2016 Business Traditions

Mike Hall, owner of Bob’s Heliarc Welding/Precision Propeller Works, welds at his shop in the Brainerd Industrial Park.

PHOTO BY STEVE KOHLS/BRAINERD DISPATCH

S2 January 14, 2016, January 15, 2016 pineandlakes.com | Echo Journal • brainerddispatch.com | Brainerd Dispatch

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32 Years

w w w .g nhom ec a re.c om

B a x ter( 2 1 8 ) 8 2 9 - 9 2 3 8

or 1 - 8 8 8 - 2 2 1 - 5 7 8 5001362203r1

35 Years

Jenny’s HallmarkWestgate Mall • 218-829-2069

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36 Years

The Best Foods...The Absolute Lowest Food Prices!In the Brainerd/Baxter area since 1980

7895 Excelsior Rd., Baxter218-828-2160

37 Years

( 2 1 8 ) 8 2 9 - 4 5 1 1Baxter

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38 Years

BAXTER LIONS CLUB

Over $100,000 donated back to Community in 2015

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40 1/2 Years

“Custom...delivered.”

218.829.1381www.bercher.com

Lic. No. BC004461

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218-829-5117

Engineering | ArchitectureSurveying | Environmental

WidsethSmithNolting.com

41 YEARS46 Years

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13815 Cherrywood Drive, Baxter, MN218-829-4105

www.ChristBaxter.comSunday Worship: 9:00amSunday School: 10:15am

48 Years

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53 Years

829-1345Hwy. 371 NorthBrainerd, MN

855-0680522 C StreetBrainerd, MN

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59 Years

7669 College Road Baxter, Minnesota 56425-2688

(218) 829-4759www.holdenelectric.com

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59 Years

7837 Excelsior RoadSuite 100 Baxter, MN

829-1976800-950-4707

www.burschtravel.com

61 Years

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60 Years

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Crosslake • 218-692-5200

Garrison • 866-574-2900

Hackensack • 218-675-7575

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W estgate Mall Brainerd/ Baxter

Fash ions & Footwearf or Y ou ng Men & W omen

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63 Years

www.CLAconnect.com14275 Golf Course Dr, Ste 300

Baxter, MN 56425218-828-0100

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68 Years

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210 10th Avenue NEBrainerd, MN 56401

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46 Years

70 Years

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74 Years

8240 Industrial Park Rd.Baxter, MN

better water. pure and simple.

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43 Years

7788 Fairview RdBaxter, MN 56425

(218) 829-1739www.countrykitchenrestaurants.com

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94 Years

www.millsauto.com

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114 Years

Tara Hemsing WoitallaServing the Brainerd Lakes Area since 2012

218-454-82727217 Excelsior Rd Ste 105

Baxter, MN [email protected]

www.fnbnorth.comSince 1902114 Years

Baxter~Pequot Lakes~CrosslakeBackus~Hackensack~Longville

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BY RENEE RICHARDSONBrainerd Dispatch Associate Editor

The year a lakes area business first opened its doors, a 1946 Buick Roadmaster fresh off the assembly line was selling for less than $2,000.

It was 1946. World War II was over. America was get-

ting back on its feet on the homefront. And two men - now well-known names - were opening a business in downtown Brainerd. Seventy years later, the business continues although a few things have changed - its loca-tion and its name. In some ways the inventory is much the same, but a world apart. And its current name may not readily link a passer-by to its history.

In 1946, Standard Parts Service opened on the corner of Sixth and Front streets in down-town Brainerd. The men behind the business became well-known names in the community in Henry Mills and Clarence Holden. Their auto parts and service store opened in August

of 1946. During the next three years they opened a branch in Crookston and another in Little Falls. Neither had the longevity of their Brainerd business.

In 1949, the business moved to 317 South Sixth St., where it remained until the fall of 1965. Then it moved to 221 N. Fourth St., where the SuperAmerica and Kelly’s Garage now stand and where it stayed until a move to Baxter some 33 years later.

The Holden brothers bought the entire business after the death of Henry Mills in 1972. They continued the business two more years before selling to Bud Hennen. The com-pany name changed as well to Genuine Parts and Service, which evolved into NAPA Auto Parts. In the following years, the business changed hands three more times between 1978 and 1986, before Larry Althringer took the reins. He moved the business to Highway 371 in Baxter in 1998 where it remains to this day as NAPA.

S2 January 14, 2016, January 15, 2016 pineandlakes.com | Echo Journal • brainerddispatch.com | Brainerd Dispatchpineandlakes.com | Echo Journal • brainerddispatch.com | Brainerd Dispatch

NAPA Auto Parts along Edgewood Drive in Baxter began its life as the Standard Parts Service in 1946 in downtown Brainerd. The business celebrates its 70th anniversary this year and the 90th anniversary of the beginning of NAPA.


Co-owners at NAPA in Baxter Lynn Underhill and Bill Freihammer say longevity is a mix of focusing on customer service and having quality employees.


See NAPA, Page S2

January 14, 2016, January 15, 2016 S3

2 1/2 Years

14039 Edgewood Drive OPEN DAILY AT 11 AM(218) 454-4900

[email protected] 0

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5 Years

14643 Edgewood Dr. Baxter

218-454-3290www.pizzaranch.com

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6 Years

HealthSource of Baxter-Brainerd

7656 Design Road Suite 100 Baxter, MN 56425

218-454-9355www.healthsourceofbaxter.com

6 Years

Jennifer Pedersen Owner/Operator

[email protected]

Your precious moments stored in old formats are never sent

away for processing.(Copyright Free Materials Only)

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9 Years

13442 Elmwood DrBaxter, MN 56425

218-829-4207www.baxterdentalclinic.com

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9 Years

Cascade Medspa & Laser Centre

13359 Isle Drive, Suite 2Baxter, MN 56425

218-454-9999www.cascademedspa.com

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9 Years

Kurtis Waters, MDFacial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery/Ent

13359 Isle Drive, Suite 1Baxter, MN 56425

218-454-8888kurtiswatersmd.com

9 Years

• Remote Starters • Heated Seats

• Marine & Car Audio • Boat & Vehicle Detailing

218-829-5529 [email protected]

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10 Years

Footwear for Everyday People

Also Quality Medical Scrubs

7837 Excelsior RoadBaxter

218-822-3026www.thefeetpeople.com

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10 Years

When the Beach is out of Reach…833-TANS

CaribbeanBeachTanning.com

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11 Years

6967 Lake Forest RoadBaxter, MN 56425

218-822-5634arrowwoodbrainerd.com

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13 Years

14221 Golf Course Drive, Suite 200

Baxter, MN 56425

218.824.6119 or 866.882.8442

www.goldleafpartners.com

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14 Years

15240 Dellwood Dr.218-833-1400

www.applebees.com

17 Years

15229 Edgewood Drive #130Baxter, MN 56425

phone: (218) 829-1524email: [email protected]

www.jbamn.com

(formerly C. Paulson & Associates, P.A.)

