Business Traditions and Roll of Honor 2018

People browse at Hirshfield’s Paints in Baxter. In addition to paint and stains, the store carries window treatments, wallpaper and offers in-home consultations with an interior designer.

BAXTER

HIRSHFIELD’S BUILDS ON STRENGTHS

By Renee Richardson Brainerd Dispatch Managing Editor

P

aint is one of the most inexpensive ways to create a fresh look, and a Baxter business offers that and more with a familiar name in the home decorating industry.

Hirshfield’s traces its history back to 1894 when Frank Hirshfield opened his first store.

The Minnesota-based company continues to be family owned and is in its fifth generation. Its life in the lakes area has been more recent with Hirshfield’s in Baxter now in its 17th year.

With natural light flooding the Clearwater Road store on a frigid December day, colorful print fabrics offered a break from cold and gray as did racks of paint swatch hues.

Just the names alone may make one

Photos by Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch

Color swatches fill displays at Hirshfield’s Paints in Baxter.

116 Years

www.fnbnorth.com

108 Years

105 Years

800-291-6597

3855 Independence Rd, Baxter Phone: 218-829-5798

want to look into how to get a job naming paints - Sugar Dust, Purple Stiletto, Pleasant Dream, Plum Cake, Big Yellow Bus, Lemon Drizzle.

Hirshfield’s works with residential customers for paint, but a big part of its business comes from professional painters. Paint isn’t the only product at the store. Opposite the paint swatches and bevy of wallpaper options is a custom design area with rows of fabric choices.

An interior designer with Hirshfield’s makes in-home visits so customers can shop at home and see what colors and fabrics fit the look they want to create. The fabrics can be used for window treatments in drapes or valances and even pillows or upholstery.

Other window treatments offer custom-made blinds in a multitude of styles, including alternating lines

of mesh and sold to offer privacy while letting the summer breeze through.

Hirshfield’s first opened by The Light Depot in Baxter in 2001 before outgrowing its space and moving just a short distance to the south in 2012. Jeff Lewis, store manager, said a store remodel is in the works for 2018 to freshen up the retail space and give more display options for all the products. The store employs nine full-time and four part-time staff members.

“We’ve grown considerably,” Lewis said, noting the business’s wholesale business has really grown with the store’s bread and butter coming from professional painters and cabinet makers. They serve more than the Brainerd lakes area

HIRSHFIELD’S: Page 2

76 Years

77 Years

72 Years

better water. pure and simple.

8240 Industrial Park Rd. Baxter, MN

37568 County Road 66, Crosslake Phone: 218-692-3101

Baxter~Pequot Lakes~Crosslake Backus~Hackensack~Longville Remer~Walker~Akeley

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Toll Free: 800-266-6037

70 Years

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62 Years

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43YEARS Years 41

42 1/2 Years

Engineering | Architecture Surveying | Environmental

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40 Years

40 Years

39 Years

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218-829-5117 WidsethSmithNolting.com

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BAXTER LIONS

34 Years

34 Years

38 Years

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HEALTHCARE

n

COMMERCIAL

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45 Years

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7669 College Road Baxter, Minnesota 56425-2688

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Serving the entire Brainerd Lakes Area

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Since 1952

MN LIC# BC001969

32 Years

32 Years THE

COVER

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2 Thursday, January 11, 2018, Friday, January 12, 2018

Business Traditions

www.brainerddispatch.com, www.pineandlakes.com

PINE RIVER

GROCER PROVIDES OVER 40 YEARS OF SERVICE THANKS TO STRATEGY

28 Years

27 Years

25 Years

“It’s kind of fun to watch every year - the new color trends,” Lewis said. Twenty years ago, it was all off-white and beige. Then came the era of the up-north cabin look and the popularity of hunter green and a dark red. Then came gray tones with a pop of color.

Accent walls with a different color in one room were a past trend, but Lewis said while it’s coming back a little the new trend is to have each room in one color, but multiple colors in one home.

Beyond the color options, technology advancements create paints low in volatile organic compounds or solvents that are released as paint dries.

Lewis, who admittedly isn’t a fan of painting himself but likes the end result, is a fan of the dramatic red tones.

“People don’t realize how neutral a color red is,” he said. “It really works with a lot of things.”

A dramatic red named Caliente, Spanish for “hot,” is on the Benjamin Moore color trends for 2018. Hirshfield’s Paints color of the year is Plume Grass, a subtle green

Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch

Store manager Jeff Lewis gets a can of paint ready for a customer at Hirshfield’s Paints in Baxter. shade aimed at capturing the “wild grasses in a summer breeze” for a modern neutral with a timeless feel, the company reports.

A line of Eco-Chic colors plays on outdoor hues.

Other trends listed for 2018 include a soft, pale pink, which is matched with an off-white and light tan, called Soft Leather, or a deeper brown. Another brown carries the name of Saddle Soap. Other colors on the

13 Years

20 Years

19 Years

Dr. David Anderholm 7115 Forthun RdSuite 105 Baxter, MN 56425

15229 Edgewood Drive #130 Baxter, MN 56425 phone: (218) 829-1524 email: cpa@jbamn.com www.jbamn.com

218.454.0090

12 YEARS

Footwear for Everyday People Also Custom Orthotics 6967 Lake Forest Road Baxter, MN 56425

218-822-5634

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7790 Hastings Road Baxter, MN 56425

Practicing in the Brainerd Lakes area for 30 years.

