Retrospective: How many of these old Billings and Montana logos do you remember?
We found these logos from Billings-area businesses and sports teams from the 1950s-1980s. Which ones do you remember best?
Big Bear, 1970s

Big Bear was best known as a chain of Montana and North Dakota sporting goods stores, but it started as a military surplus store in downtown Billings. The company began in the late 1950s as Barer's Army-Navy before changing names in the 1960s. The original location, at 2817 Montana Ave., remained in use by Big Bear until the 1980s. Over nearly six decades, Big Bear operated stores at various other Billings locations including 118 N. 29th St., Rimrock Mall, 1327 Main Street and their final location on King Avenue West, which closed in 2018.
Cole's Department Store, 1960s

Coles was a Billings department store that succeeded the Cole-Williams Company founded by Sandy Williams and D.J. Cole. Cole-Williams was destroyed by a fire in the Babcock-Selvidge Building in 1919, leading to the creation of the D.J. Cole Company. Cole died in 1936 in California, but his department store lived on for another 49 years under the management of Clark Simon and Simon's family. Coles, as it became known, closed in 1985.
Kit Kat Cafe, 1950s

Originally opened in 1950 with drive-in service, the Kit Kat Cafe was a Heights landmark for five decades. Neil and Jeanette Baker were the original owners of the Main Street restaurant, which closed in 2001 and was replaced by a Taco Bell.
Taco Hut, 1970s

Taco Hut opened in early 1970 at 327 24th St. W. as a retirement investment for Air Force Lt. Col. Paul Schulz. Taco Hut was closed by the early 1980s, and the former West End Taco Hut location became home to Chalet Market.
Goodies Spud Chips, 1960s

Goodies Spud Chips were a brand of potato chips established by Billings resident W.F. "Goodie" Goodenough in 1920. The company operated a factory on South 29th Street for two years before moving to 516 North 26th St. Goodies also produced popcorn and nuts. Despite an expansion in the 1970s, the chips were gone from supermarket shelves by the beginning of the 1980s. An attempt to revive the brand in the late 1980s fell through.
Li'l Peetzas, 1970s

Established by Bev and Roger Hageman in the mid-1970s, Li'l Peetzas offered a combination of a pizza and a burrito — aptly named the Peetzaritto. The restaurant, at 1016 Grand Ave., closed in 1987, but the Peetzaritto was brought back at two Dairy Queen franchise locations owned by the Hagemans.
Billings Bighorns, 1980s

The Billings Bighorns were a junior ice hockey team that played in Billings from 1977-1982. The team moved to Nanaimo, B.C., and currently competes as the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash. Three-time Stanley Cup champion goalie Andy Moog played for the Bighorns from 1978 to 1980.
Saunders Cash-Way Lumber, 1960s

Founded in 1936, The Saunders Cash Way Lumber Co. operated at 1717 First Ave. N. Their logo in the late 1950s and early 1960s employed the Bill Ding cartoon character, which was licensed to a number of building supply companies of that era. The company was sold in 1980.
Billings Volcanos, 1980s

The Billings Volcanos were a professional basketball team that moved to Billings from Hawaii in 1980 and played in the Continental Basketball Association. The team disbanded in 1983.
Montana Magic, 1980s

The Montana Magic was a Central Hockey League team that played one season in Billings in 1983-1984. The short-lived team was an affiliate of the NHL's Edmonton Oilers and St. Louis Blues. Notable players included former New York Rangers right wing Don Murdoch, 1976 Conn Smythe Trophy winner and former NHL All-Star Reggie Leach and Alain Vigneault, who went on to coach both the Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers to Stanley Cup Finals appearances.
Odegaard's, 1970s

Odegaard's Drug & Hardware was born out of the sales of two businesses: Wes Odegaard's purchase of Bennett Drug in 1953, and the purchase of Stroup's Hardware by Wes's son, John, in 1963. The two businesses joined together in the Evergreen Shopping Center on Grand Avenue in 1965, and that same year the North 29th Street Bennett Drug became a second Odegaard's location. A Heights location operated in the Four Seasons Shopping Center until 1980, when it relocated to Colstrip. The Grand Avenue Odegaard's was sold to Ernst, a Seattle-based hardware chain, in 1987.
Wong Village, 1980s