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18 Years

Open 7 days a week year round.Hours vary by season

15867 Edgewood Dr Baxter, MN 56425

218-828-2127PartyWorldBrainerd.com

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18 YearsChem-Dry of Lakes

Superior Carpet, Upholstery, Tile & Grout Cleaners

Independently Owned & OperatedServing Crow Wing, Aitkin & Southern Cass Counties

218-828-4320www.chemdryofthelakes.com

New Service!Granite Counter Top Clean & Polish

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19 Years

Dr. Kristel SchamberDr. Brooke Fenstad

Greg Olson, OpticianEllen Kraling, Optometric Assistant

218-829-29297734 Excelsior Road North, Baxter

Lakesareaeyecare.com

19 Years

7115 Forthun Road Suite 105

Baxter, MN 56425218-454-0090

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23 Years

7789 Hastings RoadBaxter, MN 56425

218-829-3457www.lindarcorp.com

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24 Years

Signs, BannersVehicle Graphics

6899 Forthun Road, Baxter

218-829-7958actiongraphics.net

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24 Years

14466 Dellwood Dr.Baxter, MN

(Next to Kentucky Fried Chicken)

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26 Years20 YEARS

OPEN 24 HOURS7 DAYS A WEEK

Baxter, MN828-4601

Better fresh.Better valu.Better than ever!

27 Years

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8194 Fairview Rd. Baxter, MN 56425

218.829.6656www.BrothersMotorSports.com

29 Years

7870 Excelsior Rd., BaxterBrainerd Offi ce:

218.828.9545 • 877.338.3957Staples Offi ce:

218.894.5480 • 866.894.5455

Practicing in the Brainerd Lakes area for 28 years.

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30 Years

218- 83 8- 4153Nancy Bogenschutz

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30 Years

Kevin W. Dens, DDS Christopher K. Dens DDS

[email protected]

6980 Fairview Rd, Baxter, MN 56425

www.densdental.com

31 Years

Everything you need. So close to home.

Conveniently Located1 Mile East of Hwy. 371 on the

North Side of Hwy. 210, on Baxter Drive

218.828.1668www.thewestgatemall.com

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31 Years

Second Time AroundSECOND HAND STORE

218-829-1224Open March-December

Hwy. 371 North6 miles north of Brainerd

32 Years

7638 Woida Rd., Baxter829-1484

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14 Years

Your Local Certifi ed Carpet Cleaners

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Got Dirt??Service you can TRUST

pineandlakes.com | Echo Journal • brainerddispatch.com | Brainerd Dispatch

Seventy years after opening its doors, and undergoing a few chang-es, the original business remains connected to its roots.

This year also marks the 90th anniversary of NAPA’s founding as the National Automotive Parts Association. There are more than 6,100 NAPA Auto Parts stores across the nation with more than 422,000 parts and accessories for autos and industrial uses represent-ing the most extensive inventory in the industry, NAPA reported.

In-laws Bill Freihammer and Lynn Underhill (he is married to her sister) bought the NAPA in Baxter in 2005. A paper in a plastic protec-tive sleeve in their offices notes the store’s history and ownership chang-es. There are not as many photos of the original building and locations, but there is a sense of history and links in a chain back to the compa-ny’s startup.

Freihammer said the reason for the business’ longevity has a lot to do with the quality of the employ-ees. Many of the staff members are

veteran employees, some with more than 30 years on the job. The com-pany employs about 20 with part time and full time staff. Other newer additions still have extensive experi-ence in the business of keeping motorized vehicles going.

Freihammer said NAPA has seen it all over the years, from the Model T and tractor parts of its beginnings to engine rebuilds in the 1960s to the present day with both do-it-yourselfers and professional mechanics with their own garages. The store offers retail and wholesale services, tests batteries, alternators and starters and makes hydraulic hose assemblies, which it did a lot of last summer for companies involved in cleanup in the aftermath of the supercell storm damage.

Both Freihammer and Underhill blazed their own way. They describe themselves as farm kids who learned the value of a day of work early. Underhill enjoyed working with her father with the tools, maintenance and repairs. Being outside at the family farm in Pierz was preferably to any indoor job. When she first came to NAPA about 37 years ago, she was hired on as a bookkeeper.

When she moved to the parts pro-gram she was a trailblazer for a woman in the role, Freihammer said.

Underhill said the key to the ongoing business has always been service. If they don’t have a part, they’ll search for it.

Freihammer, who started work-ing at another parts store before making the move to HAPA, said having the right inventory is also key. He said buying the business was the right move and they haven’t looked back.

“We knew what we were getting into,” Freihammer said noting their lengthy history in parts and service before they purchased the business. They work with a computerized inventory and said as a business they have to keep up with technolo-gy trends. They never thought they’d be selling parts online, but they do.

These days, a computerized sys-tem analyzes what kind of vehicles are in the vicinity and what parts are most likely to break-down. If it has an engine, they are likely to have the part, Underhill said. The store offers auto parts, tools and equipment.

“We have the largest,” Freihammer said of inventory.He said NAPA is the only locally owned and operated parts store in the com-munity. Shelves upon shelves stocked with items cover two stories of space in the NAPA building, neatly stowed and documented. Brakes. Hoses. Batteries. Anything likely to expire on a working vehi-cle.

Some things haven’t changed. “People love their cars,”

Freihammer said. They get a mix of do-it-yourself-

ers and professional mechanics. “We have an excellent staff,”

Freihammer said. “We’re very for-tunate to have the staff we do.”

A plus for them comes with the summer’s warmth and clear pave-ment as classic car clubs bring by vintage automobiles like the 1938 Cadillac that drove up one day. They’ve also had a Studebaker drop by. They sponsor Wednesday Night Drags at the North Central Speedway south of Brainerd. Their sense of whimsy is apparent in store dis-plays. A little race car suspended along one wall. A collection of vin-tage and replica pedal cars for chil-dren.

Lasting for 70 years and continu-ing now, Freihammer said, comes down to the same thing it always has. “Still the same thing, still it’s customer service,” he said.

NAPA has seen it all over the years, from the Model T and tractor parts of its beginnings to engine rebuilds in the 1960s to the present day with both do-it-yourselfers and professional mechanics with their own garages.


Thousands upon thousands of parts line the shelves at NAPA in Baxter. These days a computerized program provides data on what kind of cars are in the area and what types of parts are more likely to break down.


NAPA, From Page S1

See NAPA, Page S6

S4 January 14, 2016, January 15, 2016

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70 Years

711 Washington StreetBrainerd, MN 56401

218-829-9297

RestaurantRestaurant

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71 Years

3 09 NW 3 rd S treetBrainerd, MN 56401

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75 Years

Sales & Service Since 1940

830 Brook Street • Brainerd, MN

829-4332www.pikeplumbingandheating.com

76 Years

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76 Years

Brainerd BN C redit U nion“ S erving ou r memb ers since 1940”

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78 Years

www.clcmn.edu

Brainerd Campus501 West College Drive, Brainerd(218) 855-8000 or 800-933-0346

Staples Campus 1830 Airport Road, Staples

(218) 894-5100 or 800-247-6836

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79 Years

Beth & Curt Watson509 Washington St

Brainerd

218-829-2496

Don’t Be A Heel, Save

Your Soles!

79 Years

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Lighting the lives of 37,000 members

Since 1937

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81 Years

SHIPMANAUTO PARTS1711 Southeast 13th St.

