Plains couple sells business after nearly 40 years

The Sinclair gas station has been a part of the lives of Dave and JoAnne Colyer for almost four decades, but the couple will have some time to take it easy now that they sold the business to a Kalispell man.

"One has some mixed emotions after selling a business you started and operated for nearly 40 years," said Dave Colyer, who closed the sale of the station on May 16. "Everything in life has its ups and downs. The business did well and it will do well for the new owners," said Colyer. Both Dave and JoAnne have worked nonstop since high school. Dave took a job with the Burlington Northern Railroad tie treating plant at Paradise until 1982, when it was destroyed by fire. "JoAnne and I decided we wanted to remain in the area to raise our family and the opportunity to purchase Wheeler Oil Company was brought to our attention," said Dave. Two years later, they became independent owners with the Sinclair trademark. JoAnne was a stay at home mom when they bought the first gas station and did the book work from home, a job she did at the station when they bought the Sinclair at the present location. She also managed the convenience store while Dave ran the oil and gas side. Sinclair is a major oil chain with thousands of stations across the nation, but under the creation of the Colyer Oil Company, it was the first Sinclair in Plains, which Dave said gave them the opportunity to stay in this area.

Though Colyer Oil was always Sinclair, there were other gas stations in Plains prior to Dave and JoAnne opening their station. "Several major oil companies flew their flag in Plains. Eventually they pulled out of the state or the local owners went out of business," said Dave, who added that when Chevron Oil pulled out of Montana the current location became a Sinclair outlet.

The Colyers bought their first station from Damon Wheeler, Wheeler Oil Company in August 1984. Dave said that it was located east of the library where Little Bitterroot Services operates its gym. "It originally was a Shell Oil station, then a Union 76 Station and later became a Sinclair branded station," said Dave. "The purchase included a bulk plant located behind the 406 Outlet store," he said. The Colyers later bought Holland Oil Company from Bill Holland. It was also a bulk fuel operation located on Lynch Street beside the Montana Rail Link main line. They purchased the current location station, named the Plains Sinclair, from James Cleveland in 1995. The Colyers received their Sinclair dinosaur mascot in 2019 as a recognition reward from Sinclair Oil as a top performer.

Dave said the station had been up for sale for a while. They had four interested parties in the station, though some fell through. The final sale with Tindi Chana of Kalispell was postponed more than once. "We knew it would sell; it was a matter of when," said the 67-year-old Dave. "I'm sure the buyer was just as relieved as we were when the sale was finalized," he said.

Dave said the station hadn't changed much over the years and they adjusted to market conditions along the way, though they added different food items to the convenience store at times, along with beer and wine. For over 10 years, when they first had the business, they were also a U-Haul dealer and for most of the time they did minor engine repairs, oil changes, tire sales and repair.

During their ownership, they installed all new underground tanks, new pumps, merged the two-bulk plant storage operations to the station and erected the two canopies. They replaced the asphalt and installed a water drainage system after the town reengineered Farmer Street, which used to fill with water so much during heavy rains that it was called Lake Sinclair.

Dave said that being self-employed had its perks, like choosing to not work on Tuesday, though they had to make up for that missed day on Saturday, and going on vacation whenever the opportunity presented itself. "One must remember it's like having a dairy herd. Someone has to be available seven days a week. Here's how it started off. During the first five years, twice I had three days in a row off," said Dave, whose duties included ordering fuel and supplies, scheduling and making fuel deliveries, working most Saturdays, hiring workers, bidding on fuel, seeking more customers, and snow removal at the station and bulk plant during the winter. And that didn't include raising a family and maintaining the business property and home property. "Nothing has changed much in 39 years. Owning a business is more of a 24/7 job and not measured in hours per work week. It's impossible to leave on Friday and not think about the business before Monday morning," said Dave.

"Getting long in the tooth was a major decision in deciding to sell. It's time to relax a bit and do some things we haven't had the option of doing. We are not getting any younger and it might be interesting to see how it is not having a job," he said.

He said that his wife is going to take some time just relaxing with no definite plans at this time. But for Dave, he'll go back to his railroad days and spend more time at the Paradise Center, where he is the president. One of his passions at the center is the railroad display, where he and a group of train enthusiasts have been constructing a replica of Paradise and the Paradise railroad depot. He's already constructed a replica of the tie plant, where three generations of Colyers had been employed.

"The center and the railroad displays are a passion. I have a vision of how the displays will look when they are done. They are a topic of conversation now, but when they are done, in my opinion we will be getting visits from railroad enthusiasts from all across the country," said Dave, who attended the school from 1962 to 1970. He had been concerned with the fate of Paradise School before the nonprofit organization turned it into a combination museum, community center and visitor center. When Plains resident Benita Jo Hanson suggested building a train display, Dave said he was hooked. He's been involved in many of the improvements at the center and will be spending a lot more time at the center.

"We haven't made any definite plans. After 50-plus years of getting up and going to work it will take some time adjusting to a new way of life. No hurry, we're retired," said Dave.