08/31/2026
BUSINESS SHOUT-OUT: Old School Repair, Inc. 🔧
You know a shop is different when the owner holds 19 out of 20 State of Michigan mechanic certifications and has the biggest automotive lift in the area — 18,000 lbs.
Meet Ron & Diana Dennis — the husband-and-wife team behind Old School Repair at the bottom of the hill on Superior Ave, overlooking the Chippewa SnoKats trail.
Their story is pure U.P.:
Ron hung up his carpentry hammer in 1999 to go back to what he really loved — fixing stuff. Welding, repairing his own trucks, solving the problems other shops couldn't. Diana went from travel agent to executive assistant to running the books full-time when the shop in Illinois got too busy.
For years they came to Crystal Falls just to snowmobile. One cold January night in 2016, Diana told Ron, "I could live here." They found the perfect shop, found a house, and moved here in 2017.
Why? They saw a hole in our town. No one was really working on diesels or heavy equipment. Light, medium, and heavy-duty trucks, skid steers, backhoes, farm tractors, snowplows — if it runs on diesel or gas, Ron will figure it out. Their motto is "solve problems, not throw parts at them."
And they give back — sponsoring the Iron County Report events pages, supporting the Crystal Theatre, supporting the CFBA and cheering on the Forest Park Trojans, are just a few ways.
In a world of throw-it-away-and-buy-new, Old School Repair is keeping Iron County working.
If you've had Ron save your truck, your tractor, or your plow right before a snowstorm, tell your story below. Let's give them the love they deserve. 👇
