The Local Source for News and Information Since 1980
This month, KB Middleton Repair’s own Taylor Lyons will officially complete his five-year apprenticeship program under employer Kevin Middleton. “It’s hard to put all [he’s learned] on one piece of paper,” Middleton said.
Lyons graduated from St. Michael’s High School and immediately began looking for mechanic work. Middleton just so happened to be working on Lyons’ grandfather’s truck at the time, and Lyons had asked Middleton about the types of tools he should be getting to start out. When Middleton was out due to a surgery in May 2019, he went ahead and called Lyons. He’s been there ever since.
Lyons is Middleton’s only other mechanic, though they each see each other as more family than employer-employee. Lyons says he often hears Middleton tell him, “You first, family second, then take care of the business.” But Middleton never has to worry about the business or shop when Lyons is around – he keeps busy no matter what. “Right now, I would put him up against almost anybody on the Shore,” Middleton said.
Together they’ve tackled push mowers, golf carts, bucket loaders, excavators, tractor trailers, trailers, agricultural equipment, stump grinders, WWII-era machinery, and more. Middleton also has Lyons dabbling in general contracting, electrical, and even plumbing work. Lyons, the descendant of a farming family, is currently working to restore his grandfather’s first tractor.
Middleton said he now considers Lyons an experienced mechanic, capable of getting a job just about anywhere due to his work ethic and experience. But Lyons isn’t going anywhere anytime soon; a valuable lesson he’s learned from Middleton is the richness of small, family-oriented businesses. “I quit using the term ‘my shop’, and ‘me’ and ‘I’, to ‘we’ and ‘us’ probably three years ago, because it's not just me anymore. Taylor has become very much a part of this…that's the way I think it should be,” Middleton said.
