If you’ve spent time around old Plymouth garages or welding shops, chances are you’ve crossed paths with Harold “Chip” Jacobs. Equal parts mechanic and road warrior, Chip carries decades of Plymouth history with him.

“I’ve lived my whole life around engines, tools and motorcycles,” he said with a laugh. “That sums it up.”

Born in Pontiac in 1953, Chip spent his earliest years at Dixie Highway and Andersonville Road in Waterford. His grandparents, Louis and Jennie Dorman, owned the famous Old Mill Tavern next door.

In 1956, he moved to Plymouth when his father purchased a home in the newly built Parkway Heights subdivision on Northville Road at Hines Drive.

“My dad was one of the original owners there,” Chip said. “Back then Plymouth was quieter, smaller, everybody knew everybody.”

Chip still remembers landmarks long gone, including the old Thunderbird Inn on Northville Road, which later became a Hilton Hotel and is now Independence Village senior living.

“The Thunderbird became the Hilton Inn about 1972,” he said. “It was across from McAllister’s Grocery. People around Plymouth still talk about it.”

Chip attended Starkweather Elementary, Farrand Elementary, West Junior High, East Junior High and Plymouth High School before graduating from Salem High School in 1971, during the school’s very first year open.

“The Plymouth schools had some really good teachers,” he said. “I especially remember Mr. Grinenko in fifth-grade gym class. He carried a paddle called Rosco everywhere.”

Work came early. In 1965, Chip landed his first job at Bonded Beauty on Northville Road cleaning tires.

“They gave me an old motorcycle when I was about 12,” he said. “I rode it home and my dad absolutely lost his mind.”

That motorcycle obsession never left. Over the years, Chip worked at Karl’s Cabin when it was still a general store and gas station, then became a top welder at Bathy Manufacturing before joining Mesker of Detroit and others at the Plymouth Industrial Center. There, he rose from welder to millwright to general foreman, helping build machines and tools connected to the racing world.

“We built equipment for ARCA race cars and spent time down at Flat Rock Speedway,” he said. “That was a blast.”

Chip also drove a ladder truck for the Plymouth Township Fire Department’s Station No. 2, because of his experience handling semis. He recalled the old P&A Theatre fire.

“I liked helping people,” he said. “And honestly, I liked driving the big trucks.”

Through it all, motorcycles remained his great passion. Chip has ridden since childhood and especially loves long-distance touring on his 2000 Honda Goldwing 1500, traveling to Sturgis and across the Midwest.

“There’s nothing like being out on the open road,” he said. “That’s freedom.”

At home, Chip enjoys building vehicle model kits, collecting knives and American silver dollars.

“Around 2000, I met the king, Richard Petty, at Daytona,” he said. “Two weeks later, he mailed me a box of two different colors of Petty Blue and fluorescent orange paint for my model car of his. What a guy.”

Chip reminisces about trips to Mackinac Island and Maui with his late wife, Sandy. Married for 52 years, Sandy remained the center of his life until her passing.

“The last few years, I took care of her at home every day after her stroke,” he said quietly. “You do that for the people you love.”

Today, Chip still calls Plymouth home and still rides whenever he can.

“I’ve watched Plymouth grow and change for 70 years,” he said. “It’ll always be home to me.”