OGATA to celebrate the Vance Company
Between 2017 and 2022, the number of farms in the U.S. declined by 141,733 or 7%, according to USDA’s 2022 Census of Agriculture. Virginia alone lost 4,230 farms during that same period, placing us fifth among southern states for most farms lost by number. Only Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Kentucky lost more.
While losing farms is an issue, an often-overlooked consequence is the number of agri-businesses lost, not to mention the number of jobs lost to the shuttering of those enterprises.
We have shared before in this column about the loss of dairy and tobacco farms that once dotted our county; new machinery dealerships follow the same path. In the not-so-distant past, Chilhowie alone had three places where you could buy a new tractor. Today, Smyth County has none.
Like farming, the tractor dealer business has changed. While mechanical aptitude is handy, owning a dealership is more about managing borrowed capital and labor. You must be big enough to pay good wages and provide benefits, but not so big that you lose focus on customer service.
One of the dealerships in Chilhowie was owned by the Vance Company. The Vance Company was a powerhouse, operating stores from Pulaski to Bristol. Even in the early 1950s, The Vance Company generated over $1million in sales per year… about $14 million in today’s money. They sold everything from stoves to fertilizer, appliances to plows and nearly everything in-between.
Their tractor dealership employed several men, including my father, David Overbay. He started with the Vance Company during World War II and stayed with them until the dealership closed in 1967.
Because International Harvester Company was heavily involved in the armament business, many of their dealers sat on local draft boards. Dad’s eyesight placed him well down the list of eligible men to serve in the war, but his mechanical savvy did not go un-noticed by Mr. Meek Duncan.
Mr. Duncan offered Dad a job at the dealership in Chilhowie and he began work there in 1943. Over the next two+ decades, there were many changes to farm machinery. Diesel engines and hydraulics replaced gas and distillate motors and exhaust pressure lifts. With each innovation, Dad was sent to Richmond, Chicago, Tipton, Georgia, or other factory locations to learn how to sell and service the new machinery coming out.
By the time I was born in 1963, Dad wore two hats at the dealership as shop foreman and lead salesman. A good many people over the years have shared stories about Dad selling their father or grandfather a tractor or overhauling a letter-series Farmall with the new “Firecrater” pistons to boost their horsepower.
This year, the Old Glade Antique Tractor Association has been asked to set up a display at the Chilhowie Apple Festival Sept. 25-26. The display will be in front of the Berry Truss Shop on Lee Highway across from the Farmers Market. OGATA will be celebrating the Vance Company, complete with dealership memorabilia and tractors sold originally at the Chilhowie dealership.
If you or someone you know has an old tractor purchased at the Vance Company, we’d love to have you display it as part of our tribute. If you have old photos or other connections to the dealership (maybe a family member worked there), we’d love to hear from you.
You can reach out to OGATA at 276-356-5397 or text me at 276-780-9486.
Upcoming Events
Sept. 8--Evergreen SWCD Meeting.
Sept. 8--Smyth Washington Board Meeting.
Sept. 17--SWVA 4-H Tractor Club.
Sept. 22--VQA Sale.
Sept. 24--Smyth Washington Cattlemen Meeting, 4-H Center, Abingdon, 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 25-27--Chilhowie Apple Festival.
Sept. 28--VQA Steer Take Up (tentatively.)
Sept. 30--VQA Heifer Take-Up (tentatively).
Oct. 3--IH Days, Benham, Ky.
Oct. 6--Cattleman Board Meeting
Oct.. 8--OGATA FFA Day.
Oct. 10--Hokie Bugfest, Squires Center, Campus.
Oct. 22--Smyth Washington Cattleman Meeting, 4-H Center, 6:30 p.m.
Nov. 3--VQA Sale.
Nov. 9 & 11--VQA Take-Up.
Nov.16 --Private Pesticide License Recertification, 300 Gordondale Road, Atkins, 6 p.m.
Nov. 18--Private Pesticide License Recertification, Office, 8 a.m.
Dr. Andy Overbay is the agriculture and natural resources extension agent for Smyth County.