Opened by Fay and Opal Wong in the 1950s in the former home of Mike's Italian Village in Lockwood, Wong Village served Chinese cuisine as well as steaks and seafood. Wong's, as it was popularly known, remained in business until the 1990s. The former Wong Village location became home to Planet Lockwood.
West Park Plaza, 1980s

Billings' first shopping mall, West Park Plaza opened in 1961. A 1980s renovation project brought a new look to the complex, as well as a redesigned logo. Perhaps more importantly to Billings children was the addition of a padded locomotive play area inside the mall. West Park Plaza underwent a massive remodeling in the 2000s, becoming what is known today as West Park Promenade.
Kwik Way, 1970s

Established in 1964 by Konrad and Charlean Keller, Kwik Way was a Billings-based convenience store chain. There were 11 Kwik Way stores in Billings when the brand became defunct in early 2009. Most of the stores reopened under various brands. The first Kwik Way store location was at 703 Grand Ave.
Hart-Albin Company, 1970s

Founded in 1902, The Boston Store was a department store chain established by R.M. Hart and B.R. Albin. The store changed its name to the Hart-Albin Company, the name under which it was known until its closure in 1990. The company's flagship store began on Montana Avenue, but moved in 1905 to the Stapleton Building on North Broadway, and again to its own Hart-Albin Building further north on Broadway in 1918. By the 1970s, Hart-Albin opened its first out-of-town store in Missoula's Southgate Mall, and opened stores in Helena and Bozeman in the 1980s. At the time of its demise, the company had additional locations in West Park Plaza and Rimrock Mall in Billings.
Buttrey's, 1970s

Buttrey Food & Drug was a Great Falls-based chain of grocery stores founded by Frank Buttrey in the 1890s. The business began as a general goods store in the Park County mining community of Aldridge before expanding into a second store in Flathead County. The business was finally incorporated in the 1900s with Havre as its headquarters. Buttrey's was a well-known Montana institution until its acquisition by Albertsons in 1998.
The Golden Belle, 1960s

The Golden Belle was a restaurant and lounge located in the Northern Hotel in downtown Billings. It opened in 1959, with decor designed to give the feel of the previous iteration of the Northern, which burned in 1940. The Golden Belle and the Northern closed in 2006 amid plans to convert the hotel into condominiums. Those plans fell through, and the hotel eventually reopened with two new restaurants, TEN and Bernie's Diner.
Jailhouse Pizza, 1970s

Located at 1119 Main Street, Jailhouse Pizza served piping hot pies and frosty mugs of beer to patrons in the Billings Heights from 1972 to 1978.
Yellowstone Exhibition, 1980

The Yellowstone Exhibition was the name used for both Yellowstone County's fairgrounds and the annual fair that occurred there, primarily between 1973 and 1980. The fair was formerly called the Midland Empire State Fair and the fairgrounds referred to as the Midland Empire Fairgrounds. Between 1979 and 1987, the fairgrounds were sometimes known as the Metra-Yellowstone Exhibition, incorporating the name of the arena, while the fair was called the Yellowstone Fair-Time Exhibition. The fairgrounds were renamed to MetraPark in January of 1987 and the fair was renamed MontanaFair later that same year.
Butler's Kitchen, 1960s

Howard and Heloise Butler's restaurant had several name variations between its opening in 1959 and its closure in 1991, including Mrs. Butler's Kitchen and Butler's Kitchen and Broasted Chicken Inn. The restaurant started at 506 Grand Ave., near Senior High School, before moving to the corner of 10th Street West and Grand Avenue in 1964.
Video Library, 1980s

Video Library was a Billings-based chain of video rental stores that opened its first location at 2113 Grand Avenue in 1980. The company had 15 Montana stores, and locations in other states, when it was acquired by Movie Gallery in 2003. Movie Gallery closed the last of its stores in 2010.
Montana Power Company, 1960s

Reddy Kilowatt, a cartoon character created in 1926 by Ashton Collins Sr., was licensed by the Montana Power Company for use in its advertising. This 1960s variation had Reddy wearing a hardhat emblazoned with "MP." The character was used by electrical companies around the world for decades.