Lansing resident Dave Cripe and his father, Al, began making buttons for car shows as a hobby. Little did they know a business would develop into what is now known as Betty’s Buttons & T-Shirts, 1135 S. Washington Ave., in Lansing, named after Cripe’s mother, Betty.
Thirty-eight years later, in the midst of a tough economy and impending construction, Cripe is shutting the doors and retiring.
Cripe and his father prided themselves in giving quality customer service, caring more about the customer than the money they were making.
“If I wasn’t doing anything I would go downstairs and print the shirts that day,” he said. “I would call the customers to tell them they were done, and they would say, ‘I just ordered them! They can’t be done!’”
Cripe, who has a passion for singing, is excited to be able to travel to more car shows with his wife, Pat. The two plan on continuing their button business from their home.
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