After 37 years, Myron Aper to retire [March 06, 2010]  Myron Aper has decided that March 15 will be his last day in the car business. It was in July 1972 that Aper went to work at Heineken Brothers Ford in Emden, and he has been a car salesman ever since.

The first new car Aper sold was a green Pinto wagon, and he remembered all the details of that important day as he reminisced on his career.

In 1975 he joined the sales force at Langellier Motor Co. in Lincoln. He had brief stints at Roland Rich Ford in Delavan and Frank's Olds in Lincoln before coming to Tom Ashley Ford Lincoln Mercury, who had bought out Langellier's

When Ashley sold out to Jim Xamis, Aper stayed with the company, logging in two decades with the Ford dealer.

Aper is a Ford man, having sold Oldsmobiles for only a year. He remembers fondly his favorite Ford, but it wasn't one he sold. "I had a 1963 1/2 Ford Galaxie 500," he said. "It was robin's egg blue with bucket seats. I should have never sold that car."

Aper says the biggest change in the industry since that first Pinto sale is that computers have become such a big part of today's dealerships. Xamis has two Internet salesmen, but Myron admits he just isn't a computer person, having spent so many years dealing face to face with customers.

Service has also changed, with cars having computers being hooked up to computers to determine what is wrong. With admiration in his voice he said, "I could hook a computer up. But I wouldn't be able to tell you what it says is wrong."

Myron appreciates the people in car service, knowing that they are the ones who keep customers happy. He said he always brought in pancake and sausage tickets for the service technicians to show his appreciation for all their help. "They'll probably miss those tickets when I'm gone," he laughed.

A born and raised Hartsburg native, Myron with his wife of 47 years, Suzie, have made New Holland their home for all the years of their marriage. The couple has two children: Terri, who works with her mom at Dr. Miller's office, and a son, Tim, who is a member of the Lincoln Fire Department. 

Prior to entering the car sales business Aper had worked 12 years at Lehn & Fink.

Although Myron will no longer be selling cars, he has a busy life planned. In the spring and fall he will work a tractor for local farmer Vern Klockenga. In the summer he will tend his large garden, working on his black raspberry patch and grape arbor, enjoying the fruits of his labors as he says goodbye to the auto business.

[By MIKE FAK]