Lessons From Century-Old Family Businesses in Cache Valley

Emily Buckley, editor in chief

Is there any institution more enduring or universal than a family business? And, a further question: What motivates a modern family in America — the land of easy mobility and limitless opportunity — to continue an enterprise founded by a long-passed ancestor?

Cache Valley is home to many long-standing family businesses, including the four we feature here. Each owner is justifiably proud in carrying on their family’s tradition of trade, customer service, hard work, and community.

We are grateful for the part they play in making our ever-growing community a hometown we love.

WIMMER’S SEW AND VAC

In 1922 Acel Forest Wimmer moved his family to Logan, Utah, and started selling and servicing sewing machines door-to-door. People didn’t have a lot of money in those days, but functional sewing machines were an important part of everyday life, so Acel accepted payment in the form of garden produce, chickens, and turkeys if necessary.

The business has remained in the family for 100 years, passing from Acel and his wife Dora to his son and daughter-in-law Wayne and Joann Wimmer in 1957. Then it passed on to son Steve and Debbie Wimmer in 1984, who sold it to current and fourth-generation owners Marc and Wendy Wimmer in 2018.

WHERE WAS YOUR ORIGINAL LOCATION?
Although door-to-door sales was the true beginning of Wimmer’s Sew and Vac, the first physical location was on the west side of 100 North in Logan. Acel’s children Wayne and Doreen would use the front counter as their “hut” when they had to go to work with their mom when she had to tend the store.

“I wonder if her having to tend the store was when Acel went door to door asking if people needed their sewing machines fixed?” JoAnn Wimmer questioned.

HOW HAS YOUR BUSINESS CHANGED OVER THEYEARS AND WHAT PARTS HAVE STAYED THE SAME?
In 1984, Wayne and JoAnn built and opened the current Wimmer’s building at 745 North Main and added vacuums to their sales and service departments. They also opened a branch in Layton, which was eventually sold to a nephew.

JoAnn taught sewing classes in the store for many years, and, in addition to taking sewing classes at Utah State University, she traveled to the eastern United States to learn how to utilize the “new” sewing machines with built-in stitches besides forward and backward.

In 2000, years after Steve and Debra Wimmer took over the business, they added Wimmer’s Bike Shop.

Today, Marc and Wendy Wimmer operate Wimmer’s as a full service and sales center.

“We have always sold products we can service,” Wendy said. “A good vacuum or sewing machine, if taken care of, can last a long time.”

WHAT IS YOUR PHILOSOPHY OR “SECRET” TO RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS FOR SO LONG IN CACHE VALLEY?
Wayne Wimmer would always say, “Our philosophy is really simple: Good customer service, keeps people coming back!”

Wendy and Marc Wimmer, Steve and Debora Wimmer, and JoAnn Wimmer.

Four generations of Wimmers: Acel Forest Wimmer (seated) holding Marc, with Steve Wimmer and Wayne Wimmer standing behind.

BENNETT’S PAINT

The Jenkins family started doing business in Cache Valley in the mid 1850’s when Robert Jenkins operated Logan Mercantile. In 1912, Charles Jenkins opened Logan Hardware, selling mostly tools and sporting goods. Paint didn’t become the main focus of the business until Charles’ son Lowell Jenkins partnered with Bennett’s Paint, and became a franchise for about a decade in the mid 1900’s. When the Bennett’s Paint Corporation folded, the Jenkins family kept the business name, but has operated independently ever since.

Lowell and his children Greg, Martha, and Ron worked together for many years. In 2006 Ron Jenkins opened Bennett’s Glass, a separate business, directly behind the Bennett’s Paint, and Greg and his son Ben continued on with the paint store, making Ben the fifth-generation owner of the store and his children sixthgeneration employees.

WHERE WAS YOUR ORIGINAL LOCATION?
Bennett’s Paint was originally located at 45 North Main Street, straight across from the Tabernacle. In 1997 they moved to their current location at 1962 North Main Street in North Logan.

Their original building was torn down and built back up again to become the Copper Mill Restaurant, which has now been removed to make space for the Center Block Plaza.

HOW HAS YOUR BUSINESS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS AND WHAT PARTS HAVE STAYED THE SAME?
Logan Mercantile originally provided basic needs to the early residents of Cache Valley, but Bennett’s Paint now caters to a much smaller niche. National Brands such as PPG Porter, Kelly-Moore, and Benjamin Moore Paints, line the shelves of Bennett’s to give customers just about any kind of paint, and color they could dream of.

Their website states that their core values of hard work, going the extra mile, and putting customers first are key to their long success.

“Many things have remained the same over 110 years,” said Ben’s wife, Stephany Jenkins.

“We have had the good fortune of having a good relationship with our customers and many employees for over a century. We don’t know everyone by name anymore, but we still enjoy personal relationships with many of our customers.”

Stephany said the biggest change is definitely the technology they use every day.

HOW HAS THE CACHE VALLEY MARKETPLACE CHANGED IN THE LAST 100 YEARS?
“100 years ago there weren’t many options,” Stephany said. “Today there are several places to buy anything a person may want, including ordering online.”

WHAT IS YOUR PHILOSOPHY OR “SECRET” TO RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS FOR SO LONG IN CACHE VALLEY?
“Our customers have always been our friends,” Stephany said. “We try to be honest and treat people the way we would like to be treated. We strive to help our contractors grow their business and be successful themselves.”

The original Bennett’s location, then known as Logan Mercantile.

(Left to right) Lowell Jenkins, Ron Jenkins, Martha Rose, Greg Jenkins, and Ben Jenkins.

Ben and Stephany Jenkins, and family, current owners of Bennett’s Paint.

