Then & Now

Blaisdell Ford had a dealership in the Mini Mall location on Main Street for many years. W.M McMurtry bought it and constructed a new building on the south side of the new Highway 14 four lane in 1977 called Kasson Ford. It was merged and moved to Rochester Ford and Bishop and Wachholz then relocated their IH dealership from the building (presently used by the Dodge County Foodshelf) in 1980. In 1998 Minnesota Ag Group, Inc bought the Case IH dealership plus added New Holland Equipment with other lines of equipment and also a new shop addition to the building. Minnesota Ag Group also operates dealerships in Hastings, Northfield, Plainview, and Adams (for parts only). The IH dealership in Kasson is considered the oldest IH dealership in the country starting in 1868 with Brewer Implement which was in the Brewer family for 100 years. Bishop and Wachholz owned it for the next 30 years. The Ford ad and photo from the 1977 DCI newspaper archives and present photo by Wayne Hendrickson.