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21 Years

7837 Excelsior Road Baxter 218-822-3026 www.thefeetpeople.com

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www.ridelifecycle.com

624 Washington St, Brainerd, MN 56401 218-297-0130

frandsenbank.com Member FDIC

14221 Golf Course Drive, Suite 200 Baxter, MN 56425

15240 Dellwood Dr. 218-833-1400 www.applebees.com

218.824.6119 www.goldleafpartners.com

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8 Years

• Remote Starters • Heated Seats • Marine & Car Audio • Boat & Vehicle Detailing

Your precious moments stored in old formats are never sent away for processing.

info@lakesaudio.com www.lakesaudio.com

Baxter 218.855.1320 Crosslake 218.692.2455 Nisswa 218.963.3316

15 14Years years

16 Years

17 Years

11 Years

218-829-5529

Nisswa Square Nisswa, MN Open mid-April to mid-Oct. (218) 963-0699 Call for hours–varies in season

7 Years

6 Years

Owner/Operator

14643 Edgewood Dr. Baxter

7208 Fairview Road Baxter

jgp18ped@gmail.com

www.pizzaranch.com

(Copyright Free Materials Only)

Jennifer Pedersen 218-330-0990

218-454-3290

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7734 Excelsior Road North, Baxter Lakesareaeyecare.com

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7789 Hastings Road Baxter, MN 56425

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Dr. Kristel Schamber Dr. Brooke Fenstad Greg Olson, Optician Ellen Kraling, Optometric Assistant

30 Years

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(Next to Kentucky Fried Chicken)

21 Years

30 Years

14843 Edgewood Dr N Baxter, MN (218) 829-8542 Hours M-F 9-6; Sat 9-5

14466 Dellwood Dr. Baxter, MN

Baxter, MN 828-4601

Renee Richardson, Brainerd Dispatch managing editor, may be reached at 218-855-5852 or renee.richardson@ brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ DispatchBizBuzz.

22 Years

Better fresh.

Better valu.

Better than ever!

OPEN 24 HOURS 7 DAYS A WEEK

trend palette include a variety of reds from wine to cranberry, grays, olive, soft greens and slate blues or silver.

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From Page 1

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Color trends for 2018

and, for example, deliver products twice a week to Park Rapids.

Lewis said Hirshfield’s is known through the area for its skill in matching paint and particularly matching stain, even as it has aged over the years in homes or businesses.

Lewis has been in the industry for 40 years. He’s watched trends come and go and come back again.

Lewis said wallpaper is increasing in popularity again, particularly in the metro area and as trends go should be seeing an uptick here. It is one of the areas with pressure from online sales cutting into the market. The coming store remodel will help Hirshfield’s showcase its wallpaper offerings.

“I definitely think there is a place for it,” Lewis said.

What sets Hirshfield’s apart from its competition? Lewis said beyond being the go-to for stain matches, the store has one of the largest paint selections in the area with Benjamin Moore, Hirshfield’s own and a new line called Magnolia Home by Joanna Gains.

Lewis said they strive to create a relationship with their customers, some of whom have been with them for decades.

Customer service is a focal point, Lewis said.

“We do the best we can to try to go above and beyond and I think that’s contributed to our success,” he said, adding they have great people in employees and in customers.

After the Great Recession cut into the construction industry in general and all ancillary business as well, Lewis said last year was a great year for Hirshfield’s.

“I see the economy is doing well,” he said, noting people are again building affordable spec homes, or homes without an upfront buyer but in speculation of attracting one, something not seen in the area for six or seven years. “I continue to see growth in our area.”

In 2016, Lewis said there was some growth and a lot of building in 2017 with contractors coming back from their forays to North Dakota to find work during the oil boom, which created a shortage of skilled professions here - in electricians, painters and carpenters.

HIRSHFIELD’S

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A

ugust 2017 marked the 40-year anniversary of Pine River’s iconic Family Market grocery store, at least in its current location.

The building on Highway 371 was completed and in operation in August 1977, but in truth, the business’s history goes back to 1968 with a two- to three-aisle IGA grocery store located in the current Hidden Jewels location on Barclay Avenue. It was there that Howard Blanchard, who manages the Family Market’s meat counter, got his start as a student in ninth grade.

“In 1973, I was running around uptown on Main Street for the homecoming parade,” Blanchard said. “For some reason we ended up in the grocery store that was on Main Street near the bakery. They asked if I wanted a job. I went to work that afternoon and didn’t go back to school that day. That’s how I landed up there. I got hired basically to make Wonder Roast rotisserie chicken. It was new and on the scene. I got hired to make those.”

Blanchard was hired by the first proprietor, John Bueckers,

It wasn’t long before the business grew too large for its first location. Across the road was a Red Owl Store, so Bueckers released their IGA franchise and bought the Red Owl from Derrick and Marvel Goddard in 1972. Iron Hills North is now in that location.

“With the Red Owl we over doubled that size,” Blanchard said.

The new site included more cold storage, including opening a full meat department, where Blanchard continued to work. In 1977, the store again outgrew its building. On top of that, the store was no longer along the city’s main thoroughfare.

Bueckers’ son, John Bueckers Jr. (now store manager), was 5 at the time.

“When the highway was moved out to here and traffic patterns changed, I know when he initially moved to the highway it was considered a risk,” Bueckers Jr. said. “The Travis Grimler / Echo Journal community thought it wasn’t Strategic development and growth kept Pine River’s grocery store running over 40 years in spite of several going to make it because businesses were downtown. It relocations and ownership changes. was the best move to be made in the long run. It was the best who had purchased the business Snowmobiles” book. Bueckers that was their background. for the business.” with his wife, Marilyn, from and his father, Phil Bueckers, “He was a meat cutter from The 1977 location is the same Ken and Doris Schuster, worked primarily out of the Pequot Lakes when he moved PINE RIVER: Page 3 according to the “Logsleds to small meat counter, because here,” Blanchard said.

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By Travis Grimler Echo Journal Staff Writer

Business Traditions

www.brainerddispatch.com, www.pineandlakes.com

Thursday, January 11, 2018, Friday January 12, 2018 3

Submitted Photo

Store promotions, including costumes, were once one trick used by the Bueckers family to hook its customers.

