By Paul F. Vang
There' a quiet pride evident when Tom and Mary Jane Heisler talk about their being the first couple to win the Durkee Award, the Montana Tavern Association' highest honor.
Both Tom and Mary Jane, who operate several Great Falls businesses, knew Bob and Marie Durkee well and have a great appreciation for how the Durkees led and shaped the Montana Tavern Association into the strong association that it is.
"There probably have been other couples who should have won it," Tom says modestly, but there' no doubt that Tom and Mary Jane have a long and strong track record of service to their industry trade associations, both jointly and as individuals.
Chatting with this reporter at their newest business venture, Classic 50s, a sports bar and casino next to the burgeoning Marketplace area of Great Falls, the Heislers recalled how they got into the hospitality business in the first place.
Tom, a big, burly guy, tells of graduating from high school in 1961, going on to get a football scholarship at Western Montana College (now UM-Western) in Dillon. After leaving college, he served in the U.S. Army, and then worked construction. Mary Jane, in the meantime had started a career working for D. A. Davidson.
In 1970, they decided to try something different, purchasing a small tavern in the Westgate Shopping Center called "It'll Do." This move raised a few family eyebrows.
"My dad said, "I don't know if he can handle it on the other side of the plank; whether he can handle the business side of things.'" Tom acknowledges, "I did spend a lot of time on this side (customer side) of the bar."
It turned out they could handle the business side of things. They sold It'll Do in 1981 and opened a new bar and casino, Big John', followed a few years later with Bingo Bonanza, a live bingo enterprise across the street from Big John'. In 2001, they opened Classic 50s. In addition they operate a 350 unit mini-storage facility.
"And don't forget our beautiful five star hotel," Mary Jane adds, with a laugh, referring to an older, budget-priced motel across the parking lot from Classic 50s.
"We had to buy the motel to acquire the property for the casino," Mary Jane explains. "We had to take out some old mobile homes and clear out a lot of junk before we could put up our new building. We thought, at the time, that the motel wouldn't survive, but it' actually doing better business than before."
"Some of our guests complain about the noise," Tom said, with a bemused look on his face, wondering out loud, "What did they expect?" Tucked in next to an interstate highway, a retail center, and a bar/casino, a little noise might be expected.
Both Tom and Mary Jane got involved with their tavern associations shortly after acquiring their first bar, back in 1970.
"We've been to 37 MTA conventions," Tom said, with Mary Jane adding, "For many years, that was our vacation."
"We're both past presidents of the Cascade County Tavern Association," Tom says, adding, "Currently, Mary Jane is more active in it than I am."
Tom served the Montana Tavern Association as president for 1997-1999, following that with a term as Board Chairman. Mary Jane is the current Secretary-Treasurer of MTA, and holds a seat on MTA' budget committee, the seat formerly held by previous Durkee honoree, Rose Bulloch.
"I can't say no," Mary Jane confesses. "It' not that I volunteer, but they ask me for advice and pretty soon I'm involved." Mary Jane adds, with pride, "I originated the "No Dinner/Dinner,' a $100 raffle ticket that raises up to $50,000 annually for MTA and MTA charities."
In addition to building businesses, the Heislers have raised two sons and a daughter, all of whom are now grown and involved in the family enterprises.
"We'll sell to them, eventually," Tom said of his eventual retirement plan. They know how the businesses operate, as Mary Jane points out, "They've helped since they were big enough to put beer in a cooler."
In addition to family, the Heisler businesses employ, at any given time, 50 to 60 people. "We're continually looking for employees," Mary Jane comments. "Everybody wants a paycheck, but some don't want to work." While turnover is a problem, she adds, "We've had some employees for 26 years."
Classic 50s is clearly the Heislers' pride and joy, as it combines their business with a deep appreciation for area history and a passion for the classic cars of the 1950s. At one end of the building, in a room that also hosts a leased pizza business, a 1954 Chevrolet Corvette is on display, along with manikins of Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe.
The backbar of the bar area comes from an historic Great Falls downtown bar, the Minneapolis House, which they also operated for a period. The door to the men' room and surrounding wood paneling were originally part of the "Minnie House'" walk-in cooler. The walls display many old signs advertising products of the 50s. "They're all original," Tom points out.
That '54 "Vette, one of some 3,600 made in that second year of Corvette history, and originally owned by a Great Falls resident, is just part of the Heisler car collection. Tom has 1955, 1956 and 1957 Chevies as the centerpiece of his car collection. There' also a '55 Pontiac and a '58 Cadillac.
"Elvis Presley had a '58 Cadillac, you know," Mary Jane adds (and no, I didn't know that).
In all, the Heislers have a total of 30 cars from that era, 15 of which have been meticulously restored, with 15 to go. Tom takes pains to keep his restorations authentic with how the cars were when new. If the car came with a plain AM radio, originally, he doesn't upgrade it to a new stereo system, nor does he retrofit the cars with seat belts.
Mary Jane quoted Bob Gillette, of Missoula' Grizzly Lounge, as saying of Tom' restorations, "They're correct."
The classic car collection is a stabilizing influence in Tom' life. "If I have a day when things aren't going well, I go to the shop and look at my Chevys. It always gives me a lift. It' like looking at beautiful women--only better. They don't talk back."
As an adjunct to the car collection, the Heislers own and have restored a vintage Texaco service station, and they occasionally display some of their cars at the site. A mural illustrating the station and part of the car collection is on display at Classic 50s.
While the Heislers probably don't intend to acquire more old cars and certainly don't intend to sell any, they take an annual trip to the Barrett-Jackson classic car auction in Scottsdale, Ariz. every January.
"We go to see what the prices are doing. We've seen a '57 Chevy hardtop go from $20,000 to $120,000," Tom says.
In addition to Cascade County and Montana Tavern Association responsibilities, the Heislers are active in the Great Falls Chamber of Commerce and are also members of the Montana Chamber of Commerce.
Tom has also been involved with a drive to re-establish a Great Falls Central High School, a Catholic alternative to public high schools.
"It took a major fundraising effort, but we just opened last summer," he says.
While Tom speaks highly of the two Great Falls public high schools, he notes that when people are considering relocating to a new community one of the first things they ask is what kind of educational options are available, and having some alternative is important.
In addition to business and community interests, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer recently appointed Tom Heisler to the Montana Worker' Compensation Board, and Tom had just returned from his first two-day quarterly meeting as a member of that board.
Sports are another of Tom's passions. While he grew up in Great Falls, he was born in Detroit, Mich., and Michigan sports teams, such as the Detroit Lions, Detroit Tigers, and University of Michigan hold Tom' loyalties.
When Tom completed his term as MTA President, MTA gave him, as an appreciation gift, a trip to Detroit along with tickets to a Detroit Lions football game at the old Pontiac Silverdome.
In addition to Michigan teams, the Heislers follow the University of Montana Grizzlies, and one corner of the establishment is set aside for Griz memorabilia.
The Michigan connection can be a sore point, however.
Mary Jane asks, with a mischievous smile, "How many batteries does it take to shock a Wolverine?
"Just one AA--Appalachian State," referring to the major upset that shook up college football earlier this fall.
Tom glowers. "That' not funny."
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, November, 2007, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.