AL’S SPORTING GOODS

Al’s Sporting Goods was founded in 1921 in Logan, Utah, by Alvin Moroni Larsen, who borrowed $500 using only a $10 Mexican coin and a handshake as collateral to purchase inventory for a cycling and fishing store. His shop, originally called Al’s Bike, has developed into the oldest full-line sporting goods retailer in Utah. Now run by third- and fourth-generation grandsons, CEO Kris Larsen and President Jason Larsen, Al’s prides themselves in “offering gear and clothing for every sport and every season.”

For over a century, the family-owned and operated retailer has been a mainstay in Cache Valley.

WHERE WAS YOUR ORIGINAL LOCATION?
Over the past 100 years, Al’s has been housed in five different buildings in Cache Valley, beginning at the corner of 100 West and Center Street. Their current 60,000-squarefoot building is located at 1075 North Main Street in Logan.

They also have two additional stores in Orem and Idaho Falls.

HOW HAS YOUR BUSINESS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS AND WHAT PARTS HAVE STAYED THE SAME?
Al’s has always been a place where people love to hang out, meet friends, look for a great deal, or just reminisce about that fish that got away! This will always be the case.

“Probably the biggest change we have seen in our business is the increase in our size and scale,” Lindee Stone, marketing director, said. “Just a few decades ago, the volume we would do in a year, we can now do in a single day. Computers and technology have changed everything we do. Gone are the days of submitting a purchase order to a vendor on the phone or fax machine. Now it’s done in a split second by the click of a mouse. Bar codes now allow us to check out a customer at the register 10 times faster than in years past. Over the internet we can sell something to anyone, anywhere, at any time of the day, and in some cases never touch the item.”

HOW HAS THE CACHE VALLEY MARKETPLACE CHANGED IN THE LAST 100 YEARS?
“Al used to brag that he knew the name of every family in every home in Logan,” Lindee said. “Now it’s hard to know the names of every family on your own street!”

“While Cache Valley has always been a very industrious place, and it is certainly much more affluent than it once was. From an economic standpoint, we are much more blessed with higher disposable incomes. This has changed purchasing behavior. We tend to sell many more high-end items. The old days of needing to layaway for a month to pay for it are all but gone. Also, while credit cards used to be 5 to 10% of our brick and mortar volume, they now comprise over 90% of those transactions.”

WHAT IS YOUR PHILOSOPHY OR “SECRET” TO RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS FOR SO LONG?
“At Al’s we are all friends and we are all avid users of the products we sell. We love what we do,” Lindee said. “This reflects on who we are. Our team gives great customer service. In a day where everything seems to be self-serve, we know it is refreshing to get some friendly, professional advice. We also insist on carrying products from only the best manufacturers in the world. All that, along with the assurance that Al’s always has a fair price, is the secret to running a great sporting goods company.”

HICKMAN LAND AND TITLE

Hickman Land Title began in 1904 when Louis S. Cardon, the great grandfather of the current company leadership, starting a one-man abstract service as an adjunct to his real estate company.

In 1907, the company was incorporated under the name Intermountain Real Estate Company, in 1913 the name changed to Cardon Company and later Cardon Abstract.

During the early years Louis’ daughter, Margaret Cardon Hickman, worked with her father. In 1930 Louis suffered a major heart attack. After his passing, Margaret, a single mom, continued to work and manage the day-to-day operations of the business. Her son Lou was raised in the office, coming to help at lunch and after school. Lou graduated from Logan High School and began attending Utah State University (USU).

With the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Lou joined the military for three years. Upon returning to Logan, he completed a civil engineering degree at USU, then earned an MBA from Stanford University, coming home on the weekends to help with title searches.

HOW HAS YOUR BUSINESS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS AND WHAT PARTS HAVE STAYED THE SAME?
In 1946, Lou and his mother Margaret purchased the assets of the company and changed the name to Hickman Abstract, dropping the real estate portion of the business.

As title insurance began to replace abstracts, the company’s emphasis changed and with it came a new name, Hickman Land Title Company.

Around this time, Lou and Margaret remodeled the building and added the iconic gothic arches to the facade symbolizing security and strength.

In 1969, Lou married Rosemarie Gibbons and began a family which now includes seven children, and many grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Like Lou, his children were raised at the office and given jobs including cleaning, filing, indexing copies of public records, updating plat maps, and delivering documents. The Aggie tradition also continued, as most of the next generation attended and graduated from USU.

Lou’s children now own and manage the company: Jim Hickman is now the company president, Heather Hickman is a vice president and manages the Layton office, and Stacey Gleason Hickman oversees the South Jordan branch. Kristeen Christensen and Holly Haslem work with the Logan team and Suzanne Hickman, though employed elsewhere, stays involved with the Logan office.

Continuing with tradition, Hickman Land Title remains a family operation with some fifth generation members now working with the company.

WHAT IS YOUR PHILOSOPHY OR “SECRET” TO RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS FOR SO LONG IN CACHE VALLEY?
Lou’s children all enjoyed working with their dad. They learned many values from him including diligence, effort, humor, integrity and respect. Lou loved Cache Valley and helping people with their real estate needs. Naturally, Hickman Land Title created its mission statement based on the values that characterized his action: helping clients and communities, providing accurate timely information and services, and treating all people with respect and friendly professionalism.

“We are grateful to work with the people of this community and strive to give back,” Kristeen said.

“We have been blessed and enriched as we’ve worked alongside many employees through the years, including extended family members. Together we enjoy researching properties and facilitating the many details, both simple and complex, that are involved in residential and commercial real estate transactions. We are excited to work with real estate agents and lenders in helping clients purchase their homes, and to work with builders and developers as they create new communities. We hope to be an integral part in building our communities in the future.”

Margaret Cardon Hickman