Whitmer Shares Story About A&S Industries

Clint Whitmer provided this memory after a fire destroyed the A& S Industries’ warehouse building in Poplar on Feb. 23.

Sid Morris, a manager of A& S came to Poplar to manage the Industry. His brother Ed was also here, managing the Pine Cone, a Chinese restaurant in the old Cenex building on Wolf Point’s main street. There was a large dining room with a small stage above the floor above the bar. The year was 1977, and disco was all the rage. Myself and Bill Elgie asked Ed if we couldn’t install our stereo equipment to put on a disco in the Pine Cone dining room, Ed said OK, so Bill and I set up his four speakers and amp, with two turntables and a small mixer we had gone to Williston for. A disco ball already hung from the ceiling, and we added six light bars with a flash controller. I bought disco music to complement my own current music.

I had been a DJ for teen dances, so I was the DJ. At 9 p.m. on Saturday night, we started the music. The music did not stop until 1:30 a.m. People danced, made requests for their favorite tunes, and left happy with meeting friends and enjoying a night out.

Bill and I went the next day to get our stereo, and Ed said that he had made enough that night to buy a disco system, and handed us the money for it. Bill and I went to Williston and bought a system for the Pine Cone and installed it. I was paid a small sum and a meal to spin the disco tunes.

Ed met a young lady from Poplar, Janen Corne. They had three sons before divorcing. The bartender was Jim Dillon who had degrees in education. It was through his work at the Pine Cone that he met Marty, a young lady who captivated his attention. Jim married Marty and took an education position in Brockton, settling there and having a family of three with retirement from Brockton after many years.

This is the story I wanted to tell about A& S and its influence in the area, not to mention the payroll that allowed Native people to enjoy themselves at the disco.