Christopher Dacanay
FAMILY BUSINESS — Members of the Cutri family gathered in front of the main garage of Rocky’s Auto Wrecking, a family-owned auto part salvaging business that has been running since 1955. From left are Joe Cutri, Frances Cutri, Rocky Cutri Jr. and Rocky Cutri Sr. They are joined by their dogs Dumpster, left, and Reese.
MINGO JUNCTION — While taking a drive southbound along state Route 7 just south of Mingo Junction, looking out the window to the right will afford one a glimpse of Rocky’s Auto Wrecking.
Located at 612 county Road 74, Rocky’s is a family owned auto parts salvaging business that has been around since 1955. In addition to offering towing services, Rocky’s purchases junk or wrecked cars, selling the usable parts and recycling what’s left.
With nearly 70 years in business, Rocky’s has accumulated quite a few cars on its approximately 60 acres of property that lie between county Road 74 and Cross Creek. The total is certainly more than employees said they can count, although changes in the landscape and car count can be tracked by aerial photographs of the junkyard that hang in the business’ office.
Inside that office can be found Rocky Cutri Jr. and his son, Joe Cutri, who together represent two of the three generations working there. Running the show are Rocky Cutri Sr. and his wife, Frances Cutri.
Rocky Cutri Sr. founded the business only a little down the road from where he grew up, Rocky Cutri Jr. said. Mechanically inclined from a young age, Rocky Cutri Sr. was always one to “find value in used parts.”
“We’re true believers in repurposing things (at Rocky’s),” Rocky Cutri Jr. said, later adding, “My dad saw value in everything. That’s why he wouldn’t get rid of stuff.”
Rocky Cutri Sr., now 92 years old, agreed with that sentiment, remarking, “I was always a saver. I never junked nothing.”
He was one of nine children to Joseph Cutri, an Italian immigrant. The latter worked on the railroad and eventually got his son a job switching tracks when he was 15. It was hazardous work, Rocky Cutri Sr. recalled, noting how he was once forgotten in a trackside shack for five days with nothing but snow around.
Rocky Cutri Sr. had a passion for mechanics and loved figuring out how things work, gaining attention in town as the go-to for mechanical assistance. At 8, he had enough know-how to build his own go-kart, attaching a gasoline motor to his mother’s washing machine.
“I just fell in love with (cars),” Rocky Cutri Sr. said, adding that his father was quite the opposite, refusing to even ride in a car.
Rocky Cutri Jr. said, “Here’s my grandfather — no cars. And here’s my dad — thousands of cars.”
In the early 1950s, Rocky Cutri Sr. began doing business in mechanics, eventually getting into wrecking through others donating their junk cars to him. He purchased property from his brother-in-law across the road from his house and intended to turn it into a garage.
At his father’s advice, Rocky Cutri Sr. built a house first, aided by his brother Dominic Cutri, before working on the yard’s current buildings. That original house is where Rocky Cutri Jr. grew up, right next to the business — a place of fun and memories.
“This place was like our playground. This is where I learned to drive,” Rocky Cutri Jr. said, noting how all of his own kids and the neighbors would use the junkyard for practice.
Instrumental in the business’ growth was the support of Frances Cutri, a former EMT for the Mingo Junction Fire/EMS Department who has worked frequently with the American Red Cross.
Rocky Cutri Jr. inherited the automotive fervor from his father, picking up skills from the business that he jumped into early on. The same goes for Joe Cutri, who went to college for business but ultimately stepped in with the family enterprise. Currently, Rocky Cutri Jr. and Joe Cutri have 55 years and 25 years respectively with Rocky’s.
The two share a close relationship and a shared love of tinkering. They’re both thoroughly familiar with cars’ anatomy, but they recognize that not many people nowadays know much about cars. To be able to help those people cheaply obtain an auto part that lasts them a long time is always a good feeling, Rocky Cutri Jr. said.
A lot of cars have come in and out of Rocky’s — the oldest car with parts still in the yard is a 1926 Ford Model T. Perhaps the yard’s most notable car was a one-of-a-kind Plymouth Roadrunner, which was owned by a local who “T-boned a bridge,” Rocky Cutri Jr. said. Thankfully, Rocky’s got the wrecked car and held onto it long enough for other individuals to buy and restore it.
Joe Cutri said the business is “a lot of work, but it’s really rewarding. I can’t imagine doing anything else. … If it wasn’t for us, those cars would just be laying around all over the place. Can you imagine what that’d be like? It’d be an epidemic.”
Rocky Cutri Jr. added that having a small business means “you’re married to it.” In spite of challenges, the family keeps the mood light with their signature sense of humor.
“That’s how you get along is being able to tell jokes and laugh,” Frances Cutri said. “When things are serious, we won’t make them serious.”
There are plenty of jokes to be made and silly stories to recount, especially regarding the previous characters Rocky’s has had as crew members — one of whom was recalled to have obliviously emptied a car’s gasoline tank into a fire extinguisher.
Having been in Mingo Junction for so long, the Cutris try to stay involved in the community by supporting local causes and donating cars to the fire department for practice or for the village’s parades. A fan of Mustangs, Rocky Cutri Sr. himself still loves to participate in car shows.
As long as people drive cars, there will be a need for auto parts, and as long as there’s a need, the Cutris at Rocky’s will be there to serve.