Brainerd, MN 56401

218-829-4779www.shipmanauto.com

78 YEARS

13968 Cypress DriveBaxter

(218) 829-2844

85 Years

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Celebrating 93 years as the nation’s largest not-for-pro� t

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

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94 Years

brainerdrotary.org 0013630

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95 Years

BRAINERD LIONS CLUB

96 Years

“Come Clean With Us”416 South 8th StreetBrainerd, MN 56401

218-829-5269www.andersoncleaners.com

ANDERSON CLEANERS

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99 Years

829-5621701 South 10th StreetBrainerd, MN 56401

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10424 Squaw Point Road Brainerd218-829-3918

www.erniesongull.com

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107 Years

702 Industrial Park Rd, Brainerd

Phone 829-9674

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107 Years

817 Juniper St.218-829-2344

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107 Years

T he P arker Buil dingD owntown Brainerd

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115 YearsBrainerd ElksLodge #615

Serving Brainerd Lakes AreaCommunities, Youth and Veterans

215 South 9th St. • (218)829-2643BrainerdElks.org • email [email protected]

Brainerd • 829-8781Baxter • 828-5191Aitkin • 927-3794

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132 Years

218-829-6680crowwingcountyfair.com

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

CROW WINGCOUNTY FAIRCROW WING

COUNTY FAIR2015 Fair Dates:

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134 Years

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134 Years

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506 James StreetBrainerd, MN

829-4705 www.brainerddispatch.com

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143 Years

P ark U nited Meth o dist C h u rc h315 North 6th Street, Brainerd

218-829-4116www.parkunitedmethodist.org

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145 Years

St. FrancisCatholic Church

9th and Juniper218-822-4040


BY SPENSER BICKETTBrainerd Dispatch Staff Writer

The name may be long but the message is simple.

Bob’s Heliarc Welding/Precision Propeller Works takes what’s broken and fixes it so it’s good as new.

Owner Mike Hall said the names repre-sent two sides of the same coin. Bob’s Heliarc Welding was started by Bob House 45 years ago, while Hall added the Precision Propeller Works portion when he took over the business 18 years ago.

House taught Hall everything he could before Hall started running the business, and the two names represent the different skill sets of the two men. Hall is good at fixing propellers and not as skilled as a fab-ricator.

“Bob was amazing at fabrication,” Hall said. “And I can weld anything.”

House was always known for fixing pro-pellers, Hall said, but he was also a fabrica-tor, so his business name emphasized his fabrication skills. Now that Hall has more of a propeller focus, his addition emphasizes that aspect of the business.

“I was good at propellers, so I pushed the propeller side of it more than I did the weld-ing side,” Hall said. “But I kind of would like more welding projects, the fixing things.”

The current shop location in the Brainerd Industrial Park at 1205 Madison St. is across the parking lot from the original, much

smaller shop, Hall said. Despite the new signage, he said some customers still drive to the old shop. There are even original cus-tomers in their 80s or 90s who still come to the shop to fix their propellers.

When Hall first took over, some custom-ers were reluctant to deal with him, as he was younger and less experienced than House. But over the years, Hall said they’ve warmed up and now some customers are reluctant to talk to anyone other than him.

“Bob worked magic, and I’ve got people doing the same thing now at me,” Hall said. “If I’m not here, they say, ‘Well, I’ll come back later.’”

Hall still makes cool things from time to time, he said, but it takes him longer and he usually ends up gifting what he makes.

“That flower pot over there?” Hall said. “It’s for sale, but I’ll give it away before I sell it.”

There’s a skill involved in hammering a propeller blade back into its correct shape without snapping it, Hall said. He does it by securing the propeller against a block mold of the correct blade angle and delicately yet powerfully hammering the blade into shape.

“You have to learn how to work the metal,” Hall said. “I like them when they’re bad like that because it gives me a chal-lenge. I don’t like it when they break though. That’s never a good thing.”

January 14, 2016, January 15, 2016 pineandlakes.com | Echo Journal • brainerddispatch.com | Brainerd Dispatchpineandlakes.com | Echo Journal • brainerddispatch.com | Brainerd Dispatch

Mike Hall, owner of Bob’s Heliarc Welding/Precision Propeller Works, pounds a propeller into alignment at his shop in the Brainerd Industrial Park. PHOTO BY STEVE KOHLS/BRAINERD DISPATCH

Propellers line the shelves at Bob’s Heliarc Welding/Precision Propeller Works in the Brainerd Industrial Park.


See WELDING, Page S5


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40 Years

For more information call:

Brainerd Kennel Club218-838-6070

www.BKCdogs.orgE-mail: [email protected]

40 Years

213 South 5th StBrainerd, MN 56401

218-829-5278brainerdcommunityaction.org

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40 Years

108 S 6th St,Brainerd, MN 56401

218-829-0347www.guidepointpharmacy.com

Locally Owned

43 Years

4805 Ojibwa RoadBrainerd, MN 56401

218-330-6067www.LittleYukon.com 0

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42 Years

218-829-8770www.northlandarb.org

14250 Conservation DriveBrainerd, MN 56401

43 Years

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SINCE 1972

415 Washington St.Brainerd, MN

218-829-5516

SALES • SERVICE • RENTAL

TREK & ELECTRA BICYCLEBURTON/ROSSI SKI CENTER

45 YearsBOB’S HELIARC

WELDINGPRECISION PROPELLER WORKS

829-9168Marine & Motorsports,Welding, Propellers, Lower Units, SKEGS, & Cracked Engine Block Repairs

• New! Propeller Sales •BRAINERD INDUSTRIAL PARK 0

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46 YearsBorden,

Steinbauer, Krueger &

Knudson, P.A.Attorneys at Law

302 South Sixth StreetP.O. Box 411

Brainerd, MN 56401218-829-1451 (main)

www.brainerdlaw.com

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47 Years

424 S. 8th St. Brainerd 218-829-2619

www.unitedwaynow.org

47 Years

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Commercial printing, fulfi llment,Mailing, and more.

218.824.1800 844.824.1800

printrp.com

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Family Owned for 47 Years

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schroedersappliance.com16603 State Hwy 371 North

(Just North of the Pine Beach Rd)Brainerd/Baxter

218-829-3624

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2020 South 6th StreetBrainerd, MN829-2020

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Das Auto.

AUTO IMPORT, INC.22 WASHINGTON ST.

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SERVICE DRUG

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Locally Owned and Operated218 W. Washington St.

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64 Years

218-454-1234www.ConnectCTC.com

Since 1952

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66 Years

K.L. Beebe, O.D.S.T. Monda, O.D.S.S. Parrish, O.D.J.J. Hanske, O.D.

506 Laurel St., Brainerd829-0946 0

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67 Years

624 Washington StBrainerd MN 56401

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68 Years

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WELDING, From Page S4

Once the blade is back in its correct shape, Hall will fill in any chips in the blades, buff it out and paint it.

Hall said he recently counted up the block molds he has on site and tallied 383 blocks. Combined with the blocks he has scattered at home and other places, he figured he has around 500 blocks. The large variety of pitch blocks means he can fix a wide variety of pro-pellers.

One of House’s calling cards was being able to repair cracks and breaks in mechanical parts like crankcases and transmissions. Instead of buying a whole new expensive part, Hall said, he can fix the old piece and make it good as new.

“People throw stuff away rather than fix it,” Hall said. “Now that a snowmo-bile is $15,000, people are fixing the older sleds.”

House was a longtime industrial tech-nology teacher at Brainerd High School, Hall said, and started his business because he loved the work. His love of welding helped develop an outstanding welding program at BHS while he was there, he said, and produced some great part-time workers for the busy summer season.

