Article: Main drag caters to cars.(Business)(Springfield's Main Street supports dozens of vehicle-related businesses)

Byline: MATT COOPER The Register-Guard

SPRINGFIELD - When Wally Knecht was a teen-ager, just two things competed for space with his dad's car parts store on Main Street: houses and fields.

Knecht spent his Saturdays pumping gas and listening to truckers swap stories while they passed a bottle. It was 1955, and the only other business around was the fruit stand across the street.

Knecht is 61 now, a towering and easygoing man who gives the kind of hearty handshakes that start when he throws his huge hand into yours from somewhere around eye level.

Main Street's all grown up, too. It happens slow as aging, and Knecht might not have ...

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