A wrecker outside the shop, Chevrolet and Shell signs above the doors, and workers lined up beside the service bays: an old Dorsey Chevrolet advertisement gives us a glimpse of the business in Tekoa, Washington. The Tekoa Museum dates the image to 1938. Repair work and roadside service share the scene with vehicle sales.
More than a place to buy a Chevrolet
The advertisement promotes sales, service and a wrecker. Body-and-fender repair and painting appear on the building, too. You can learn quite a bit about the shop simply by reading its signs. The museum supplies the 1938 date; it is not printed on the advertisement, and we have not identified the people pictured. [1]
Another glimpse turns up in an unexpected place: a Union Pacific industry directory issued January 1, 1971. Under Tekoa, it lists Dorsey Chevrolet Co. in the automobile business. The carrier column reads “None,” and the switch-service column reads “Team Track.” It is a useful dated record of the name and town, although it tells us neither how a particular Chevrolet arrived nor whether the dealer had its own railroad siding. [2]
Putting the years together
Walter A. Dorsey’s 1996 obituary says he moved to Tekoa in 1925 and started the dealership that year, operating it until 1970. That gives us a reported beginning, but an original opening announcement would help firm it up. The obituary also does not spell out a legal ownership transfer. [3]
The business’s final years need a little care. A 2018 Whitman County Gazette article says Dorsey stopped selling new cars in 1988. Walter’s obituary places the dealership’s closure in 1990. Those dates describe different events and may both be right; contemporary notices would help establish the sequence. [4] [3]
The part of truck history that stays in town
It is easy to spend all our time on the truck itself: its engine, options, paint and serial number. A dealership story draws attention to the places where vehicles were sold and maintained. Dorsey’s surviving advertisement and directory entry give that setting a name and a little texture.
There are still gaps, including ownership changes, the operating-period street address and individual vehicle transactions. Nothing here ties a particular truck or special-edition package to Dorsey. An original 1975–1977 advertisement would be especially welcome, helping bring the story into the squarebody years.
Sources
- Tekoa Museum: Dorsey Chevrolet Company advertisement, WCL0001_item010, Washington Rural Heritage. Catalog-assigned date: 1938. The retained advertisement and catalog record were reviewed; the historical image is not reproduced here.
- Union Pacific Circular 3210-D, Washington section, printed page 436, Tekoa entry (PDF page 60). The title page gives the January 1, 1971 issue date.
- Walter Dorsey obituary, The Spokesman-Review, March 30, 1996. Retrospective account of the 1925 start, operation through 1970 and 1990 closure.
- Garth Meyer, “Bagott Motors changes hands after 89 years,” Whitman County Gazette, May 24, 2018, “Small-town dealership” section. Retrospective report of the end of new-car sales in 1988.