Summer results in some unique chal-lenges for the business, Hall said. People will be lining up in the shop for repairs and Hall tries to deal with them all at once, because of his perfectionist atti-tude toward work.

“At the end of the day I don’t go home because, unfortunately, my standards are too high for me to allow anybody to do my work,” Hall said.

Some people have said Hall’s repair work costs too much or it takes too long, he said, but it’s for a reason.

“I want to give somebody back a product that’s as good as new if not bet-ter,” Hall said.

In the summer, Hall offers full marine repairs in order to meet the larger demand. But the shop is still limited in

the repairs it can offer because of a lack of knowledge in some areas. In those cases, they refer the customer to a repair shop they can trust.

The business does a wide variety of work on boats and tries to fix them as quickly as possible, Hall said, because there’s really only four months for boat-ing in Minnesota.

“Things always break when you want to use them,” Hall said. “We try to get people back on the water as quickly as possible.”

How busy the business is depends on factors like the water levels, weather and gas prices, Hall said. This past year has been better than most, he said, because people are using their boats again. Because of the rising costs of new boats, they’re also putting more time and effort into fixing their older boats.

Over the last 18 years, welding tech-nology has changed quite a bit, Hall said. When it comes to welding, 98 to 99 percent of what the business does is heliarc welding, which is an older term for what’s now called tungsten inert gas, or TIG, welding. Heliarc welding works for almost any type of metal, he said.

Only a few things remain from House’s original business, Hall said: a hammer, anvil and recently retired grinder. But the top-notch quality of the welding and repair work remains, he said.

“We can fix nearly anything,” Hall said. “And I thank Bob for teaching me how to make something out of nothing.”

Hall really likes what he does, he said, but he puts in a lot of hours at work. It’s that trait, he said, that led House to turn the business over to him nearly 20 years ago.

“Bob, somehow, he found somebody to work as hard as him to take over,” Hall said. “I had to dedicate a lot of my time to make it.”

SPENSER BICKETT may be reached at 218-855-5859 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/spenserbickett.

Mike Hall, owner of Bob’s Heliarc Welding/Precision Propeller Works, explains the different types of propellers that come to his shop for repair in the Brainerd Industrial Park.


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Underhill said they’ll do whatev-er it takes and while that sometimes means they won’t come out ahead on a deal, a “good deed goes alot fur-ther.”

They had a customer who rents pontoons and depends on that sum-mer income. After the pontoon was booked with clients for the Fourth of July, one of the pontoons needed a valve job, which could have put it out of service for the pivotal holiday weekend. One of their machinists stayed, working through lunch breaks and after hours to get the job done on time.

“They know these people’s liveli-hoods are on the line,” Freihammer said.

Their customer base comes from marinas, golf courses, dealers, con-tractors, collectors, garages and homes. Pretty much anything on wheels.

They are mindful of customers’ time and livelihood, running parts out to the mechanic’s garages.

“Every minute’s important to those shops,” Freihammer said.

While many things have changed with technology leading the way, one thing hasn’t changed, Freihammer said one thing hasn’t the way an automobile can be an embodiment of freedom and an extension of its owner.

“People still love their cars,” he said.

Freihammer said the Brainerd lakes area is growing and NAPA’s name, now 90 years old in the nation and 70 here is still going strong because of the good ground work laid when it put down roots and that legacy has been passed on.

RENEE RICHARDSON, Brainerd Dispatch associate editor, may be reached at 218-855-5852 or [email protected]. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Dispatchbizbuzz.

NAPA, From Page S3

Seventy years after opening its doors, and undergoing a few changes, the original business remains connected to its roots.


Two floors of parts line shelves behind the counter at NAPA in Baxter. PHOTO BY STEVE KOHLS/BRAINERD DISPATCH

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BY TRAVIS GRIMLEREcho Journal Staff Writer

The 1960s were important in the history of Pine River. It was then that the historical “Logsleds to Snowmobiles” book reports the loss of an emblematic business (The Lake Region Hotel) for Highway 371 rede-velopment, and the founding of a vital institution.

“The loss of one regional landmark was countered almost immediately by the development of another regional institution, the Kitchigami Regional Library. Its growth expansion since 1965 may have helped ‘put Pine River on the map’ as much or even more than the Spurriers and their hotel,” the book reads.

The women of Pine River provided the impetus for the development of library programs in the city starting back in 1907, when Ammarilla Dawes,

wife of the city’s founder, George Barclay, saw a need.

In the back of Dawes’ millinery store was a rental library. That was fol-lowed by a school library in 1915, which eventually became both a school library and a public library in 1923 and relocated so the library could take advantage of a St. Paul Public Library lending program, according to the “Cass County Heritage” book.

This was with help of the Eradelphian Club and one member, Mrs. Harry H. Hill, who offered up her home for the combined library. It was then that the Pine River Community Library was officially founded. The school eventu-ally suspended the joint venture in the 1940s because school officials thought the combination might jeopardize school funding. For several years the community library was on hiatus, but it returned.

“The state developed legislation to provide for the creation of regional public library systems,” said Marian Ridge, director of the Kitchigami Regional Library System since 1999. “As a cooperative structure of counties, the legislation required every county to participate in a regional public library system in order to provide access to public library services.”

According to “Logsleds to Snowmobiles,” Bea Burnson of Pine River led a group of Eradelphian Club members to request organization of a bookmobile service for Pine River in the early 1960s due to this legislation. In response, the Minnesota State Library Division appointed Marlys Howe and a Cass County committee to develop the first “county-wide library system in north central Minnesota.”

January 14, 2016, January 15, 2016 S7pineandlakes.com | Echo Journal • brainerddispatch.com | Brainerd Dispatch

The Pine River Public Library building as it stands today was built from the former Pine River State Bank. It has since been given a new roof. PHOTO BY TRAVIS GRIMLER /ECHO JOURNAL

The PIne River State Bank donated this building for use

as the Pine River Public Library building.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

See LIBRARY, Page S8

The organization was funded in part by the city’s municipal liquor store. Later, people said the three Bs - “Bill, Bea and Booze” - built the library.

The new system became a reality March 2, 1965.

“The Cass County Board of Commissioners estab-lished an overall Cass County Library System. County organizations, working with voluntary library workers, officially endorsed the pro-gram,” the “Cass County Heritage” book says. “State and federal library funds came to Pine River first, because of the years of ser-vice at local and county lev-els.”

The city of Pine River donated the use of armory facilities as the public library, marking the solidification of the Pine River Public Library, which was then called the Cass County Library Center, headquarters of the Cass County Library System since its foundation on July 20, 1965. Bookmobile services began in 1966.

In 1967, the library relo-cated to a building on Barclay Avenue. The relocation was done in the middle of a bliz-zard, and staff and volunteers used snowmobiles to get the job done.

With the addition of Beltrami and Crow Wing counties to the library sys-tem, the system was renamed the first day of 1969 as the Kitchigami Regional Library System, one of 12 systems in the state.

The library itself was renamed the Kitchigami Regional Library, a name that stood until 1986, when the city of Pine River renamed it the Pine River Public Library. The new name was within the city’s power, since it funded the institution, according to “Logsleds to Snowmobiles.”

“Cities with libraries joined separately,” Ridge said. “Almost all of them joined between 1969 and 1970. The last city to join was Park Rapids and it joined in 1991.”

The formation of library systems allowed small librar-ies to have access to materials from outside of the library’s physical location.

