| Sherwood Elevator is a family run business that was purchased by Ken and Betty Kress in 1951. They managed and grew the business throughout the years and have since passed on the day to day operations to their sons Klair, Kurt, and Klay. Below is a story of how Sherwood Elevator came to be what it is now. 70 years and counting....(written by Betty Kress) In 1950, Ken & I were married and started our search for a feed mill. Ken had been feed manager at Cleveland Co-op in Cleveland, WI, where he was born & raised. Together, we looked at 5-6 different mills and decided on Sherwood. At that time, Calumet County was noted for their cows and many farms. So, in October 1951, we picked up our baby girl, along with our belongings and moved to Sherwood. We bought Sherwood Elevator and November 1st, 1951 was our first day of business. Our receipts for our first business day was some $12.00....quite the start! Back in those days the farmers came in with horses and picked up 1 or 2 bags of grain at a time; not like the 16-22 tons we deliver now to a 40-mile radius. But, times changed. We started using Murphy Feed Supplements and the farmers saw improved milk production and business boomed. The mill was updated, added to and more land was purchased. Our 3 sons, Klair, Kurt & Klay, and later our daughter Karol, started working at the family business. In 1978, we purchased a feed mill in De Pere, to be known as Kress Farm Supply. Klay & Klair ran that feed mill until 2005 when it was sold to a dentist for development. All the brothers are now working out of our Sherwood plant. In 1993 we built the new store, offices & warehouse. Building our new store meant now being able to have a "country store" with more foot traffic. Karol started working at the mill at that time and she is now the office manager. From 1995 to 2007 we put up & added to our corn drying system, with the capacity now being 1,000,000 bushels. In 2011 we built our building for our semi & bulk trucks. Things certaintly improved since that first day's business of $12.00. We have been blessed with our family working together and with employees, some who have been with us for up to 40 years. We would like to thank our many farmers, some 3rd & 4th generations, for their business throughtout the years. August 1, 2022 was a day of transition, as our beloved Sherwood Elevator was sold to Nutrition Service of Pulaski. The new owners have entrusted us with continueing on with business as is, so inside the "country store" most things have remained the same, especially with Karol and Wendy here to welcome you! |
