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Optimism after fire as dealership looks to the future
IMPERIAL -- Gratitude, mixed with frustration. Discouragement combined with optimism. Determination and pride. Those are only some of the roller coaster emotions that Sid Harchelroad, owner of Harchelroad Motors, expressed when discussing the Oct. 17 fire that consumed the 150 x 150 foot facility at 316 Broadway in Imperial that housed much of his business.
The Fire
Harchelroad received a call at 2 a.m. that Saturday morning, telling him that his dealership was on fire. His home is 14 miles away, on a bluff by Enders Lake. He could see the fire from his home. "It looked like half the town was on fire."
It took four fire departments -- Imperial, Lamar, Wauneta, and Grant -- battling for over 17 hours to contain the fire. According to Sid, the firemen estimated the heat was well over 3,000 degrees. Flames were sometimes 35-40 feet high. Fortunately, there was no wind that night, so the 47 firefighters who fought the blaze were able to save the houses and the bank next door.
In the end, the facility that anchors Imperial's main street on the southeast side was completely destroyed. The facility was five brick and wood buildings, neatly put together, which housed the business's main offices, parts department, service shop, body shop, and a showroom. The parts department contained three floors of parts inventory, easily worth over $1 million. Specialized tools, office furniture, fixtures, equipment, paperwork and personal memorabilia were all lost in the fire.
The oldest building, which Sid believes was originally constructed in 1946, housed the service shop. The process of demolishing that building had begun earlier that week, in order to make room for a new, bigger shop to go up in its place.
Plans Prior to the Fire
After two massive hail and windstorms this summer had damaged the tar roof on the 70-year-old building, Sid decided to purchase an additional 25 feet to the north to build a new shop facility. To do so, the old building was slated for demolition. The new shop facility would have been built in its place. The offices, parts department, body shop and showroom were all staying in place on the east side of the street during the demolition and construction.
In order to continue to provide service during the demolition of the existing service shop and building of the new one, four hoists had been temporarily moved from the old building to the business's newer showroom across the street. That showroom had been built in 2007 to provide an indoor facility out of the elements. Harchelroad is the largest Corvette dealer in the Midwest, and the west showroom provided an impressive facility to highlight Corvettes and new Chevys, Buicks, and Pontiacs.
As soon as the new facility was built, the hoists were to have gone back across the street into the new shop and the west building would again become a showroom.
What Remains
The showroom on the west side of the street is now all that remains, and it is currently serving as their showroom/offices/service and parts department. A body shop in North Platte is helping them complete body work for a few weeks until a new body shop facility can be rented.
In some ways, Harchelroad is counting his blessings. No one was hurt fighting the fire. No other buildings were damaged beyond repair. The west showroom, along with support from the Harchelroad store in Wauneta, allowed the dealership to open their doors on the Monday morning following the fire. Internet backups allowed them to access service and sales records and get their Web site up. Their employees pulled together and have been making the operation work. "We have really great employees. We're working in totally off-the-wall circumstances here," said Sid.
And the community has shown enormous support. "We have been able to get up and running with what people brought in -- tables, chairs -- you name it. This is all stuff that people have just loaned to us. Loaner computers, adding machines, you can't believe all of it. We're running on just the kindness of the community and our customers."
Along with that community support, there is shear determination and the strong desire to continue the Harchelroad tradition in southwest Nebraska, a tradition that has spanned four generations.
The History
Harchelroad Motors is co-owned by Sid and his brother, Brian Harchelroad. They have two locations, the one in Imperial, and another in Wauneta.
The Wauneta store was founded in 1935 by Sid and Brian's grandfather, Harvey Harchelroad. Their father, Gene Harchelroad, took over the business in 1952. Sid joined the business in 1983 after graduating from Chadron State College, where he currently serves as a trustee for the college's foundation. Brian joined the business in 1989 after graduating from University of Nebraska Lincoln where he played football for the Huskers. They purchased the Imperial store twenty years ago, in 1989.
The fourth generation joined the business this year. Sid's son, Dillon, graduated from UNL with a degree in agri-business and decided to return to Imperial to become part of the business he grew up in. Dillon has been Sid's rock during this trying episode. "As I've been a mess, he's been cool under pressure," said Sid.
Harchelroad Motors does business very heavily in Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska; although they sell all over the United States and also internationally.
They will be celebrating 75 years as a Chevrolet dealership in 2010. Earlier this year when General Motors was terminating dealerships across the nation, Harchelroad Motors received a "best dealer blessing letter" from GM. A well-stocked parts department, plus excellent trained employees, allows them to provide fast service to their customers. "We rarely have anybody wait very long to get anything fixed because we have the parts."
Harchelroad Motors is also known for their sales and service of Corvettes. "The Corvette business has put us on the map all over the United States," said Sid. "I've even exported some Corvettes in the last few years." Harchelroad Motors hosts a Corvette show in Imperial every fall, attracting Corvette enthusiast from all over the United States.
Their body shop is very busy, and they do a lot of custom paint jobs and restore classic and muscle cars, along with normal collision and paint repair.
In addition, they also sell farm machinery, tillage and grain handling equipment. The farm machinery is set up and delivered out of the Wauneta store, although both locations sell and have display lots. "We're considered the largest short line dealer in the world," said Sid. They have also sold farm equipment internationally, last year exporting equipment to Asia, Mongolia, and Russia.
Harchelroad employs 39 employees, 23 in the Imperial store and 16 in Wauneta. No one on the staff has been let go because of the fire. "We were able to get our employees rounded up and say, hey, we're going to do the best we can with what we've got, and believe me; we have."
The Future
"Our plans are to forge on as best we can," said Sid. "We're open for business." For the time being, they will operate from the west showroom. They are waiting for the insurance companies to complete their paperwork so they can hire someone to begin removing debris. "It's really depressing to come to work and see all this," said Sid as he looked out at the fenced-off lot that holds the charred remains.
Certain events can only be described as life-changing. This will certainly be one of those events for the Harchelroad family. While the devastation of losing a portion of the business they have spent decades building is certainly cause for heartache; the perspective of knowing what they have accomplished through the years should also provide encouragement. With the strong support of a close-knit community such as Imperial, loyal employees and customers, and powerful family commitment to the business, Harchelroad Motors will rebuild and continue the tradition of service to the area and beyond.
Customer satisfaction has been, and will continue to be, Harchelroad Motors' number one goal.