“If it is a standalone you can’t do interlibrary loans,” said Muriel Erickson, Pine River Public Library librari-an. “We have a compact agreement. All the libraries signed let everyone borrow by interlibrary loan. If you are a standalone library not connected to a region, you can’t borrow outside the sys-tem.”

“It provides residents with the region access to a range of library materials they simply would not have access to without the cooperation, par-ticularly when you are deal-

ing with small communities with small physical facili-ties,” Ridge said. “It becomes very important that they are able to share with other peo-ple. Also, to use the dollars they have effectively. Instead of several small libraries try-ing to catalog materials, there is one central service location that provides the technical background and services and support services necessary so the small branch libraries can focus on public services. They all share the materials and the staff shares their expertise and it means that anyone who lives in our com-munities has access to much more library services than would be available other-wise.”

Over time the library sys-tem expanded into two more counties, managing nine library locations.

The building housing both the Pine River Public Library and the Kitchigami Regional Library System headquarters eventually became too cramped. The Pine River Library Building Foundation, Inc. was formed to raise funds for relocation.

“The aisles were half this size,” Erickson said. “You couldn’t get two people back to back down the aisle. Only one person fit. With the old building when the snow melt-ed the water would run through the front and out the back door. When we moved out of there, there was mold and everything. I think there was one side window and one front window. I think those were the only windows there. It was really dark and it was not handicapped accessible at all. When we got this we made sure all aisles were handicapped accessible and measured everything before we put the shelves down.”

“It was so small some of the functions had to take place in the back of the build-ing next door,” Ridge said. “The front of that building was the public library. It was very difficult working arrangements. It was resistant to further increases in tech-nology because of the nature of the building, and the build-ing was not strong or a healthy work environment. The Kitchigami Regional Library Board, in coopera-tion with Cass County, was able to get a Utilities Grant program through TDS. … Basically Arvig applied for a utilities grant that allowed us to get interest free funding for the building we then repaid

within five years.”The board initially

planned to move the library to the same property as the regional headquarters, but plans changed with a dona-tion from Pine River State Bank.

“(The system) had actually given us some property over there,” Erickson said. “Then we were going to build there, but the bank donated this property.”

“By the time I came in July of 1999, Pine River had received the donation of the current building and decided that was the best location for the Pine River Public Library,” Ridge said.

“The building was donat-ed in 1998,” Erickson said. “They rented this building from the foundation for three years until they got the new one built. Then they moved over there. We gutted this and a lot of volunteer work came to take walls down and make it easier for the contractor.”

During the relocation of library materials before the 2002 reopening, volunteers stepped up once again, though this time there was rain instead of snow.

“The kids in town were great at helping move books, and they moved the cat with them,” Erickson said. “That’s when Browser came to us, was the year we were moving in. I didn’t know if I was going to even keep him, but he came in the day we moved and it rained the night before. It flooded. It came down through the ceiling too. The kids just picked him up and moved him over here and I thought, ‘I guess I will have to keep him now.’ Now he’s 14 years old.”

The Pine River Public library has had many con-stants over the years. The library is known for its Halloween Haunted House, its summer book sales, and newer fundraisers such as Cupcake Wars and wine tast-ing events. There have been changes, however, and some of them came at a cost to the library and community.

“(The bookmobile) started to scale down in the early decades of the 21st century,” Ridge said. “In part because communities no longer had enough people for us. Back when the bookmobile started, it started two years before the region and was a Cass County service. At that time it served over 30 different locations. By the time I came in 1999 it

was 23 or 24 locations, and within the next decade there were fewer people. They might sometimes find it con-venient and be there, but most of the time they were going to the nearest larger community to use the branch library there.”

Beltrami County com-pletely discontinued its out-reach service, and the Kitchigami board looks at the places where the bookmobile is still used, and where it is not. They then must make decisions whether the pro-gram is still sustainable.

“It makes no sense to stop where people aren’t coming,” Ridge said.

In other changes, the sys-tem continues to progress. The Kitchigami system may be expanding to another city soon.

“The city of Crosby has expressed interest in joining the system,” Ridge said. “Representatives from that community and representa-tives from the Kitchi board will be having a series of meetings over the next few months, sort of a fact-finding committee to see if they would be a good fit. And we want to make sure any chang-es that are made benefit abso-lutely everyone in the region. That committee will be charged with taking a look at whether that will work and whether the two bodies can kind of work well together. I think the committee hopes that by May they will have a clear sense whether Crosby will become a branch of

Kitchigami.”A library building expan-

sion is planned too.“So far, we are going to do

one side of the library build-ing and screen it in with win-dows that close in the sum-mer time,” Erickson said. “It won’t be heated. But people could sit out there three sea-sons out of the year. It would be an area where Browser can be out getting fresh air. He can sit there while people read. We thought about put-ting coffee out there. Once that gets going good we might consider putting a porch on the other side. It’s going to cost $18,000 and I think we have about half of it.”

Technology, of course, has also changed for the library.

“We had catalogs when I started,” Erickson said. “Actual card catalogs where we filed the cards, and we didn’t have computers. That came later. To get the com-puters, we had fundraisers like a huge garage sale. I went around and picked up old appliances and things like that. Part of that money went to computers. We started with two computers, one for the public and one for the staff person. Of course, then there was always continuing educa-tion for whoever worked here. We had dumb terminals. That was the first thing. The cata-log was all words. It wasn’t fancy. It was called a dumb terminal.”

Today, however, the library has computers for sev-eral patrons to use and advanced cataloging pro-

grams. Though some once thought technology would make libraries obsolete, it appears that it has instead enhanced the library experi-ence.

“It’s going with the times and becoming more techno-logically advanced,” Erickson said. “People still like to hold and smell books. Reading an e-reader in bed isn’t the same as a paperback.”

There are signs that the printed books at the Pine River Public Library still reign supreme even though people can now borrow library books from their easy chair so long as they have a library card handy.

“Even a couple years ago,” said Ridge, “I was getting journalists calling and asking if electronic materials would be the death of libraries. I said, ‘No, it will not die.’ It’s pretty much turning out I was right. The use of e-materials is flattening both at libraries and sales. The publishers like Amazon are seeing no growth in that area. Library services continue to change because people are coming to their libraries for more varied pur-poses, but print still reigns supreme and remains a criti-cal part of what we provide. Libraries are nowhere near the end of their value to the communities where they exist.”

TRAVIS GRIMLER may be reached at 218-855-5853 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/travisgrimler.


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LIBRARY, From Page S7

through the ceiling too. The kids just picked him up and moved him over here and I thought, ‘I guess I will have to keep him now.’ Now he’s

The Pine River Public library has had many con-stants over the years. The library is known for its Halloween Haunted House, its summer book sales, and newer fundraisers such as Cupcake Wars and wine tast-ing events. There have been changes, however, and some of them came at a cost to the

“(The bookmobile) started to scale down in the early

century,” Ridge said. “In part because communities no longer had enough people for us. Back when the bookmobile started, it started two years before the region and was a Cass County service. At that time it served

will become a branch of advanced cataloging pro- travisgrimler.

