PHOTO: Donnie Speer owns and operates The Big Hole Pizza Company in Wise River, Montana. What started as a creative dream a couple years ago led him to purchasing a retired fire truck with roots in Daviess County — nearly 1,800 miles away.
The fire truck, which still reads “Thruston-Philpot Fire Department,” dates back to 1978.
“Originally, a man bought it from someone at that station (in Daviess County), put a new set of tires on it and drove it out here,” Speer said. “He was going to start a volunteer fire department in his town, but he passed away and the truck just sat in a yard for 15 years rotting out.”
When Speer had the idea of starting a business a couple years ago, he began to look for the perfect opportunity to offer customers a unique place to gather.
“I had built a pizza oven the winter before and was trying to think where to put it,” Speer said.