nice guy...as a former machinist, we had a great visit, talking about some of the projects on his bench & some of his equipment...he said he planned to never retire...

thanks for letting us know...


epi

JYD, sorry your friend has passed, will keep him and his family and friends in my thoughts and prayers...

Raymondo and Chevrolet: Ya, the old car and street rod world in this area is already buzzing about Wally's passing....especially since his obituary appeared in the newspaper this morning. He was 79. Everyone is at a lost since Wally has been an icon in this area for decades as you know. There will never be another "Wally Cannon"...as far as the car hobby is concerned.

:( :( :(

Sorry to here this. DARN - IT - ANYWAY....!

Hey Skippy,

Real sad "news" you told us about. Wally sure was a good guy to the JYD gang. And the way little puppies like me. He!l's Bells, even those chocolate chip cookies were GREAT!!

Very sorry to hear of his accident and the outcome.

I'm sure he's doing well in the big ole machine shop in the sky.

Nice man.

Incidentally, I don't suppose anybody could exactly replace Wally; but have you heard anything about anybody sorta taking over the business??

Bill.

I do not know him, never met him, but can certainly appreciate him for what he did and for what he stood for. There are very few like him around any more. I once had a friend in Salem Oregon that had a repair shop. He was similar and once stated to me that if he could afford it he would work on Chev 6's for free! I will miss your friend just based on the above.

42bill: Wally and I had conversations about that on several different occasions......and the last time that he brought it up on his own was when Charlotte and I visited him back in March. As you know the building which housed his vintage machine shop and obsolete parts was originally an old fire station around the turn of the last century. Since the building is historical he had already worked out a deal with the city of Ashland to give them the building upon his death. Apparently the city of Ashland is going to make the building into some type of museum because of its past history.

As far as the equipment and inventory goes, I have no idea since Wally never discussed it.

Hey Skippy,

Seems like there was a lot of neat stuff in Wally's place. Maybe you and Mikey should do something about that. Organize a big sale and run it and get a "commission" or something like that. Or just buy it yourself. And sell it as time goes by. Or.......

Bill.

The "vultures" were already coming out of the woodwork the day after Wally died! Sickening! Wally was a smart old dude, so I'm sure that he made some kind of arrangements for the equipment and the inventory. No doubt down the road in a few months the family will let the word out as to what is going to happen to the remainder of the shop.

:( :( :(

Skippy,

I would hope some 'arrangements' were made. Amazingly enough, even with "smart old dudes" sometimes there aren't any.

I was thinking maybe you and Mikey could do something for the family and have some fun doing it.

Oh well.....

Bill.

Now is not the time since Walley isn't even buried yet. And, the family will probably make their own decision as what to do with everything in the shop when the time is right. Knowing Wally like I do, I'm sure that he discussed it with his wife in the past.

Skip
You certainly passed on sad news. Wally obviously knew what he was doing with the old motors and done it well. The engines he had in progress last year are evidence of that. He had a good collection of parts, a lot appeared to be original factory not only nos.

Tony

I wonder how many of us have had "that discussion" and have made proper arrangements for our cars and stuff after we pass.

One thing I have learned is that just having “discussions” with family doesn't mean a lot in court, things should be written out and done right or it can get messy and sometimes nasty and very time consuming and very expensive to the heirs.

JYD is right the vultures come out real quick.