The former Pine River Public Library location proved too small for the expanding library and its technology, prompting a relocation off of Barclay Avenue. SUBMITTED PHOTO

The library is home to hundreds of books, books on CD, music compact discs, Internet access, wireless Internet access, movies and a black cat named Browser.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

BY NANCY VOGTEcho Journal Editor

Since 1995, the family-owned Pequot Lakes Sanitation has pro-vided waste collection services to residential and commercial cus-tomers from Crosslake to Pine River, to the south end of Gull Lake to Highway 1.

The company’s family roots actually date back to 1982, when Dick Wilske bought North County Sanitation. Wilske doubled the business in the first year and then in 1995 sold part of the business - the Pequot Lakes portion - to his son and daughter-in-law, Robbie and Taren Saccoman.

The Saccomans, who lived in downtown Pequot Lakes at the time, named their portion of the business Pequot Lakes Sanitation. Two years later they bought the rest of North County Sanitation from Wilske and his wife, Kay, and the entire business changed to the Pequot Lakes Sanitation name. In 2007, the business expanded again with the purchase of Gull Lake Sanitation.

Robbie previously spent 18 years in the plumbing business as the owner of Cross Country Plumbing. At the same time he often helped his father with the garbage route by filling in for him when Wilske vacationed.

“The intent was to make sure he could retire,” Robbie said, eventu-ally making the decision to quit the plumbing business and buy his dad’s business.

Robbie ran Pequot Lakes Sanitation with one truck by him-self for about six years. The work entailed a four-and-a-half-day route in winter and six-day route in the summer.

“It was manageable for one per-son, but he had long days,” Taren said.

Robbie agreed: “There were a lot of 15- to 16-hour days.”

He hired his first employee, Tim McFeters, in 2002.

After severing his right foot while working on a truck at his home in 2002, Taren sold her half of a garden center/landscaping business she owned to help Robbie run Pequot Lakes Sanitation.

The business grew from one truck to two by 2002, and currently Pequot Lakes Sanitation/Gull Lake Sanitation has five trucks and nine employees. The territory covered has grown as well.

“Breezy Point boomed about a dozen years back,” Taren said, explaining a portion of the compa-ny’s growth on the residential side.

In 2003, the Saccomans moved

to 50 acres in Ideal Township, where their shop is located and where they built their home. Robbie is a charter member of the Ideal Fire Department.

In 2008, they purchased a fully automated truck, where the driver doesn’t have to get out of the truck to dump trash.

“As long as the customers leave their carts facing the correct direc-tion and away from posts, etc., an automated truck will speed up the operation 10 fold,” said Robbie, “even when the homes are as far apart as they are in our area.”

Over the years they also added curbside recycling service in Breezy Point and more recently in Pequot Lakes, after those cities required it.

“Nobody is required to recycle, it’s completely up to the customer,” Taren said, noting those two cities require refuse haulers to offer the service, though she said it’s not profitable for haulers. “It costs us just as much to get rid of recycling as it does garbage as far as the tip-ping fees are concerned. It’s a sec-ond truck and driver along with all the operation expenses.”

It once was free to haul recy-cling because it was free to dump it, and haulers made their money from aluminum and cardboard and county SCORE (Select Committee on Recycling and the Environment)

funds. Now, the Saccomans said, haulers have to pay to get rid of recycling, as there’s an overabun-dance of recyclable materials that keeps the market low and forces the recycling centers to charge for the loads.

Cities do reimburse haulers for recycling, but counties control the amount.

“We have a real problem in this county as there is not a place for the haulers to haul the recycling materials so we have to haul to Cass County or other drop loca-tions, which are farther away,” Taren said. “That only adds to the costs of the service. If Crow Wing County provided the option of a recycling transfer center and still provided the SCORE funds to the haulers, then it would be a win-win situation for everyone. It’s a com-mon misbelief that recycling is a free service, but it’s not realistic.”

As can be expected in the heart of a tourism area, business is sea-sonal. The Saccomans said they lose a noticeable num-ber of their cus-tomers in winter months. That correlates to Crow Wing County’s popu-lation, which

the Saccomans said is reportedly composed of 33 percent snowbirds - or people who flock to warmer areas during the winter months.

The Saccomans have seen other changes in the business over the years as well. Tipping fees once totaled $25 to empty a whole truck at the old dump west of Pequot Lakes. Now trucks are scaled and dump fees have increased up to $66 a ton. The whole business has become more regulated through the years.

“Back then, you could dump anything,” Robbie said, including electronics and tires. “People used to throw that away every day. Now anything other than household trash has an organized separate destination location.”

In 2011, Pequot Lakes Sanitation began offering pink trash carts to lakes area residents to support breast cancer awareness and research. Anyone can buy a pink can from Pequot Lakes Sanitation,

regardless of who hauls their trash, and a portion of the cost will go to the American Cancer Society.

Taren said the business has a good relationship with its custom-ers - and those customers’ dogs.

“The drivers take dog treats in their trucks,” she said, noting that is a unique aspect of the company.

Robbie’s daughter, Maranda, has been a longtime driver for Pequot Lakes Sanitation but soon will move out of state. Taren’s son, Tyler Gardner, also worked for the company for a time, but he too, moved.

Robbie and Taren still enjoy the business, especially with all the help their employees give them that frees up some time, but they look forward to retiring in the near future.

NANCY VOGT may be reached at 218-855-5877 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/nan-cyvogt.


17 Years

Your Brainerd Lakes area fi tness and health professionals since 1999.

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218-829-8144jandbwesternstore.com

Established 1985

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77 Years

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Jeremy Janzen Auctioneer/BrokerJanzen Auctioneers / Cummings Janzen Realty

800-450-6258 or 218-851-087914 1st street NWAitkin, MN 56431

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JANZENAUCTIONEERS

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320-632-5441www.chistgabriels.com

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Since 1995, the family-owned Pequot Lakes Sanitation has pro-vided waste collection services to residential and commercial cus-tomers from Crosslake to Pine River, to the south end of Gull

The company’s family roots actually date back to 1982, when Dick Wilske bought North County Sanitation. Wilske doubled the business in the first year and then in 1995 sold part of the business - the Pequot Lakes portion - to his son and daughter-in-law, Robbie

The Saccomans, who lived in downtown Pequot Lakes at the time, named their portion of the business Pequot Lakes Sanitation. Two years later they bought the rest of North County Sanitation from Wilske and his wife, Kay, and the entire business changed to the Pequot Lakes Sanitation name. In 2007, the business expanded again with the purchase of Gull Lake

Robbie previously spent 18 years in the plumbing business as the owner of Cross Country Plumbing. At the same time he often helped his father with the to 50 acres in Ideal Township, funds. Now, the Saccomans said, the Saccomans said is reportedly regardless of who hauls their trash,

Tim McFeters was the first employee Robbie Saccoman hired to work at Pequot Lakes Sanitation. He continues to work there today.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Robbie Saccoman, who owns Pequot Lakes Sanitation with his wife, Taren, drives a sanitation truck in the early 2000s.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Pequot Lakes Sanitation employees include, from left, Becky Durham, assistant office manager; Maranda Saccoman with Eddie, shop manager; Robbie Saccoman, owner; Taren Saccoman with Eider, owner; and Annette Kaldahl, office manager.

PHOTO BY NANCY

VOGT/ECHO JOURNAL

BY DAN DETERMANEcho Journal Staff Writer

Clow Stamping has made Merrifield its home for more than 40 years. The metal stamping and fabrication business has devoted that time to manufacturing quali-ty products while “exceeding customer requirements and expectations in all areas.”

