vKENDALL continued from page 9 “The men worked with me. If I couldn’t find the picture of the part they wanted, they came behind the counter to help me find the picture.” When they found the part picture, she looked it up in her massive card file of over 2,000 cards to find the part. They kept most of their parts on-hand and readily available for their customers and would also order parts for customers as needed. Though an amateur with tractor parts, Connie wasn’t completely inexperienced with the red machines. Her dad, a Massey-Harris tractor fan, had the red tractors on his farm though they were the only people in the neighborhood with them. Even though everyone else had John Deere and Farmall tractors, her dad instead appreciated the quiet and durable Massey. Connie recalls various obstacles and achievements she and Chuck had with the store. When they first acquired the store, Chuck decided he needed to have a pickup truck to haul machinery, so he bought one from a Nebraska farmer. “Do you know what he did?” she asked. “He traded our car, our courting car, for that truck! A Ford truck!” Their only vehicle? Yes, he traded their only vehicle for that truck. And that truck gave him a lot of trouble, she explained. You just had to laugh. Chuck’s biggest obstacle in the beginning was an opportunity to purchase a truck load of wagon running gears, though he had an extremely tight deadline to make the purchase. His vision of getting a loan to buy the gears and then sell them for immediate cash flow got off to a slow start when the bank turned him down for financing. The silver lining gleamed through just in time when a second bank understood his vision and offered him the loan for the running gears. He sold every running gear he had purchased in just a few days. Their business saw the evolution of the Massey line from Massey Harris to Massey Ferguson over the years. Massey Harris merged with Ferguson Company in the 1950’s and Massey Harris became Massey Harris Ferguson, later being shortened to Massey Ferguson. She recalls one morning when a small 35 Massey Ferguson tractor came in. “It was a real good, all around tractor. The farmers liked them,” she said. She explained how the farmers could trust their kids, their wives or their daughters to drive it. “It was a safe tractor,” she continued. The farmers liked the tractor so much that Chuck sold nearly 20 of those tractors in one morning. Chuck and Connie had the opportunity to travel to several conventions and sightseeing trips over the years. Their most exciting trip was when they won a trip to Mexico City for an entire week because Chuck sold the highest amount of a particular cornpicker that year. They had a wonderful time on that journey with many delightful memories. Though Connie had never driven a tractor before, she had to learn how to drive one for one of the conventions. The ladies were required to drive the display tractor to gain entrance to the banquet. She was extremely hesitant but Chuck sat on the fender and helped her drive. “I drove it maybe 20 feet,” she laughed, “but at least I got my ticket punched to go to the banquet!” She remembers this convention well, not because she drove a tractor to gain entrance, but because Lawrence Welk performed and they talked with him backstage. Welk’s trailer that he used to haul his instruments to dances was built by Chuck’s dad and Welk remembered it well when Chuck asked him about it. They talked together for some time. Connie and Chuck owned Kendall Implement until 1975, when they decided to sell because of Chuck’s health reasons. Their successful business provided a good life for them and their son, Jerry and provided for various staff they employed over the years: a machinist, a blacksmith, a book keeper and a few salesmen over time. Of countless memorable moments Connie encountered over the years, she enjoyed selling parts and working with people the most, and was glad to be a part of a great community. “I like Yankton. The people were nice,” she stated. When meeting Connie, it’s obvious how the business was successful. A friendly, charming woman with a warm smile that could make a person feel right at home. I can only imagine that her husband Chuck had the same charismatic personality. Yankton was blessed with a business run by such a wonderful couple for so many years. vBy Julie Eickhoff ring! Start planning this years’ summer projects! hink Sp T NATURESCAPING DESIGNS ( LANDSCAPING | PROPERTY CARE | HOLIDAY DECORATING ) CALL US TODAY 605.661.1205 NATURESCAPINGDESIGNS.COM LAURAWNSD@GMAIL.COM HERVOICEvJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017v15