Vehicle Dealers and Garages

Some of the first buildings on main street in the 1890s were ones that housed the various incarnations of S. C. Eskeldson’s businesses. Unfortunately, none of them remain.

My dad came to Ramona in 1890, when he was just 16 years old, from Denmark. Dad had to learn to read and write English upon his arrival in the United States. He did have family already living in Ramona—his sister, Kristina, was married to N.P.J “Pete” Sondergard—and so he had a place to stay. Eventually my dad and Pete became business partners. I was the last of the ‘tribe’ of seven kids, so by the time I was an adult, Dad didn’t have much to say, and so I don’t have many details about my father’s business life. But I do remember one thing he said, often: ‘You really don’t know people til you deal money with them.'

Steve Eskeldson (son of S.C. Eskeldson) - From a 2012 conversation with Jessica Gilbert; Eskeldson still lives on the family farm, northeast of Ramona.

Both S.C. Eskeldson and Pete Sondergard came from Denmark, and were brother-in-laws for a time. Sondergard was employed as a blacksmith for the railroad (in Herington) when he first came to this area, and decided to start his own business in Ramona. He asked Eskeldson—a wheelwright—to join him. Eskeldon’s skill was a very valuable one at the time—since replacement parts of farm machinery and wagons were not available, so one had to turn to a “smithy” to forge needed parts.

Soon Eskeldson and Sondergard added a dealership for McCormick-Deering Farm implements, which was very successful, because the population was increasing and the demands for implements was rising right along with it.

Eventually, Mr. Eskeldson built a hardware and implement building, where he continued his business. In 1915 he sold the business to Roy Bird, who later sold it to the Woodrow Wilson family, and finally John Biehler. Around 1922 Clarence Neis operated a restaurant on the first floor of the building, and there was a theater on the second floor. One year it was even used as the gymnasium for the Ramona High School basketball team.

When Pete Sondergard, Eskeldon’s business partner, retired in 1907 from the “smithy” business, he leased his blacksmith shop, and moved to Lost Springs to open a flourmill. Eventually, Otto Kuether purchased Sondergard’s blacksmith shop. The last “smithy” in Ramona was William Weber, who operated his shop from 1937 until his retirement in the 1960s.

Being progressive in his business ventures, S.C. Eskeldson decided to open a Ford dealership in Ramona, and call it the Ramona Garage. This time he partnered with Niels Sondergard—Pete Sondergard’s nephew—who was the mechanic for the garage.

This was a very prosperous business during the hey-day of the motel-T Ford. Many of us can recall when Fords were shipped in by railroad, four to a boxcar. They came unassembled. The chassis were stacked at one end of the railroad car, and the bodies at the other. The fenders and wheels were piled in the middle, at the doorway. Workers removed the fenders and wheels first, then the chassis and then a body, with the fenders piled onto the body. It was then pushed down the ramp and steered down the street to the garage, to be fully assembled and prepared for sale. My dad would buy a car and then sell it to one of the farmers, after teaching him to drive. No driver’s license was needed—just $300-$400 to buy the car.

Dale Sondergard (Pete Sondergard’s son) - Excerpt from A Century of Memories

Competition from the new Model-A Fords and the 1928-29 Chevrolets impacted the Ramona Garage business, so S.C. Eskeldson sold his interest in the business to his partner, Sondergard, who took on new partners—John Dorsch and Jake Schnell.

In 1945 Oren and Lauren “Babe” Daetwiler bought the garage, and ran the business until 1955, when Alfred “Kink” Sondergard (son of Niels Sondergard) took over and operated the garage until 1987. The last owner of the building was Maurice Stroda. By this time, the garage was primarily a gas station and Maurice also operated a repair business. In 2001 a heavy snowstorm caused the roof of the grand old building to collapse, leaving only the back part of the garage, which can still be seen on the east, when you drive down main street.

There were other garages and tractor dealerships through the years. In 1916, J.H. Brubaker built a large red brick building, on the east side of main street, to house a dealership for farm implements, automobiles and Avery tractors. Harvey “Barney” Kleopfer leased part of the building for an automotive repair business—Kleopfer’s Garage and Machine Shop—who was the first professionally-trained mechanic in the area.

I remember as a kid, what excitement there was in town, when the latest implements were showcased by the Tatge brothers. It was like a carnival was in town—there were hot dogs and other foods served, and the streets were filled with curious farmers.
Laurel Ehrhardt (From a conversation with his daughter, Pat Wick, 2006)

The Tatge brothers were very astute businessmen, providing employment for many in the community. They were an asset to Ramona for over 20 years.

New farm implements were difficult to obtain during and after WWII, so the Tatges searched several states for used machines, and hauled them to Ramona. They used the good parts from several machines to make one really good one. They deserve a lot of credit for such foresight and initiative.
Dale Sondergard - (Excerpt from A Century of Memories)

Ed Tatge eventually sold his interest in the implement company, and became an extensive wheat and livestock farmer in Colorado and Kansas. His brother, Harlan, moved the implement business to Herington and sold it, becoming associated with the Welsh Manufacturing Company at Herington. Prior to 1987, they purchased the old Ramona high school building and established a small manufacturing company called Tox-O-Wik Cattle Insecticide Applicator. This business continues to this day in Ramona, and is owned by Warren Gfellar, a businessman from Kansas City.

The last owner of the red brick building, called the Tatge building, was Norma Weber and her son, Jim Weber. The building was a Ramona landmark until 1995, when it was torn down because the structure became unsafe.