The 1977 location is the same building to house today’s Family Market, but Bueckers Sr. chose to turn the store into a SuperValu when he relocated to the highway, to the site of an abandoned gas station.

Bueckers Jr. said SuperValu was a more viable company at the time, and the change likely contributed to the store’s survival in the long run.

The new building doubled in size yet again, making space for a bigger meat counter, more space for produce, more coolers and many other new features.

The new store wasn’t finished. It went through several more updates before becoming the shape it is today. In 1992, a $200,000 upgrade resulted in construction of a combined bakery and deli. The store didn’t start selling gasoline until 1997, when the pumps and service counter were added.

“I left for seven years and came back in 1997, when he did the expansion

to this side. The front entrance used to be where the gas counter is,” Bueckers Jr. said. “In 1997, he added the gas to the store and changed the front of the store and expanded the business.”

“He flip-flopped the store,” said Karen Wales, who has worked with the store since October 1977.

“We didn’t close a day during the whole thing.

There were big sheets hung up so they could cut a trench across the whole length of the store with jackhammers. We had them going all day long.”

Four years later, after several successful strategic changes that kept the business growing, Bueckers Sr. decided to get out of the grocery business. He sold the store to Jerry Sauvageau, who changed the name from Bueckers SuperValu to Jerry’s SuperValu.

Sauvageau proved to be as strategic as the former owner.

“I think he was around for about 10 years,” Blanchard said.

“During that time it was continuous, steady growth. Each year went by and we either kept up or moved ahead.”

Though the store had seen almost constant growth, it had faced constant competition from discount retailers in Brainerd and Baxter, as well as Carl’s Market on Barclay Avenue. Carl’s was started by John and Zella Kater in 1926 as Kater’s Market. It became Carl’s in 1944, when Carl Nies purchased it. In 1972, when Bueckers Sr. gave up his IGA franchise, Carl’s became an IGA affiliate.

The store was the nearest competition for 10 miles.

“The town can’t support two grocery stores,” Bueckers Jr. said, talking about a buyout and merger. “The previous owner approached them.

They were willing to do that.”

82 Years

82 Years

79 Years

218-587-2585

JANZEN AUCTIONEERS

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www.chistgabriels.com

PO Box 70 Crosslake, MN 56442 800-992-8220

43 Years

44 Years Serving the lakes area since 1974.

Shopping Us Last Since 1975

Club open Tuesday thru Sunday

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48 Years

A Senior Living Community with Spirit & Compassion

CLOW STAMPING COMPANY

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42 Years

43 Years

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54 Years

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- UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP -

43 Years HACKENSACK LIONS CLUB

“Where everyone meets to have a good time”

www.legionpost202.com Downtown Hackensack

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GARDINER’S HARDWARE HANK

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100 Years

127 Years

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Gardiner’s

PINE RIVER: Page 4

Submitted Photo

The Family Market, once Bueckers Red Owl, has had additions and ownership changes over the years, but the grocer has mostly remained the same since opening in this location 30 years ago.

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From Page 2

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PINE RIVER

Submitted Photo

The Beuckers Red Owl, now Family Market in Pine River, relocated to its current location in 1977.

35 Years

Your Complete Fence Contractor

“We Serve”

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33 Years

26 26 YEARS YEARS

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22 Years

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Light of the Cross Lutheran Church

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13 Years

12 Years

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A

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12 Years

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4 Years

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PINE RIVER

BAKERY

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20 Years

On 371 & the Paul Bunyan Trail a mile south of the light in Pine River

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20 Years

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Hackensack

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DEERWOOD & CROSBY DEERWOOD CROSBY DEERWOOD &&CROSBY

Hwy 371

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& SERVICES

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26 Years

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Christenson Agency

INSURANCE PRODUCTS INSURANCE PRODUCTS INSURANCE PRODUCTS & SERVICES SERVICES &

Barnum’s Auto Parts

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218-587-4038

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John & Julie Sigafus Welcome You. VOTED SWEETEST BAKERY IN MN 2017

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RAYMOND SCHRUPP

3003 36th St. S.W., Pine River

26 YEARS Christenson Agency Christenson Agency

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DESIGNED, BUILT & INSTALLED

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27 Years

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STATE CERTIFIED–BONDED–INSURED

Established 1976

we’re for you! you! we’re working working for

WURDEMAN CABINET CO.

HIGH GRADE WOOD PRODUCTS

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35 Years

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35 Years

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Business Traditions

4 Thursday, January 11, 2018, Friday, January 12, 2018

www.brainerddispatch.com, www.pineandlakes.com

CROSSLAKE

Al’s Marine is family tradition for more than 40 years

147 Years

145 Years

St. Francis Catholic Church 9th and Juniper

218-822-4040

for growth and change.

To that effect, there are updates on the horizon.

“We need to upgrade some of our infrastructure,” Welte said. “Some of our coolers and freezers.

Our dairy cooler is an open one right now, but if we can move to one with everything behind the doors, our cheeses, cottage cheeses, cultured stuff and butter, if we can get that behind doors it will help product life, temperature maintenance and reduce electricity and carbon footprint. It

would be better for the environment, better for the store and products.

We’d be able to fit more product in.”

The store may also get a remodel designed by SpartanNash, though that may be further down the line. Over all, the grocery store has survived over 40 years through successful strategy, and the Weltes intend to stay around the same way.