For roughly 30 years, operations have been led by Reggie Clow, who inherited the company from his par-ents, Everett and Gladys Clow, and serves as owner, president and CEO.

The Clows started the business in St. Louis Park in 1970. The business quickly

grew too large for the facility and they found the current site in Merrifield after hear-ing suggestions from lakes area customers and citing a desire to live in a more rural setting.

“It took me a year to get used to (rural life),” Clow said. “I wasn’t so sure it was a good idea, but it turned out to be a great idea. I love it up here. It is a great place to live.”

At that time, the building was 15,000 square feet and the Clows only needed rough-ly one-third of that space to operate.

Now, Clow Stamping employs 430 people, filling a

building totalling 275,000 square feet in size and grow-ing. Their products ship to much of the nation - for more than 25 markets, including major equipment manufactur-ers like John Deere and the Kubota Tractor Corporation - with limited international

shipping as well.Before taking over for his

parents, Clow recalls his father’s commitment to qual-ity and customer service.

“Quality was very impor-tant to my dad,” he said. “We just carried it on.”

In the past five years, Clow Stamping has expanded its facility three times and added nearly 200 jobs to the payroll. They have designed and priced another addition to the building, but do not plan to expand until neces-sary, which may be relatively

soon.“I assume we are going to

continue to grow,” Clow said. “We could add another $10 million in sales here and han-


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Health Food Store

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ANNIE’S ATTICANNIE’S ATTICANNIE’S ATTIC

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31099 Edgewater Farm DriveBreezy Point

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GOLF AND RV PARK

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Government Drive, Pequot Lakes

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CompleteSharpening Service

Current Owner of 7 YearsChris Wohlers

218-562-4107

29641 Aspen Lane,Breezy Point, MN 56472

IDEAL SHARPENING

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26 Years

29281 State Hwy 371

Pequot Lakes, MN 56472

218-568-4343

CROW WING AUTO BODY& TOWING

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31113 Front St.Pequot Lakes, MN

218-568-4900

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31067 Front StreetPequot Lakes, MN 56472

218-568-4695www.merrittjewelers.com 0

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Make a trashy phone call today!

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38 Years

4326 E. Sibley Street, Pequot Lakes218-568-4040

401 S. 8th Street, Brainerd218-829-2891

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Brainerd Lakes Market

42 Years

218-56 8-86 6 4

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001360

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Owner Elaine BilbenIdealBoardingKennels.comWE KEEP TAILS WAGGING

35062 County Road 39Pequot Lakes, MN 56472

218-543-4215

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www.ApinePlaza.com

A-PINEARestaurantRestaurant

218-568-8353

HWY. 371 & CR 16Pequot Lakes

96 Years

9252 Breezy Point Dr. Breezy Point, MN 56472

800-432-3777www.breezypointresort.com

001359

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Reggie Clow, president and CEO of Clow Stamping, shows a sample of available products made at the facility in Merrifield.PHOTO BY DAN DETERMAN/ECHO JOURNAL

See CLOW, Page S11


50 Years

5446 LAKERS LANE DOWNTOWN NISSWA

218-963-4361

001365

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218-963-2575800-247-6573

Nisswa, MN

www.vikinglabel.com

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Proudly serve a membershipof 420+ businesses and organizations

25532 Main Street, Downtown Nisswa

218-963-2620 www.nisswa.com

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60 Years

25673 Main StreetNisswa, MN 56468

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25532 Murray Rd.Nisswa, MN 56468

218-963-0085

64 Years

www.NISSWADOCK.com

Hwy. 371, Nisswa800-322-3525 | [email protected]

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70 Years

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25807 Main St. Nisswa

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Upscale Casual Dining

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(218) 963.2568www.barharborsupperclub.com

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24238 Smiley RoadNisswa, MN 56468

Phone: (218) 963-2292Fax: (218) 963-4402

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89 Years

25451 MAIN ST.NISSWA, MN 56468

218-963-2341

Quality Sporting Goods

SPORTS SHOP

91 Years

Serving The Brainerd Lakes Area

829-6507Nisswa, MN

001359492r1

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100 Years

23521 Nokomis Ave Nisswa MN 56468

218-963-2234 www.grandviewlodge.com

101 Years Nisswa, Minn.

Est. 1914

Established 1914

(218) 963-2265www.SchaefersFoods.com

Schaefer’s Corner Hwy 371, Nisswa

Open Daily 7am-10pm 001359

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30 Years

2 1 8 - 9 6 3 - 7 4 7 02 2 3 8 6 Sta te H w y 3 7 1 S

“Better Boar d s, Better Ser v i ce”MARKETING ANDADVERTISING, INC

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The Company for Women

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41 Years

Dairy QueenNISSWA

25312 Smiley Rd, Nisswa • (218) 963-2163PEQUOT LAKES

30699 Minnesota 371, Pequot Lakes • (218) 568-5440PINE RIVER

306 Front St S., Pine River • (218) 587-4762

Dairy Queen

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20 Years

25545 Main St.Nisswa, MN

218.963.3306

JE WE L E R S

“Your Lakes AreaCustom Goldsmiths”

29 Years

963-79085445 City Hall Street

Nisswa(across from City Hall)

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& SPA24463 Hazelwood Drive, Nisswa, MN

Store: 218-961-PETSSpa: 218-961-7389

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10 Years

30849 1st St.Pequot Lakes, MN

218-568-5025www.nobleescrow.com

Escrow & Title, Inc.

10 Years

001365

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001359

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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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Open 7 Days A Week ~ All Year Long!

25539 Main St., Nisswa, MN 56468218-961-OILS (6457)

Also located in Walker & Bemidjiloideoilsandvinegars.com 0

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6 1/2 Years

24719 HAZELWOOD DR.NISSWA, MN

2 1 8 - 9 6 1 - 0 0 9 5


CLOW, From Page S10

“We could add another $10 million in sales here and handle it. If we get beyond that point, I’ll have to look at expanding.”

In his time running the business, Clow said he is proud of the culture that has been estab-lished for his employees and customers.

“I have a great staff, and we are very sensi-tive to customer needs,” Clow said. “We pro-

vide a competitive product on time. A lot of the customers want me to do the work for them, and I’m happy to do it.”

As for the employees of Clow Stamping, their president and CEO believes they enjoy what he called a fair wage with good benefits, as well as the opportunity to move up in the company.

“I pretty much always promote from with-in,” Clow said. “I have only gone outside for one hire in the past … All of my managers grew up in the company and eventually were promoted. There is always a chance for advancement.”

A turning point for the company, according to Clow, came roughly 12 years ago in fear of foreign competition when Clow Stamping hired consultants, who suggested the business

cut down on unnecessary aspects.“That was when our customers started

buying from overseas,” Clow said. “I decided we had to cut the fat and lean out and stay competitive. We still practice lean manufac-turing today. It really changed our culture.”

In the future, Clow expects the business to continue growing in some form, and also hopes the family business stays in the family.

“I have a 16-year-old son who may eventu-ally take over, but he is pretty young so who knows?” Clow said. “I would like to see it become a third-generation business, but we are just going to have to wait and see.”

DAN DETERMAN may be reached at 218-855-5879 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/dandeterman.

I’ll have to look at expanding.”

