Farmers & Ranchers: 75 and Strong as Ever

It might seem like the "olden days" to some of you, others it might be a trip down memory lane and as fresh as the smell of homemade buns coming out of the oven.

To employees at Farmers and Ranchers Lumber Company, it is 75 years of providing service and goods to the community. Seventy-five years ago Danny Shores and Gordon Peters acquired the shares and changed the name of Bowdoin Builders to the current Farmers and Ranchers Lumber Company.

When co-owner Cohen Ereaux, was made aware it was the "white diamond" (75th) anniversary of the business, he took the opportunity to gather his employees together in one location for a picture. If you have ever been to the business on Hwy 2 E in Malta, you would chuckle to see what an undertaking that concept is.

Bum it happened. Thursday, employees Mike Haynes, Les Jones, Trey Shores, Della Brookie, Allen Young, and Danny Paul Shores gathered around their friend and boss, Cohen, for a photo. They donned matching or coordinating t-shirts and became part of the history of the business.

The crew was gracious enough to take down the aging pictures showing the early days, and the old phone book showing on the cover the phone number 338. What a collection. Cohen even brought out an artifact, an old nail apron from the "338" days!

History indeed. First of all, none of the current staff was even born; Franklin D. Roosevelt was the president, the average car cost $800, and the first peacetime draft had just occurred. The 1940 Olympics Games were cancelled due to the war, and basketball players were not affected by the draft because their height made them ineligible to serve.

The first social security checks were paid out, a gallon of milk was $.34, while a gallon of gas was $.18, with minimum wage at $.30 an hour, and M&M's were created.

That is a lot of changes, and Farmers and Ranchers saw a lot of changes, too. There were shareholders and there were managers. Through the years many of you were greeted by Dan or Gordon, and some of you may remember Wayne Dean, Jerry Dean, and Tom Bedwell. They have provided satisfactory service that has kept the small town business in business. There are those that will recall Marlene Holman, Paulette Shores, Claude Kielb, and Brenda Nessland assisting the guys and often peering over the crow's nest above the counter.

And one of the friendly, and nubby hands that devoted a good portion of their life to the establishment, was "Johnny the Plumber" who had a smile for everyone. Johnny (Richardson) came aboard out of the service, being a boiler and fitter, and was a master plumber. Today the heating and a/c are handled by Danny Paul, Trey, Allen, and Les; they are the poop problem patrol as well.

Farmers and Ranchers give to the community as well, five of seven on staff are on the Volunteer Fire Department; that means 71% of the staff heads out at the sound of the ringers and alarms. There is a strong possibility this is the oldest continuous business in Malta still opening its doors to offer hometown courtesy and working to keep the town from rolling up some Saturday evening and close for good.

The biggest challenges the business has faced came a few years ago, some of you might recall when "Covid" came in in hurricane fashion and merchandise and goods could not be found, businesses closed their doors, people lost their jobs, and the winds flamed the fires of Hades. This is one business that appreciates hometown support and community investment and interest. They appreciate people standing beside them and being understanding when things are tough, prices raise and drop, inventory and stock are back-ordered, and you work with them to figure things out and make it all work.

There are many others who worked there, it was not our intention to overlook anyone, most of us just have memories that are of that 75 "vintage" age or just tired or worn out. Blame it on saw dust ingestion, or lose glue caps, being old, or not enough morning coffee.

Farmers and Ranchers Lumber Company, Happy 75th Anniversary!