136 Years

134 Years

136 Years

117 Years

115 Years

Brainerd Elks Lodge #615

Brainerd 001520224r1

101 Years 1/5/16

109 Years

109 Years

Eagles Aerie #287

“Community involvement — people helping people”

218-829-4216

124 Front Street, Brainerd

The Parker Building Downtown Brainerd

817 Juniper St.

96 Years

96 Years

10:00 AM

218-829-6680

218-829-2344

95 Years

73 Years

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www.shipmanauto.com

Beth & Curt Watson 509 Washington St Brainerd

218-829-2496

70 Years

72 Years

309 NW 3rd Street

www.kummetlarsonbluth.com 001668250r1

Restaurant

711 Washington Street Brainerd, MN 56401

218-829-9297

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(218) 829-3585

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Brainerd, MN 56401

302 5th Avenue NE Suite 4 Brainerd, MN 56401 chuck@brainerdglass.net www.brainerdglass.net

www.clcmn.edu

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Brainerd Campus 501 West College Drive, Brainerd (218) 855-8000 or 800-933-0346 Staples Campus 1830 Airport Road, Staples (218) 894-5100 or 800-247-6836

“Serving our members since 1940”

68 Years

829-0946

218-829-9065

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Sales & Service

Since 1940 830 Brook Street • Brainerd, MN

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www.pikeplumbingandheating.com

62

64 Years

S.T. Monda, O.D. S.S. Parrish, O.D. J.J. Hanske, O.D. Dr. A.M. Archibald-Swanson 506 Laurel St., Brainerd

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Westgate Mall Brainerd/Baxter

Fashions & Footwear for Young Men & Women www.brekkens.com

(218) 828-7610

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1711 Southeast 13 St. Brainerd, MN 56401 th

78 Years

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AUTO PARTS

Don’t Be A Heel, Save Your Soles!

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SHIPMAN

Lighting the lives of 37,000 members Since 1937

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78 Years

80 Years

81 Years

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81 Years

1922

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83 Years

301 N.W. 6TH ST. BRAINERD, MN

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218-829-3918 www.erniesongull.com

Phone 829-9674

218-829-4779

YOUR HOMETOWN DEALER SINCE

10424 Squaw Point Road Brainerd

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Logo 1.6875x2 126 Years.indd 1

2000 13TH STREET S.E., BRAINERD, MN 56401 crowwingcountyfair.com

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215 South 9th St. • (218)829-2643 BrainerdElks.org • email info@brainerdelks.org

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Travis Grimler, Echo Journal staff writer, may be reached at 218-8555853 or travis.grimler@pineandlakes. com. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@ PEJ_Travis.

2018 Fair Dates: July 31 - August 4

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AL’S MARINE: Page 5

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constant investment choices to keep the business afloat while other marine dealers were going under. Managing inventory was one key to success.

“I was always very conservative,” Flemmer said. “In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s interest was up

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costumes. Under the Weltes, the business has expanded to outdoor promotions that include huge meat sales, produce sales, ribfest and free lunch promotions.

Surviving in the grocery world is all about strategy and facing the competition.

“The biggest challenge is competition,” Blanchard said. “Pine River has changed drastically. Brainerd has changed drastically.”

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“Judy stayed here and kept things going pumping gas and whatnot,” Al said.

“We picked up a few used snowmobiles, worked on them and resold them. In 1980, we got the Yamaha line. In those years it was really good but we haven’t had snow in years. The snowmobile business has really gone to pot now.”

Al and Judy made

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you are done.”

Wales and Blanchard say a lot has changed in the store. Bueckers Sr. was old school, but laid back.

Sauvageau was also laid back, but driven toward growth. Welte, they say, has been bringing the store into current technology.

In addition, promotions have changed over the years. The first owners held many different in-store promotions, including many that required employees to dress like cowboys, train engineers or in other

Flemmer said. “They said most businesses fail in the first three years.”

The Flemmers did what they needed to keep afloat.

Al took a full-time job in Brainerd during the first winter and Judy kept the doors open while he was gone. They found additional income sources for the business before long.

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129 Years

which is more convenient for customers, but has its drawbacks.

“You used to know the price of everything in the store,” Wales said. “You had to know the ad front to back. You just studied the ads. Back then my memory was better and you just learned it. We started out with one of the old crank tills. When the electricity went out you could crank it and still keep going. Then we had to figure out the change.

Now they brought in ones that tell you the change and if the power goes out

Travis Grimler / Echo Journal

Al Flemmer (center) gave ownership of his business - Al\’s Marine - to his children, Mike Flemmer (left), Kim Perkins and Joe Flemmer (not pictured).

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Jerry’s incorporated nearly all of the Carl’s employees following the buyout, and Jerry’s became Pine River’s only full-service grocery store.

There was a new change in store in 2012, when Chuck Welte and his wife, Lynn Welte (formerly Bueckers), decided to find a home in Minnesota. When they heard that Sauvageau was considering selling the grocery store, they decided to get the store back into the Bueckers family.

They renamed the company Family Market, and became a SpartanNash-affiliated grocer. The Weltes have owned the store ever since, and Chuck, who once worked in computer networking, has been upgrading the store’s technology ever since,

they buy Dean’s Marine.

There was a living space attached to the shop big enough for the Flemmers’ family of five.

They took a risk and sold their house to make the down payment. The first few days were anything but successful.

The shop sold Stihl chainsaws and offered small engine repair services in addition to its marine servicing. Even with these winter-friendly services, Crosslake was still a mostly summer community, and with the seasonal visitors gone, so were most customers.

“I was hoping I’d make the first three years,”

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From Page 3

the paper and couldn’t figure out what to do,” Flemmer said. “We looked at a couple places. I didn’t want a bait shop. I didn’t want to be up at 4 in the morning counting minnows. I didn’t want a bar, a grocery store or anything like that. I didn’t have a lot of money anyway. We didn’t have any money except for the equity on our house.”

The first business Flemmer and his wife, Judy, looked at was Emily Marine, but it wasn’t quite what they were after. It was not on the lake and there was no house on the property. A real estate agent and friend suggested

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PINE RIVER

Nancy Vogt / Echo Journal

Al’s Marine has been a Crosslake business for more than 40 years.

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t’s been over 40 years since the opening of Al’s Marine, a business in Crosslake that came by its success honestly.

