Ford celebrates 100 years in Plains

The year 1924 was a big year for Walt Disney, who released the first cartoon from his own studio. Macy's Department Store had its first Thanksgiving parade and the Ford Corporation opened its first dealership in Plains.

Wade Rehbein and his staff at Rehbein Ford celebrated a century of Ford in Plains in October, the month it opened with the Rehbein name. "I am very proud of where we are today. A lot of the credit goes to everyone that works here. Nobody is more important than the next one. We would not be here if it wasn't for the help of everyone," said Rehbein.

Rehbein is an avid collector of motor vehicle and gasoline paraphernalia, but two of his more prized possessions are documents of the first Ford sales agreement between Ford and Vacura Motors, the first Ford dealer in Plains in 1924, and the first order of June that year. "It shows the history of the store and Plains, Montana. Usually paper items get damaged and thrown away, so to have something that is dated 1924 that is that nice, plus related to a Ford store that I own, is great," said Rehbein.

He also has a 1934 Ford Tudor in his showroom. But he has seen amazing changes in the Ford line over the years, too many to list, he said. Most were in the computer and electronics realm. Rehbein got into the auto mechanic business with Kenny Benson of Plains, opening up Outback Automotive on the east end of town in the mid 1990s.

"I decided to try and pursue the Ford dealership mostly because of the factory training that came with it. The newer vehicles were getting harder and harder to work on and training as an independent shop was hard to come by," said Rehbein, who was born in Minnesota and moved to Plains when he was in the sixth grade.

Last year, in a Ledger "Remember When" column by Sherry Hagerman-Benton, she wrote that in 1924, Louis Vacura moved his family from Camas Prairie to Plains, where he established Vacura Motors. "When he retired at the end of World War II, his son, Wesley, became the owner and operated the company until 1980. At that time a grandson of the founder took over the business. Warren's ownership of the agency was cut short with his untimely death from cancer," wrote Hagerman-Benton.

Rehbein started with the Ford dealership by purchasing John Szafryk's Vacura Motors dealership along Railroad Street on the east end of Plains in 2008 and called it Country Ford. Rehbein wanted more space and that year had a new building constructed at its present location on the west side of Plains.

"We built a new facility because we needed more room. The building in town was the original site of Vacura Motors since 1924, so an update was needed," said the 1985 Plains High School graduate. They moved to the present site in July 2008, giving it the present name of Rehbein Ford that October.

The new building is around 10,000 square feet, about twice the size of the one in town. "With the larger lot we were able to stock more vehicles and with the larger shop and more lifts we are able to have more in the shop at the same time. We are one of the fewer dealerships that are in a small area like Sanders County," said Rehbein.

"I think it is very important to have business like this in a small town. We have 18 people working here and are a big supporter of the community," he said. Rehbein noted that their vehicles can be found throughout the United States. "We even have a picture of one in China. It's really a good feeling when you're thousands of miles from home and you see one of our stickers on the back of a truck."