- 1937- Hermansen’s Company, Inc. was established by Alma Lee Hermansen as a simple lumber planing business that turned into building cabinets and then later homes. Most of the lumber came from the Ephraim area.
- 1957-1960- Hardware items, a line of tractors and auto parts were added to support the local home building.
- 1965- A devastating fire burned the business to the ground. That same year Alma Lee Hermansen built the business back up and established a new building.
- 1970’s- Morris, Alma’s son, began the process of purchasing the business from his father. Morris’s focus on customer service made the business grow exponentially.
- 1990’s- A new building was built on the South side of Ephraim for the tractor, implement, and farm supply to be relocated. The process of selling the hardware store to Morris’s son Carl began.
- 2000-present- Carl has maximized the space that he had gained, filling it with new inventory. With these changes hardware and lumber sales were able to increase dramatically, bringing the store back to it’s roots.
- Today, the focus on “good ole hometown service since 1937” continues to be our motto. We will always choose to keep it that way.
Our Story
In 1937 Alma Lee Hermansen began a simple lumber planing business. Grandpa Lee’s passion for woodwork and building led to the establishment of a cabinet making shop. He then began building and installing cabinets with much of the lumber used coming from the Ephraim area.
He would start with a standing tree and end up with beautiful handmade cabinets. In the 1950’s Grandpa Lee further expanded his love of construction by building complete homes, many of which still stand and are lived in today. Even today the house across the street from the hardware store was built from the ground up by Grandpa Lee.
In the late 1950’s early 1960’s the business was again expanded. Many hardware items were added to support the home building for the company. The then new, now antique, line of Case International and eventually Massey Ferguson line of tractors and implements were added. As if this wasn’t enough….the Western Auto line of auto parts was also implemented in the 1960’s. There was even a time when Massey Ferguson and SkiDoo snowmobiles were sold along with all the other facets of the business!
Around 1965 there was a devastating fire that burned the entire business to the ground. Immediately after, Grandpa Lee started construction on a new cinder block building adjacent to the one that burned and reestablished the business. After many modifications, additions, deletions, and another fire in the early 80’s, this cinder block building is still in use today.
In the early 1970’s the True Value line of hardware was adopted and strengthened the business by offering a broader line of hardware merchandise. From here the sell of the business to Lee’s son, Morris, began. After purchasing the business, Morris continued to focus on customer service. Because of his efforts the business expanded and grew at an exponential rate.
In the late 1990’s the business had long overgrown the size of it’s facility. A new building was constructed on the south end of Ephraim and the tractor line, implement, and farm supply were relocated. During the relocation and expansion, the sell of the hardware business to Morris’s son Carl began to develop.
The hardware store was then able to expand and grow into the space that was gained. Shortly after, the decision to change hardware suppliers from True Value to Do It Best was made. Carl also made many changes and maximized the space that he had gained, filling it with new inventory. With these changes, hardware and lumber sales were able to increase dramatically.
Today, the focus on “good ole hometown service since 1937” continues to be our motto. We will always choose to keep it that way.