It was just after Labor Day 1975 and Al Flemmer was second-guessing himself, wondering if he had made a mistake while looking out the window of a building with his name on it.

“I sat out in the old little shop and every 10 minutes a car drove by,” Flemmer said. “I wondered what I got myself into. Everyone kind of warned me we were in business until Labor Day.” Flemmer had never been a business owner, but he knew what he wanted from life, and he knew what he didn’t want. He didn’t want to continue to work at Transistor Electronics Corporation in Eden Prairie, or one of the other jobs he had held before moving north. What he did want was his own business somewhere near the family cabin outside of Crosslake and something to do with the water.

“We started looking in

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I

By Travis Grimler Echo Journal Staff Writer

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AL’S MARINE From Page 4

The old Al’s Marine building, showroom, house and all was small expanded facility, constructed in 2006. snowmobiles in the space they remembers an old, broken used as a showroom. The rest chainsaw his father gave him. of the products they sold were “I don’t know how many displayed alongside the road out times I tore it apart and put front. The one-stall shop was it back together, just as a kid too small to close the garage because it was just monkey-see doors while working on boats. monkey-do,” Mike said. “I tore it apart and put it back together. During the winter, Al wore gloves because it got so cold.

It never did run.”

With acquisition of new Expansion opportunities properties, they had the space popped up from time to time to construct a building over four after Al’s Marine had a stable times the size of their first shop. customer base. Al bought the That’s what they did. property next door, which was “It was unbelievable,” Mike previously Zorbaz and Pizza said.

“It2012was so nice to back a House. He also bought2012Crosslake VOLKSWAGEN VOLKSWAGEN SE boat into PASSAT a stall and walk away Mini Storage next door.PASSAT SE from it$if we wanted.”

Al was building the$business 14,995 15,895 The new building had a large not just for himself, but for his showroom, offices and several family. His children took over stalls for mechanical work. They ownership in 2006. even had They had come “It’s been a good living,” Al 2013 VOLKSWAGEN 2012 storage.

VOLKSWAGEN JETTA DSG TDI JETTA SE a long way since 1975. said. “I got all my family here. $ own it “The$only bad part is we wish They all work here and 15,995 15,495 we had done it earlier,” Mike now.”

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It was around this samewww.autoimportvw.com They each found their niche. time that the business outgrew Joe is in charge of the building, its space. The building was grounds and logistics. Mike is basically a small garage with the service manager. living space attached. There “For me it felt natural,” Mike was only room for one or two

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maintain ourselves and keep ourselves going because we didn’t have a ton of inventory or stuff we were paying on that wasn’t selling because of the times,” Kim said. “With each year now we’ve added to that a little and are getting back into it more so we can fill our showroom and have things to show and sell. Last summer we had good sales. The thing about summer, there’s always open water.”

Al said he never imagined the business growing like it has.

“Every day they make me proud,” he said.

Al’s children give him credit Travis Grimler / Echo Journal for the years it took to build the enough to fit in the corner of the company.

“They handed us a very beautiful business,” Kim said. said. “I didn’t know anything “They had it going in the else.” right direction. We just helped Like his father, Mike worked it keep going. It had a great other jobs like construction and foundation.” electrical work, and he knew that The building is as large as wasn’t for him. they can make it, but they “Working in those other fields still make improvements as they can, including paving the I had a boss,” Mike said. “Here, parking areas and other simple I had a boss but he gave me additions. The service shop is pretty free rein. I made my own over booked usually two weeks decisions on things. It felt like and sometimes four weeks out.

I was my own boss and made Even winters are good, now that myself go where I wanted.”

Though at one time she wasn’t the town has more year-round really interested in the business, residents.

Though his children now own Kim found her stride as office the business, Al still has an manager. office and helps with phone calls “I take care of the bookwork, and sales from time to time. which I had no training for,” Things have changed since that Kim said. “I’m still learning. first day in ‘75 when Al watched Then we keep the front orderly the almost empty highway for and make it so people can find stuff. We are very hands-on. We signs of a paying customer and wondered if he made a mistake. all do something here all the “This is wonderful,” Al said. time.”

“We’ve never had it so good, Al didn’t just pass along especially now when I don’t have the business. He passed along to work.” successful management Travis Grimler, Echo Journal staff writer, may strategies. be reached at 218-855-5853 or travis.grimler@ “When the economy in ‘08 pineandlakes.com. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@PEJ_Travis. was not good, we were able to

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above 20 percent and a lot of big marine dealers went belly up just on interest. Thank God I didn’t have a lot of inventory.”

As the years went by, if they had money to invest and noticed it was a particularly good year for pontoons, docks, snowmobiles or other products, they would stock a small amount of inventory rather than go for broke. When demand called for more snowmobiles and fewer pontoons, they made that adjustment, but they never overspent. In addition, Flemmer preferred to keep only one brand of product and only as much as they needed.

“I’m not one to switch around a lot,” he said. “If I have a product I think is good, I stick with it. I don’t have two or three of the same stuff, because I have a hard time saying one is better than the other. They always ask which one you would buy.”

It also helps that they jumped into the local social circles. Judy joined bowling and pool leagues; Al joined pool leagues and trap shooting.

“Things weren’t rosy,” Al said.

“They were good and we were happy, but we weren’t getting rich.”

Their children, Kim (Perkins), Mike and Joe were also regular fixtures in the business. Kim said she didn’t have much of an interest in the business, but Mike always knew he wanted to be part of it.

“He was moving boats around at 8 or 9 years old with our Jeep,” Al said.

Mike remembers following his father around, trying to do everything he did. He even

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SAME STAFF, DIFFERENT DEMANDS Balesis marks 40 years as Bertha Boatworks owner

B

By Theresa Bourke Echo Journal Staff Writer

efore buying Bertha Boatworks in 1977, Art Balesis was not looking to get into the boating industry. But thanks to the suggestion of a friend - David Nielsen - that’s exactly where Balesis found himself.

