On Aug. 16, 1976, Cape Starter and Alternator opened its doors in Jackson to provide starter and alternator repair to the area. Since then, they have opened two more stores.

In 1976, there was only one employee and now there are 19 employees at the three locations.

They opened a store in Carbondale in 1984 and opened a store in Cape Girardeau in 1988.

The stores serve Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Arkansas and Tennessee.

Lin Baker is the president of the company. He along with vice president Lee Baker, secretary Lisa Curtis and treasurer Leon Baker have owned the business since 1991.

Lee Baker said he has worked at the Jackson store for 14 years.

"It takes employees to make a business work," Baker said.

"We owe our customers for our longevity and success. It takes repeat business and we get that by taking care of our customers," he added.

The business is still going strong, according to Baker and he said they plan to be in business until they stop making starters and alternators.

Baker said it is hard to keep up with all the different types of starters and alternators over the years, but Cape Starter has managed to keep up with the changes. GM since 1987 has over 200 different alternator numbers.

"It's very difficult to stock everything. Our suppliers have been very important to us. They kept up with the new types of starters and alternators," Baker said.

The employees that have made Cape Starter a success are:

Jackson store: Oscar Doran, Chris Nenninger, Mike Riley, Robert Foulk, Mike Stone and Marc Cook is the full-time salesman that travels the five state area for the company.

Cape store: Jerry Curtis, Don Brady, Mike Bless, Kris Cassout and Jimmie Cook.

Carbondale store: Bill Curtis, Mark Moore, Junior Hines and Wally Britt.

The company has been servicing starters, alternators and generators for farm, industrial, automotive, heavy duty lawn and garden and motorcycles for 20 years in Jackson and plans to continue as long as starters, alternators and generators are made.