s a w ‘T
The Night That Rocked
Christmas Eve 2017 b y Sher r y Schaef er
W
hile most of us spent Christmas Eve surrounded by family or
opening gifts, the unimaginable was about to rock the foundation of one family. Ron Harmon, founder of Big Equipment and the face behind Big Bud
On Christmas Eve, Ron was in Missoula, Montana, with his wife, preparing to spend Christmas with his daughters and grandkids. He was standing in a store finishing up shopping for the kids when he got the news. Ron’s son, Tim, was spending the holiday with his mother in Phoenix, Arizona. At the swimming pool with his daughter, he received a text saying, “Big Equipment is on fire!” Initially he thought it was a compliment, but he quickly learned different. Tim called his dad, but he had already heard the news. Both men were miles away from the building that Big Equipment called home and feeling helpless. It was 2:15 pm when Ron got the call, and he quickly made arrangements to head back to Havre. It was 5:00 before he said his goodbyes
and headed down the snow packed road. The trip that normally took 3 ½ hours became 5 hours, and under the circumstances, probably seemed like an eternity. When Ron arrived at the scene to survey the damage, he was met by his insurance agent… on Christmas Eve. They went to Ron’s house to discuss the situation and to go over his policy. After two hours, Ron finally had a sense of relief knowing that he had the coverage needed to survive this devastation. When something like this happens, a multitude of thoughts run through your mind. For Tim, his first concern was the customers’ units that were in the shop. The next was the loss of personal effects in the office and all of the older files that were not backed up on
computer. “Those things just can’t be replaced.” One item of sentimental value to Ron was the first toy model Big Bud HN 250. That toy had somehow survived another devastating fire in the 1970s when Northern Equipment burned. It had been sitting on a metal desk in the office. When the subfloor of the office collapsed, so did everything in it. But somehow, this metal desk dropped straight down and the toy remained on top. Tim said it was surrounded by rubble but sitting there upright beckoning “come and get me.” At first they were going to have it restored, but now they’re considering leaving it just the way it is, to represent the past and the strength of the future at Big Equipment. On Christmas Eve, Keith
Richardson, the engineer/ mastermind behind the legendary 747 and many other projects, was finishing up his Christmas shopping at the mall. “It was about 3:00, and I walked out of the mall and saw big black smoke coming from over the hill. I knew it had to be Big Equipment.” Keith started driving that direction, not realizing the magnitude of the blaze. His first thoughts were, “It’s just a building and tools and that can all be replaced. But then it started to hit me… all the drawings, the toys, the history that is in those buildings.” Fortunately, Keith had scanned some of the blueprints in the past, so
there is a digital copy of some of the Big Bud equipment. There were only six silver anniversary Big Bud toys built, and now there are five. One went to the Williams Brothers, one went to Toy Farmer, and the other three were auctioned off. “Things like that can’t be replaced. There were only six.” There were also the little things that you don’t think about. Inside the building was a keyboard where all the vehicle keys were hung on hooks. Those are all gone. All of the trucks that were sitting in the lot, service trucks, tractors, or otherwise, were now sitting there undamaged but had no keys.
tractors, received a call that no one wants to get - FIRE.
The trip that normally took 3 ½ hours became 5 hours, and under the circumstances, probably seemed like an eternity. 40 MARCH /APRIL ISSUE 056
2018
MARCH /APRIL 2018 ISSUE 056
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