“David Nielsen had a place on the Whitefish Chain. He knew this place was coming up for sale,” Balesis said of Bertha Boatworks. “I didn’t even know where Pequot Lakes was because I came from the Cities. And that’s kind of what happened - by being in the right place.”

Balesis and Nielsen, along with friend Steven Earl, bought the business in 1977. Fast forward about 20 years, and Balesis had bought out his partners and owned Bertha Boatworks by himself. Forty years after the purchase, the marina - located on Bertha Lake in Pequot Lakes - is a full-service boat marina and boat dealership on the Whitefish Chain of Lakes.

“We sell product, we service product, we store product, we rent product,” Balesis said.

“So anything related to lake activity, we try to cover.”

The marina draws customers from all over, and Balesis attributes a portion of the business’s success to his stellar group of employees.

“I’m blessed with people that love what they’re doing.

We consider ourselves a family,” he said. “I trust them; I respect them. They’re intelligent, knowledgeable.

They’re oriented toward their customer service to the 10th degree. And again, I count my blessings to have such a great group of people that’s made us successful.”

Two of those “great” employees are General Manager Jeremiah Mick and Sales Manager Jonny Wallin, both of whom started as boat detailers in the 1990s.

Much like Balesis, the boating industry wasn’t in their original plans.

Mick said he was initially just looking for something to do after high school.

“I actually liked motorcycles more than anything. That’s kind of my passion,” he said.

“But I just kind of fell into the boat situation, and it’s evolved from here.”

Starting as a detailer and dock worker in 1993, Mick worked his way up to general manager in 2000. He describes his job duties now as a little bit of everything.

“One moment I can be selling a 4-cent washer to somebody, and the next minutes I’m talking to somebody about a $50,000 boat,” Mick said. “Whatever the customer needs.”

Wallin - who started as a detailer in 1999 - fell into the job in much the same way.

While working in a grocery

Submitted Photo

As a full-service marina, Bertha Boatworks sells, rents, stores and services watercrafts. Art Balesis has owned the business since 1977. story, he realized he wanted something different where he could work outside. Then a friend recommended Bertha Boatworks.

“I walked in, and they said, ‘When can you start?’ And I said, ‘Whenever you need me.’

And they said, ‘You’re starting right now. Here’s the time clock, go follow that person,’” he said.

Now as sales manager, Wallin also does a little bit of everything because he has held so many different positions within the business.

“I still pretty much do everything I used to do, just with a different title,” he said.

But sometimes he doesn’t even think of his duties as work.

BERTHA: Page 7

Theresa Bourke / Echo Journal

Jonny Wallin (right), sales manager at Bertha Boatworks, teaches a boating class called Women at the Helm. Bertha Boatworks teams up with the Whitefish Chain Yacht Club to offer this class geared toward women boaters every summer.

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Thursday, January 11, 2018, Friday January 12, 2018 7

Lundrigans Clothing celebrates 80 years in Walker Stores also grace downtown Nisswa and Crosslake

“It’s more of a hobby that I get paid to do,” Wallin said.

“Not everybody gets to enjoy going to work every day.”

Along with enjoying his job, Wallin agrees with Balesis that the employees make Bertha Boatworks what it is.

“We all just mesh really well. We even still hang out after hours,” Wallin said.

“Usually if you spend that much time with somebody you don’t want to be with them anymore. Our personalities all work really well together.”

Being able to work together helps Bertha Boatworks maintain its image as a “small-town shop” in Wallin’s eyes.

“We still go to the Minneapolis Boat Show,” he said, “but we’re not going there to wind up pushing as many boats as we possibly can. We’re

Submitted Photo

Bertha Boatworks - on Bertha Lake - is one of the only full-service marinas and boat dealerships on the Whitefish Chain of Lakes. broken down,” he said. “It was right at the beginning of the weekend, and the guys got him up and running Saturday mid-morning, and he boated all weekend.”

Saving those vacations and getting people out on the water is especially important for this line of work, Balesis said.

“We don’t say we’re in the boat business; we say

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To keep up with demands and ensure customers can relax exactly how they want, the crew at Bertha Boatworks has had to adapt to changing needs in the industry. One of

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LICENSED AND INSURED

OPEN AT NOON DAILY

218-568-8241

33 Years

33 Years

218-568-4040

401 S. 8th Street, Brainerd

218-829-2891

www.bldr.com

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218-568-8353

218-568-8664

4285 W Lake St, Pequot Lakes, MN

35062 County Road 39 Pequot Lakes, MN 56472

98 Years

VFW NORTHERN POST 3839

Pet Boarding

IdealBoardingKennels.com WE KEEP TAILS WAGGING

those big changes is pontoon boats.

“We started off back in the early days with a different company in the pontoon market, where it was average to have a 25- to 50-horsepower motor on a 20-foot pontoon boat,” Balesis said.

“Now the average is a 25- to 27-foot pontoon boat with three pontoons underneath. It’s called a tritoon with a

44 Years

46 Years

IDEAL KENNELS

HWY. 371 & CR 16 Pequot Lakes

high horsepower “It just goes hand in hand with the size motor. An average of the boat,” Mick motor is now 250 said, as the average horse.” size of boats people Mick said 20 years want has increased. ago pontoon buyers Keeping up with just wanted the craft changing demands as a way to move has not been much of a large number of an issue for Balesis, people. But now, many customers want thanks to one simple principle. a pontoon as their “Just listen and primary boat. be receptive to your An increased customers and the popularity in public,” he said. wakeboarding is “They’ll tell you another change Mick what they’re asking has seen during for. And if you’re his 24 years in the receptive, you make industry. the changes that are “When I necessary.” first started, Theresa Bourke, Echo Journal wakeboarding wasn’t staff writer, may be reached a big thing,” he said. at 218-855-5880 or theresa. bourke@pineandlakes.com.

