Memories have been milled by the bushel basket over the last 40-plus years as Charlie Hunt and Keith Hart have owned and-- operated Marion Feed Mill.
This week, a changing of the guard begins as Hunt and Hart give way to new feed mill owners, Randell and Margie Lanham and their 36-year-old son, Michael.
Hunt and Hart have supplied everything from feed and fertilizer to hardware and rat poison to three generations of customers. It’s been a lifestyle for the two partners, who met in college as fraternity brothers and have shared more than just a business over the last four decades. Their ties run much deeper.
“I like to tell people that Keith and I lived together for a year then decided to get married,” quipped Hunt, who bought the feed mill in 1974 then took on his new partner three years later.
Hunt’s father and uncles – John A., Bill and Shorty – had operated the Hunt Bros. Feed Store just up the street for 30 years, until Charlie Hunt says he finally ran them out of business – with tongue in cheek of course – in 1984.
Hunt is 66 and Hart turned 64 on Tuesday, the day they officially handed the keys over to the Lanhams. Hart and Hunt plan to stick around for a couple months, but then will be at least semi-retired. They might show up and help at the mill if needed. Hunt says he will maintain an office at the store where he will run a few of his other enterprises, including a hunting outfitting service and other local investments.
“I’m going to travel,” Hart said. “I don’t feel old enough to retire, but I didn’t want to wait until I was 80. I enjoy spending time with my wife, and I like to travel. I enjoy seeing places I haven’t ever seen.”
Both of their wives have also retired in the last few years, making this seem natural, but Hunt admits he’s glad he’ll still have a presence at the mill.
“I can’t bring myself to leave here,” he said.
Michael Lanham will be the most visible new owner for the time being. Eventually, his mother will be at the mill daily. She plans on retiring from the local school district next summer.
“I don’t like change and people don’t like it either,” Michael said in explaining what customers will find different at the Marion Feed Mill once the baton is exchanged.
“It’s going to be the same,” he added.
Clifton Etheridge is one of four employees currently working at the mill, besides Hunt and Hart. Etheridge has been a fixture at the mill himself. Next summer will mark his 40th year there.
The entire crew says the mill has been a place where relationships have grown. It was originally a few hundred feet closer to town, on the other side of the railroad tracks, but the partners were leasing that operation. They built their own mill in 1979 and remodeled the mill and store in 2006, expanding the retail business to include clothing and other home and farm items.
In days gone by, the mill was a place where men hung out, whittled, ate peanuts and left their shells on the floor. It was a place to find the latest news and get a commodity and weather report. There were several characters who were regular loafers at the mill. Roy Beashers, Kernie Crider, Todd Wilson, Lee Lamb and Gleaford Easley were among those who first come to mind when the mill gang starts reminiscing about the past. And former employees Dave Hunt and Keith Gipson were always up to something and kept things lively around the mill.
The Lanhams are lifelong farmers and understand the business. They say the switch over in management will be seamless and would likely go unnoticed if it weren’t for new faces at the checkout counter.
“I’m going to miss my customers,” said Hart. “That’s going to be the hardest thing. I will miss them and the salesmen who have called on us for years.”
Marion Feed Mill has been more than a retail business in Marion under Hunt and Hart’s management. It’s a landmark and their individual marks on the community are wide and long as both have been heavily involved in civic and community affairs throughout their business careers.