Clow Stamping, which has operated out of Merrifield since 1973, employs 430 people.PHOTO BY DAN DETERMAN /ECHO JOURNAL

BY NANCY VOGTEcho Journal Editor

The Nisswa A&W, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2016, has been open every summer since 1966, and has been locally owned and operated in the same location since the day it opened.

Bob Daniels, who owned Bar Harbor for a period of time, opened the downtown Nisswa A&W in 1966. He sold the restaurant in 1967 to Richard Buck. Nine years later, Buck sold the restaurant to his son, Rollin, in 1976, and Rollin owned it for 22 years. Martha Stenglein was the fourth owner from 1998-2015, when she sold it to current owner Emma Larson.

Like other A&Ws, the Nisswa restaurant started as a drive-in where food was deliv-ered to customers in their cars. The restau-rant later expanded to add a dining room, which took the place of the drive-in. While the menu has remained mainly unchanged over the years, the building’s interior has been remodeled, and the exterior was paint-ed in 2015.

Larson said A&W invented the bacon cheeseburger and is most known - of course - for its frosted mugs of homemade draft root beer on tap. She’s the only one who knows

how to make the root beer, and she makes triple batches every day during the summer.

Larson grew up in Nisswa and at age 25, she bought the restaurant she’s worked at for half her life.

“I always knew I’d be in hospitality and tourism,” said Larson. “This was actually my first job. I started here when I was 13. I knew restaurants was the path I was going to take, and then the opportunity came up to buy.”

“Five” is big in Larson’s life - she was born May 5 (the fifth day of the fifth month of the year), and was 25 in the spring of 2015 when she became the restaurant’s fifth owner.

“I knew the right thing was happening,” she said of buying the restaurant last spring and becoming one of Nisswa’s youngest business owners.

“I worked every day last summer - 2,000 hours,” Larson said. “This is kind of my baby.”

Larson attended Nisswa Elementary School in kindergarten and first grade before switching to the Pequot Lakes School District. She graduated from Pequot Lakes

Rollin Buck owned the Nisswa Dairy Queen from 1976-98. His daughter, Heidi, and another child are shown in this 1979 photo, when the restaurant still had a drive-in.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Rollin Buck owned the Nisswa Dairy Queen from 1976-98. His daughter, Heidi, and another child are shown in this 1979 photo, when the restaurant still had a drive-in.See A&W, Page S12


PINERIVERBAKERY215 BARCLAY AVE

PINE RIVER218-587-2545

New OwnersJohn & Julie Sigafus

Welcome You.

8 Years

001363

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10 Years

Terry & Denny Aleckson

218-587-2558

1389 St 84 SWPine River, MN

DOUBLE AAUTOMOTIVEDOUBLE A

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On County Road 5 just 1 block East of Hwy 371, Hackensack

Movie Hotline

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April 2016we will be

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144 1st StreetDowntown Hackensack

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218-587-5900231 Barclay Avenue.

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16 YearsTerry and Kim Have Owned

Cottage Cafe 15 Years.

Kim has worked here for 30 years.

218-587-2588 2 Blocks Off Hwy. 371,Downtown Pine River

Terry & Kim’s

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www.BlackBearGolfComplex.com

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PINE RIVERCOMMUNITY

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Downtown Pine River 218-587-3100

OPEN YEAR ROUND0

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24 YearsKevin Larson

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• New Homes• Remodeling Additions

• Cabins• Commercial Buildings

0013636

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25 YearsBarnum’s

Auto Parts

Hwy 371Pine River, MN

218-587-2900

33 Years

RAYMOND SCHRUPP3003 36th St. S.W., Pine River

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STATE CERTIFIED–BONDED–INSURED

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www.hannekeninsurance.com

Little FallsBrainerd

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41 Years

“We Serve”

Meetings held 2nd Thursday of Each Month

- 7:00 pm at the Birchwood

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HACKENSACK LIONS CLUB

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GUARANTEED Clog Free Gutters

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SEAMLESSGUTTERS LLC

Jeremy’s8 Years

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80 YearsGardiner’s

218-587-2585Downtown Pine River3 Businesses In One Convenient Location

GARDINER’S HARDWARE HANKFOR ALL YOUR HARDWARE NEEDS

GARDINER’S APPLIANCEMAYTAG • CROSLEY

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83 Years

“Where everyone meets to have a good time”

Club open Tuesday thru Sunday

218.675.9191 www.legionpost202.comDowntown Hackensack

AMERICAN LEGION POST #202

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98 Years

Your Locally Owned Bank with Five Locations

Pine River ....................218-587-4463 Breezy Point ................218-562-4977Emily ...........................218-763-2666Pillager ........................218-746-3580Nowthen ......................763-241-5266

www.pineriverstatebank.com


High School in 2008, and earned her Associate in Arts degree and hospitality certificate from Central Lakes College in Brainerd.

She started working at A&W in Nisswa the summer after completing seventh grade.

“My sister worked here first, so then I started working here as well,” she said, noting her older sister, Noel, also still works at the seasonal restaurant that’s open May 1 through the annual Nisswa Fall Festival in mid-Septem-ber.

The sisters come from a family that owned restaurants. Their grandparents owned Happy Chef restaurants, where their mother worked while growing up.

“I have a crazy work ethic. It’s in my family’s blood,” Larson said.

“I love the excitement and the constant interaction with customers. I am definitely a people person,” she said, not-ing her love for small-town life. “It’s kind of a dream come true - my first job to my last job - and hopefully I’ll be able to pass it down to my kids someday.”

She loves seeing the local residents and tourists each summer.

“It’s cool to see grandparents come in and remember A&W as a kid and share that with the next generation and create lasting memories, especially frosted mugs of root beer,” she said.

She also loves being in downtown Nisswa.“The sense of community we have in Nisswa is differ-

ent than a lot of towns,” Larson said. “Everyone knows each other. We’re there for each other. It’s a gorgeous area. You can’t get that in a big city.”

Larson praises her “phenomenal employees” who return each summer to work at A&W. And she advocates the restaurant’s celebration of National Root Beer Float Day on Aug. 6 every year. To go along with its theme of serving classic all-American food, the restaurant serves free root beer floats that day and strongly encourages donations for the Wounded Warrior Project. Nationwide, A&W Restaurants collect over $200,000 each year for the Wounded Warrior Project.

“I have lots of family and friends in the military so it’s close to my heart,” Larson said, noting the restaurant also offers a military discount. “They’ve given so much and we need to do what we can to help.”

During the restaurant’s off-season, Larson is a tax pre-parer at Nisswa Tax Service, just down the street from A&W, along with former owners Rollin Buck and Stenglein. She plans to own A&W until she retires.

“I love the idea of a family restaurant. It’s a good way to instill values and work ethic in kids,” she said.

“I’m a small-town girl who loves her hometown. I love this town and its people,” she added.

NANCY VOGT may be reached at 218-855-5877 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/nancyvogt.

A&W, From Page S11

This photo of former Nisswa A&W owner Rollin Buck’s son, Chris, and Rooty the Great Root Bear, taken around 1979 outside the Nisswa A&W, hangs inside the restaurant today.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

From left, three owners of the 60-year-old Nisswa A&W are Martha Stenglein, 1998-2015; Rollin Buck, 1976-98; and Emma Larson, current owner. Bob Daniels opened the restaurant in 1966, and Richard Buck owned it from 1967-76.

PHOTO BY NANCY VOGT /ECHO JOURNAL

2016 Business Traditions

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