With tears in their eyes and hugs to give, residents of Target Range flooded Dale’s Dairy on Sunday to say thanks and so long to Betty Jo and Dale Johnson.

After 37 years, the dynamic duo are retiring and have sold their neighborhood convenience store and former dairy to a new owner.

On Monday, the transfer of property becomes official.

Overwhelmed but excited, Big Dale and Betty Jo said they are ready for greener pastures.

“We decided we didn’t want to die in the harness,” Dale said. “But what happens next? Lord only knows.”

They will be traveling and  spending more time with their grandchildren, Betty Jo said.

For certain, you won’t find either one at the store, Target Range’s “community center” as described by many of the couple’s well-wishers.

“This is truly an end of an era,” said Kris Crawford. “I used to come to this store as a kid to buy penny candy and fresh cream from Betty Jo, who is the matriarch, the great grandmother of the neighborhood.”

For almost four decades, the store on Clements Road provided more than a neighborhood gas station, grocery store and video rental service. It served as the neighborhood gathering place where news was shared, where friends met up, where children went after school, where people went when they needed help.

Betty Jo was famous for asking how things were going, and famous for getting answers.

When she heard of someone in need, she would seek out someone who could help, said Mona Redfern, a longtime customer and Target Range resident. 

“Betty Jo and Dale have contributed a lot to the community just by giving us a sense of community at the store – and they have helped people out in so many little ways,” Redfern said. “I know when they knew someone was having a hard time feeding themselves, they wouldn’t make them pay for some things, and they let others know, too, that someone need help. They’d pass along information, if someone needed food, needed a job or had a broken washer and dryer.

“Betty Jo was especially great at connecting people.”

While Dale’s cheerful, larger-than-life personality was a beacon to those needing a lift, the mothers of Target Range held a special appreciation for Betty Jo, who also served on the Target Range School Board.

“The kids all come here after school, and when any one of them got caught shoplifting, she held them accountable,” said Sandy Rasmussen.

Betty Jo extracted restitution – usually in the form of a few days of cleanup work around the store and gas station. When the work was satisfactorily completed, the delinquents had learned something working side-by-side with her, and came to know Betty Jo’s compassion and kindness.

“All of the parents love it that she did this, and the kids all respect her,” Kris Crawford chimed in. “It does take a village to raise a child and Betty Jo helps us in and out of school.”

“Betty Jo and Dale will be missed,” Cyd Ferguson said. “They are like family. So many people in this neighborhood see them every day at the store.”

As part of the sales agreement, the couple have sold their home in the transaction, but have leased it for one year.

“It will help with the transition,” Betty Jo said. “And we need the time to get ready for our big auction in the spring.

“After 37 and a half years of living in one place, I’ve got a lot of things accumulated.”

Although the new owner plans to keep the spirit of the neighborhood anchor, there will likely be changes, Dale said.

“They have to make changes, and that’s expected,” he said.

While giving a quick tour of the store, Dale walked through an opening in a storage room, which led to the old dairy where the cows were milked.

Soot still coated some of the concrete walls where the July 3, 1988 fire left its mark when it was started by a disgruntled employee and ripped through the store and barns destroying almost everything.

The store never shut down though, Betty Jo said.

“We operated out of tents in the parking lot until almost Thanksgiving that year,” she said. “We were so happy when we reopened in this building because it was getting really cold out there.”

Among the things that won’t disappear when the Johnsons step into their new life is the store’s famous giant cow dubbed “Big Dale” at the corner of Clements and North.

He’ll stay put, and so will the Johnsons’ appreciation for the community that has provided them for so long and so well.

The sign says it best: “Big Dale says thanks, we love you.”

Reporter Betsy Cohen can be reached at 523-5253 or at bcohen@missoulian.com.