Message on a bottle, Part 3
By Steve Roush
HCP columnist
Ladies and gentlemen, the McKeehan, Hiestand Grocery Co. operated in Hillsboro for 55 years.
It began operation in 1876, and on July 4, 1941, the local newspaper ran a front-page story about the company going out of business, writing, in part, “The McKeehan, Hiestand Grocery Co. will discontinue business about Aug. 15. The decision was made at a meeting of stockholders, held Friday night, June 17.
“The reason for this action is that with changing economic conditions it has been found that the business cannot be conducted at a profit. This has been the case with small wholesale groceries throughout the country. Chain groceries have increased in numbers, and these buy wholesale for all the stores in the chain. Large wholesale groceries in the big cities have made special contracts with independently owned groceries. More and more, this has cut into the business of the local wholesale company. After careful consideration, it was decided to sell the stock of merchandise, equipment and fixtures and discontinue business. It is thought this can be done by the middle of August, except for details.
“The company has been so successful that when it is liquidated, the stockholders will receive more than par for their stock.”
The company still had 12 employees when it closed. Most had been with the company many years with the average length of service of 25 years. Charles Shields worked with the company for 40 years, followed by Cliff M. “C.M” Lacy and P.B. Zink, who each had 38 years of service. Don Asher had worked there 33 years when the company closed, and in the shipping department, Sam Jackson had been with the company the longest – 25 years. Cliff M. “C.M” Lacy died in 1960 at the age of 75 and is buried in the New Lynchburg Masonic Cemetery. Lacy also spent 38 years of service as director of Merchants National Bank in Hillsboro, retiring as bank director in January of 1960. The local newspaper wrote that Lacy died July 11, 1960, two days after suffering a heart attack.
It was written when the McKeehan, Hiestand Grocery Co. of Hillsboro was closing its doors, “It will be with regret that the people of Hillsboro and Highland County will learn that this company with such a long and honored career of service is going to discontinue business. It has been a great asset to the community.”
Indeed.
Let’s pause for now, and we’ll continue next time.
Steve Roush is president of the Highland County Historical Society and served as chairman and vice chairman on the HCHS Board of Trustees for two terms, a board member of the Highland District Hospital Foundation, a vice president of an international media company and a columnist and contributing writer for The Highland County Press. He can be reached by email at roush_steve@msn.com.
