| Summary: | Summers Mfg. Co., Inc. By Carter Summers In 1934, Abraham Summers, father of Harley Summers, rented a building in Maddock from Edwin Westby, this building to be usedasa blacksmith shop. The shop was called Maddock Iron Works. Prior to this the building was used as an auto repair shop by Ben Westby. Abraham Summers had operated a blacksmith shop in Brinsmade for three years before moving to Maddock and starting business. In 1940 Maddock Iron Works was taken over by Abraham's son Harley who purchased the lot and building from Edwin Westby. In 1946 an addition was placed to the south of the structure which enlarged it to 1760 square feet. This blacksmith shop was operated by Harley Summers from 1940 to 1965. In 1965 the patent rights to the Goebel truck and pick-up hoists were purchased from the Goebel Bros. Mfg. of Lehr, N. D. The manufacture and nationwide sales of these hoists began that year, using the blacksmith shop as headquarters. Within the year it became obvious the blacksmith shop was too small. The company then rented some space from John Olson in his building on main street. The paint facilities were set up there and the finished product would be transferred there to be painted. As time progressed this process became costly and time consuming, so a new 7200 square foot block building was erected on 4th street in 1965. The blacksmith shop was sold at that time to Baker Electric. The firm still needed more room, so in 1969 Bill Rice's quonset and lots were purchased. In 1972 one building belonging to Virgil Klein was rented for a period of one year and used as a warehouse. In 1965 the firm negotiated and won the contract to build parts for the Herman harrow for Ardon Herman on a job order basis. Herman Mfg. was at that time owned and operated by Ardon Herman on his farm, producing the harrow only. The Herman drawbar did not come into existence until 1970, at which time it was designed by Harley Summers and Lyle Long of York, North Dakota. The manufacturing rights of the drawbar has always belonged to Summers Mfg., and in 1970 the rights to manufacture and distribute the Herman harrow were purchased from Herman Mfg. The combination of the harrow design and a drawbar strong enough to pull it filled a real need in agriculture. In 1969 the firm incorporated under the laws of North Dakota and adopted the official name of Summers Mfg. Co., Inc. The officers and board of directors are listed as: Harley Summers, President; Carter B. Summers, Vice President; Larry Summers, Vice President; Viola Summers, Secretary-Treasurer. Business growth now demanded more working room and warehouse space. It was not possible to purchase more land at the present location, so 6.5 acres were purchased from Edwin Nottestad and Randall Bergsgaard within the city limits across town on Railroad Avenue. A new plant and offices consisting of 20,000 square feet was erected at this location in 1973. The company began construction of a 20,000 square foot warehouse and assembly plant in the fall of 1975, which should be completed by January of 1976. The former plant facilities on 4th street are now being used as a warehouse. The present market area for the harrows includes the Dakotas, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, Iowa, Washington, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. A number of sales ha«e also been made overseas to Braz.l, France and Yugoslavia in cooperation with other North Dakota manufacturers. The hoists continue to be sold nationwide, including Hawaii. The Summers family has been in business in Maddock for 42 years. + + + Patt's Place of Pots and Plants By Patt Scott Patts Place of Pots and Plants was originally started as House of Plants in the spring of 1970 by Patt Scott at her farm home. Under this name she sold bedding plants and made up various size terrariums on order, and artificial holiday decorations. In September of 1975, she combined her love of plants with a desire she had to teach the many phases of ceramics. Classes have been held since then in the basement of her home with the many techniques of ceramics being taught. She also has made many items for sale on order. + + + C & S Inc. By Bruce Terpening Dave's Arctic Cat Sales was established in the fall of 1969. David B. Holje, owner and manager, handled winter sports vehicles and clothing and some farm equipment. In October of 1972, Dave's Arctic Cat Sales, was sold to the following individuals: Joel Ackerman, Sutton, North Dakota; David B. Holje, Maddock; Michael Lesmeister, Selz, North Dakota; Bruce J. Terpening, Maddock and Paul Thorp, Fargo, North Dakota. The above formed the present corporation, C and S., Incorporated, which also purchased the Standard Gas franchise from Harvey and Faye Broten in October of 1973. Kenneth D. Hellerud, Maddock, joined the corporation in 1974. + + + Maddock Ready Mix By Bruce Terpening The Maddock Ready Mix and Masonry originated in May of 1970. Jerome and Isabel Liska owned and operated this business until April of 1975 when Bruce J. and Wanda S. Terpening purchased the Ready Mix. Liskas retained the Masonry department which they continue to operate out of Maddock. 88 Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.
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