George Hall at Hall Implement in 1987. Contributed / Hall Implement Co.
Windham lost a pillar of our community on May 4 when Hall Implement Company founder George Hall passed away at the age of 85. He was just 23 years old when he and his late wife Sandra opened his John Deere franchise at the Route 302/202 rotary in 1961. Since then, Hall Implement Company has grown from a staff of three people to a team of 17 employees that includes his two sons, Stephen and Donald, and his grandson Derek.
“It’s always been a family business,” Stephen Hall said in a recent interview. “We hope that new family members will take us into a fourth generation of Halls selling John Deere equipment here.”
But at Hall Implement, it’s not just the Halls that are considered family. Their employees are treated well and for some, their job at Hall Implement is the only job they’ve had in their working lifetimes. There is an employee on staff today who has been with the company for 40 years.
The company also has a loyal clientele because George Hall always believed in treating his customers the way he would want to be treated. That philosophy of treating employees and customers with kindness and respect has been the secret to success for his business.
George Hall was a strong believer in the Windham community. Over the years, he showed his support in a number of ways. “He was one of the most generous people I have ever known. He was a major supporter of the Cumberland County Fair, the Windham Historical Society, Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors, the Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce and so many more,” said his friend, Gary Plummer.
For years, this very column, “It Happened in Windham,” was sponsored by Hall Implement Company back when Windham’s Town Historian Kay Soldier was its author. In addition, George Hall sponsored many local sports teams and parades as well as the annual flower planting that decorates Foster’s Corner each year.
If you were a new customer, he was always happy to offer you advice about which piece of equipment would best meet your needs. He’d share his years of knowledge if you had machinery in need of repair. He’d also listen patiently to appeals for donations or a pitch from a young marketing representative seeking his first sale. My husband Andy has always been grateful to Hall for being one of the first people to buy air time from him when he began his career in radio sales close to 40 years ago.
All of his acts of kindness did not go unrewarded. Hall was very moved when he was named the Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year in 1986.
Hall was a strong believer in the products he sold and was very grateful to John Deere for their forward-thinking business philosophy. His son shares his father’s admiration for the John Deere Company. “We’re very fortunate to work with them,” Stephen Hall said. “They’re always coming up with new and innovative products and looking ahead to changing times.”
Spring and fall are the busiest times of year for Hall Implement, and even through COVID, the business was booming.
“All of a sudden, we were getting new customers who discovered that they wanted to start a garden or attempt a farm endeavor,” Stephen Hall recalled.
Just like the seasons, the business has changed. It has grown and flourished. George Hall’s legacy will live on through his sons, grandson and employees who are determined to follow in his formidable footsteps to ensure the company’s continued success.
There will be a Celebration of Life for George Hall on Saturday, May 20, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Hall Implement Co., 1 John Deere Road.
Haley Pal, a Windham resident and active member of the Windham Historical Society, can be contacted at haleypal@aol.com.
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