by Kailey Young

On Aug. 12, 19 and 26, from 6 – 9 p.m., the Tryon Seventh-day Adventist Church will host a car maintenance seminar for women.

Pastor Bill Strong began teaching this class 15 years ago in Ohio.

He said half of the class is spent in lecture and the other half is spent in the parking lot with the student’s own car.

“This class is not a mechanic class – we aren’t teaching them how to fix things – it is strictly maintenance,” Strong said.

Whether widowed, divorced, single or married – all women can benefit from knowing a bit more about what’s under the hood of their car.

The church aims to help women better comprehend the hoses, wires and greasy metal under the hood of their cars that normally might cause their eyes to cross.

The church’s Women Under the Hood course will provide hands-on car maintenance advice in three sessions.

Women will learn what to do if they are in the middle of nowhere and a tire blows out. After the course, Strong said students would understand enough to make sure a mechanic is being honest and will discover what the seven vital fluids are and why they are important. Taking this class will take the mystery out of car maintenance.

Strong said he first learned about the course through a magazine article about a church in Oregon. The church had a group of mechanics that put together a seminar to help women learn how to maintain their cars. Strong said it was so successful the church put together a kit that they began selling.

“My father was a small town car dealer, and for the last 40 years my hobby has been car mechanics. We ended up buying a kit and began teaching our own seminar,” Strong said. “We get a good response, too. A woman came back and thanked us. She said she had never even opened the hood of her car before the class … There is no other motive other than to help women learn how to maintain their cars.”

Pre-registration is required since there is limited space. Make a reservation in advance to guarantee a seat. There is a small registration fee. To find out more, call 828-859-6407.