“It was actually just a Follow her on Facebook and on very infant stage.”

Twitter at @PAL_Theresa.

He said wakeboards back then looked more like giant surfboards before evolving into what they are today.

Intertubes that boaters pull behind 9252 Breezy Point Dr. their watercrafts Breezy Point, MN 56472 have also changed 800-432-3777 and become much www.breezypointresort.com bigger over the years.

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From Page 6

just trying to be the more personable, more family-oriented marina.”

That dedication toward customers and their families is what Mick enjoys most about his job, specifically “saving” a family’s vacation, he said.

“Somebody walks in, and they look like a deer in the headlights. Their face is just pale. It’s a beautiful day out, and they’re broken down and they’re on vacation. And we get them up and running,” he said.

“I’ve actually had … a whole family, a whole group of people come in, and all of a sudden they just start clapping and cheering, and that makes up for all of the stressful stuff that happens.”

Mick remembers a particular vacationsaving instance from this past Fourth of July.

“We had a customer that was

Nancy Vogt / Echo Journal

Lundrigans Clothing on Main Street in Nisswa was formerly the Beehive.

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BERTHA

LUNDGRIGANS: Page 8

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n the fall of 1937, Ed Lundrigan opened a clothing store in downtown Walker.

Eighty years later, Nisswa and Crosslake also are home to Lundrigans Clothing, and all stores remain successful.

Nancy Freeman, owner of all three Lundrigans stores, as well as a seasonal store in Dorset, attributes that success first and foremost to staff.

“I have great longevity in my staff in all of my locations and that helps in keeping things running smoothly,” she said via email. “I also think staying focused on who our customers are and what kind of merchandise they can always expect to find in our stores is a huge factor. It would be so easy to go to market and buy all the trendy looks that may be out of style before it gets onto our sales floor, but when

it comes right down to it people appreciate the quality we’ve given them for 80 years and expect it.”

Freeman has owned Lundrigans in Walker and Nisswa for the past 18 years.

She opened the Crosslake Town Square location in May 2006.

“The developers (Jim Anderson and Bruce Larson) contacted me in 2005 and told me of a development they were starting in Crosslake that would create more of a downtown shopping area,” Freeman wrote, noting they asked if she would be interested in anchoring the project with Lundrigans.

“We were the only store back in Town Square for almost two years, and people thought we were crazy. Maybe we were, but it has proven to be a great location in an area that is experiencing some very exciting growth that will be taking

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I

By Nancy Vogt Echo Journal Editor

30 Years

...and our business is still picking up!

PEQUOT Precision Machining • Fabrication • Assembly

218-692-2650

Enhancing lives by partnering to create opportunities for success.

27 Years

Justin, Clasen & Company, Ltd.

SharpenIng

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7 Years

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Located on Main Street in the JACK PINE CENTER, Pequot Lakes MN

218-568-8288

30581 Patriot Avenue c.

Health Food Store

o

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218-568-5025 www.nobleescrow.com

Seeds of Sommer

nema

rk

218-568-8812

8 Years

8 Years

Escrow & Title, Inc. 31094 Government Drive, Pequot Lakes, MN 56472

Owners/Contact:

Chris & Brenda Greer

www.lonesomecottage.com info@lonesomecottage.com

d

n

218-568-4620

218-568-8448

La

31073 Front Street Pequot Lakes

Next to the DQ in Pequot Lakes 218-568-8223

Su

In

30954 Government Drive P.O. Box 90, Pequot Lakes, MN 56472

12 Years

4657 Engen Road, Pequot Lakes

Chad Nelson • Jake Cameron • Nicole Thornton

29309 Patriot Ave. Pequot Lakes, MN 56472

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Chad Nelson Agency, Inc

Government Drive, Pequot Lakes (218) 568-8771 www.saloncouturemn.com

St

office@lakesareacpas.com www.lakesareacpas.com Tax Preparation

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17 Years

20 Years

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218-568-5242

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18 Years

22 Years

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Chris Wohlers

21 8 - 5 62 - 410 7 29641 Aspen Lane, Breezy Point, MN 56472

22 Years

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Mick Justin, CPA Christopher Clasen, CPA Stephanie Murray, CPA Susan Schiessl, CPA Jane Erickson, CPA

Current Owner of 10 Years

218-568-4343

Offices in Pequot Lakes & Crosslake www.MnTaxPros.com

218-568-5666

pequotlakesphysicaltherapy.com

Certified Public Accountants & Consultants

Complete Sharpening Service

29313 Patriot Ave Pequot Lakes, MN 56472

www.merrittjewelers.com

27 Years

Ideal

CROW WING AUTO BODY & TOWING

218-568-4695

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ISO 9001 AS9100 Registered

31067 Front Street Pequot Lakes, MN 56472

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28 Years

218•568•8069 www.pequottool.com

OPTOMETRIST PEQUOT LAKES: 30960 GOVERNMENT DRIVE 568-5555 CROSSLAKE: 13833 RIVERWOOD LANE #3 CROSSLAKE, MN 692-4700

“Working for You, Not the IRS”

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218.568.4630

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Make a trashy phone call today!

Dr. Todd M. Wiedell

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30206 Rasmussen Road, Suite #1 Pequot Lakes, MN 56472

218-568-4940

Pequot Lakes, MN 56472

218-568-5001 pequotlakessupervalu.com 001668803r1

Business Traditions

8 Thursday, January 11, 2018, Friday, January 12, 2018

Submitted Photo

Now covered with glass, the Walker store still has a spot in the floor that founder Ed Lundrigan wore out from standing behind the counter.

www.brainerddispatch.com, www.pineandlakes.com

Submitted Photo

Lundrigans Clothing opened in 1937 in Walker.

