The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

Reporter's note: In the April 4 issue of the "Journal" I wrote about the conjoined Hilton Sisters and their one performance in Chinook in 1940 in the old Orpheum Theatre. In the story I commented that I never could verify if there really was a stage in the old theatre that sat in the northwest corner of what is now the parking lot for Finley's Food Farm.

I received a letter from reader Calvin Blatter who wrote he now lived in Great Falls but grew up in Chinook. He hand wrote a four page letter telling the story of how he knows there was a stage in the old Orpheum. Much of his story revolved around John Deere Day, familiar to many locals as a day-long event to promote the latest John Deere equipment. I delved into the history of John Deere Day and here is some of what I learned. I hope readers will share some memories about their experiences with John Deere Day.

A brief history of the John Deere dealerships in Chinook

From Cal Blatter's letter I assumed the event he and Ike were 'busted' at was a John Deere Day event when Rudy and Cliff Speers owned and operated the John Deere dealership in Chinook. Rudy's daughter Jane Ehlang told me some of the history of her dad and uncle Cliff's buying the dealership in 1949 from Tom O'Hanlon. The dealership's main building was a long, narrow building that faced 3rd Street where the current Post Office is located.

Cliff Speers bought Rudy's part of the business and Rudy and his family moved back to their native South Dakota. Jane described her uncle Cliff as "a great promoter of Chinook and the businesses there. If there was some activity to promote Chinook, my uncle Cliff was right in the middle of it." Cliff died in the early 1970's and the dealership closed. The main building (in the photo with this story) was cut in two pieces and moved away to allow the current Post Office to be built. The Post Office was completed in 1974. Both sections of the old dealership building are still in use in Chinook.

Asked later about the year he and Ike did their escapade, Cal Blatter later wrote, "My best guess would be late spring of 1938 or 1941. It was a nice day." The dealership was not owned by the Speers brothers when Cal and Ike tried to sneak into the movie. Was there a dealership in town before the Speers brothers?

I called Jack O'Brien, a great go to source about the history of Chinook. He said, "That whole block where the current Post Office, Senior Center and Library are located, was known as the O'Hanlon Block. And, yes, the O'Hanlon's had an implement shop that the Speers later bought." Another call to Jane Ehlang verified that her uncle and father did buy the building from Tom O'Hanlon (This must have been the son of the pioneer O'Hanlon as the father died in the late 1920's). Jane added, "I assume there had to be an existing implement business as my dad and uncle didn't have the capital that would be needed to start a business like that from scratch."

John Deere Day in Chinook

It would be very difficult to say when John Deere Day started in Chinook. But several people I visited with remembered the format in the 1950's-a family day where the men spent the morning inspecting the new John Deere equipment at the dealer while the wives, and sometimes the kids, spent time in town shopping and visiting. Several seniors who went to rural schools, including Lloyd and Zurich Schools, said they got out of school to go to town with their families. Mary Hofeldt Carter went to Lloyd School and explained, "We didn't get to go to town but a few times a year. To go and have a lunch at the John Deere dealer and then see a movie was quite a thrill for us." Schools in town and rural schools close to town didn't let their students out for the special day.

One thing that Cal Blatter didn't address in his letter printed here was the menu. When I inquired, he wrote, "I never went to lunch but I think baked beans and biscuits or cornbread was some of the meal. I'm not sure but I think lunch was at one of the churches."

By the time the Speers had the business, the lunch was at the dealership. Jane Ehlang remembers, "I was in grade school and my cousins and I would go up to the dealership for lunch on John Deere Day. I do remember there were always hot dogs and donuts." She added, "As soon we ate we were sent back to school. They didn't want us hanging around the dealership." Ehlang thought John Deere Day probably lasted until her uncle died and the dealership closed (around 1972).

Are John Deere Days still around?

The short answer is "yes, in some places." A spokesperson for Frontline Ag Solutions in Havre said, "I don't think we've had a John Deere Day for at least three years." I called C&B Operations, formerly FES Equipment, in Glasgow. The spokesperson there said, "We haven't done a John Deere Day in three or four years. We just got bought out by C&B and we don't really know if they will do a promotional day."

On Facebook I found Phillips Equipment Company that has the John Deere dealership in Rustburg, Virginia. Rustburg is part of the metropolitan area of Lynchburg, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. There seemed to be a lot of agritourism (you pick farms, farms that give tours, etc.) that catered to the surrounding metro area. The Facebook page had some comments about a recent John Deere Day held on April 7 of this year.

The single story building in the center of this undated photo became Speers Implement in 1949 when brothers Cliff and Rudy Speers purchased the implement dealership from Tom O'Hanlon. Cliff eventually bought out Rudy's part of the business. Cliff died in the early 1970's and the dealership closed. The current Chinook Post Office was built on the site in 1974.

Keith, at the Virginia dealership, said by phone they still had John Deere Day but, "Just this year we completely changed the format." He explained, "We used to send invitations from our customer mailing lists. We found that many of our farm customers are aging and we needed to attract some new potential customers. We ran ads in the local papers and on radio, set up a tent next to the dealership and had a BBQ. Six hundred people showed up!" He pointed out that the dealership sells lawn and garden equipment as well as farm tractors and implements and that many of their customers have "hobby farms and ranches."

I couldn't really get a good feel for how many dealerships are still doing John Deere Days. For locals who experienced the annual event, it is still a fond memory. Judy Chapman recalled, "My school never let us out for John Deere Day. After my husband and I married, John Deere Day was like a national holiday for us. We shut down our operation to attend John Deere Day. It was a really big deal back in the day." John Deere Day may have served its time and purpose and is another one of those bits of rural life and history that is just about extinct.