LUNDRIGANS From Page 7

Now covered with glass, the Walker store still has a spot in the floor that founder Ed Lundrigan wore out from standing behind the counter. Also, there are still inseam measurements Ed Lundrigan wrote on the wall just under the beam downstairs.

Tony Doughty and his wife, Patti, became the second owners of Lundrigans Clothing in 1977. They. operated Minn wa, the store Niss for 22 years, expanding to Nisswa and Bemidji. Stores went from three to 30 employees.

Freeman started working for Tony Doughty at Lundrigans in 1985. She1became ed 914 a partner ish in 1995 and l b a E stover in 1999 when took Est.

she was in her 20s. The Bemidji store closed, and Freeman expanded to Crosslake and opened the seasonal store in Dorset, in addition to the Walker and Nisswa stores.

According to its website, since 1937 the store’s commitment has been to bring customers unique, yet classic,

101 Years 103 Years

driven by our summer traffic. It’s also been an incredible journey to see customers that come in that have been coming in for years because Grandma and Grandpa had a cabin up here and now it’s their cabin and they’re bringing their kids and grandkids in,” Freeman said. “It’s a great thing. There’s not

Customers

Freeman said the Lundrigans stores cater to customers who appreciate quality clothing made by companies that have long-standing roots like Lundrigans Clothing has.

“As we all know, most stores in our area are

94 Years

too many stores that have stayed in business to have gone through generations of families as we have.

My hope is that someone would want to continue this legacy of Lundrigans for years to come.”

Nancy Vogt, Echo Journal editor, may be reached at 218-855-5877 or nancy. vogt@pineandlakes.com. Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter at www. twitter.com/@PEJ_Nancy.

91 Years

86 Years

Quality Sporting Goods

24238 Smiley Road Nisswa, MN 56468

1914

(218) 963-2265 www.SchaefersFoods.com Schaefer’s Corner Hwy 371, Nisswa Open Daily 7am-10pm

Serving The Brainerd Lakes Area

72 Years

72 Years

80 Years

clothing for men and women.

829-6507 Nisswa, MN 001670817r1

25451 MAIN ST. NISSWA, MN 56468 218-963-2341

68 Years

62 Years

25532 Murray Rd. Nisswa, MN 56468

25673 Main Street Nisswa, MN 56468

Phone: (218) 963-2292 Fax: (218) 963-4402 sales@nisswamarine.com www.nisswamarine.com

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The following information comes from a story Melanie Rice wrote and published in the summer 2017 issue of Lake Time Magazine about Lundrigans: Within a couple of years of opening Lundrigans in Walker in 1937, Ed Lundrigan met and married Mabel, who helped introduce women’s clothing to the store. She also started the tradition of free wrapping for customers in black paper and a box that says “from Lundrigans Clothing,” which continues today.

Lundrigans became the largest merchandiser of the Pendleton brand in the five-state area.

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History

Nancy Vogt / Echo Journal

Lundrigans Clothing opened in 2006 in Crosslake Town Square.

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place over the next 18 months,” Freeman wrote.

The Nisswa store has always been in its location on Main Street.

Former Lundrigans owners Tony and Patti Doughty bought a store called the Beehive in 1987 from Lyle and Kathy Kline. Kathy Kline stayed on and remains the manager of the Nisswa Lundrigans.

Freeman said many people have asked if the roundabout affected the store’s traffic in Nisswa, and said those road changes in Nisswa had no negative impact.

“Nisswa traffic has always been amazing, I think due to the fact it’s got so much retail to offer,” she said. “It’s awesome to offer such a great variety of specialty stores in one town that’s basically (several) blocks long. You don’t see this very often where chain fast food, retail stores and coffee shops haven’t moved their way in.”

56 Years

54 Years

www.NISSWADOCK.com

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53 Years

218-963-0085

North end of Main Street

38 Years

39 Years

52 Years

218-963-7645

218-963-4353 info@skigull.com 9898 County Road 77 SW Nisswa, MN 56468 www.skigull.com

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Hwy. 371, Nisswa

800-322-3525 | info@nisswadock.com

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wdraves@tds.net 25807 Main St. Nisswa

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(218) 963.2568

www.barharborsupperclub.com

218-963-9946 001675356r1

North End of Gull Lake on CR 77

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Upscale Casual Dining

36 Years

The Company for Women

5445 City Hall Street Nisswa (across from City Hall)

8 1/2 Years

5 Years

Open 7 Days A Week ~ All Year Long! Check us out!

Boats • Jet Skis • Pontoons Snowmobiles Fish Houses

218-963-7700 @ Love Lake Boating Season:

Gull-Love Lake Marina: 19571 Love Lake Rd, Brainerd

Snowmobiling Season: 4758 County Rd. 77, Nisswa - Right on the trail system!

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www.youravon.com/sstrom

& SPA 24463 Hazelwood Drive, Nisswa, MN

Store: 218-961-PETS Spa: 218-961-7389

24719 HAZELWOOD DR. NISSWA, MN 218-961-0095

25539 Main St., Nisswa, MN 56468 218-961-OILS (6457) Also located in Walker, Bemidji & Monticello loideoilsandvinegars.com

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22386 State Hwy 371 S “Better Boards, Better Service”

963-7908

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218-963-7470

10 Years

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12 Years

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31 Years

Member FDIC

218-838-7006

stromgieseke@gmail.com

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32 Years

www.vikinglabel.com

PO Box 1382 Lake Hubert, MN 56459

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218-963-7333

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23590 Smiley Rd., Nisswa

blackridgebank.com 5446 LAKERS LANE DOWNTOWN NISSWA 218-963-4361

Nisswa, MN

Independent Sales Representative

Nisswa

218-963-2575 800-247-6573

Sandy Strom-Gieseke