Posted: 9/20/06
Three generations and still going strong
 According to his family, Burt Peterson was more than just a local entrepreneur. He was naturally inquisitive and strived to know about things. This picture shows Burt getting down to granddaughter Heatherís level to explain some tiny wonder of the world. |
By Patrick Tepoorten
In 1956 Burton Peterson, a 45-year-old Cambridge man, bought the publicly owned North Branch mill, paid off the shareholders, and opened the privately owned Petersonís Mill. In the decades that followed Peterson would be a force for change and sometimes even the voice of the local farmer. Much more than just a business owner, Peterson would be remembered by congressman James Oberstar as his own personal Secretary of Agriculture.
The mill eventually purchased by Peterson began its existence in 1897 and, among other things, milled rye flour to be sold under the ìModel Homeî brand. Because the facility was a wooden structure, it was condemned for human consumption and no longer able to mill rye flour in 1954. At that time the feed mill and grain storage portion of the business was expanded.
In the beginning, Petersonís wasnít alone. It competed against Hilltop Feed Mill directly to the south. But according to Petersonís son Jerry, current Chief Executive Officer for Petersonís, the two mills managed to compete and, at the same time, ìgot along very well.î
Petersonís purchased Hilltop in 1966 and ran Petersonís and Hilltop as two separate entities until 1977. All milling was done at the Hilltop site while the Petersonís site was demolished and had drying and storage facilities constructed in its place.
Peterson was more than the local grain guy though. Jerry remembered his father as an innovator and educational resource for local farmers. Peterson introduced local farmers to nitrogen fertilizer as well as new varieties of soybeans and corn. ìHe was very progressive and very well liked,î said Jerry. ìFarmers could tell he had a genuine interest in their success.î
Concerned for the future of grain growers in 1980, after President Jimmy Carter announced a grain embargo of the Soviet Union, Peterson used his influence on the national commodities scene to shut down the Chicago Board of Trade (see sidebar).
By that time Petersonís had become much more of a partnership between father and son, in large part due to an accident that almost cost Burt his life in 1971.
He was injured trying to repair a customerís grain dryer. Having crawled into an access hatch, Peterson was caught by the stir arm when it advanced. ìIt almost decapitated him,î said Jerry.
The accident left Peterson with damaged nerves in his spine and he was hospitalized for three months. He would return to the mill and would work there until his death in 1997, but according to Jerry, he ìnever fully recoveredî from the accident.
While his father convalesced, Jerry was suddenly thrust into his fatherís role. ìI had no choice, I was the only one. That really kicked me into gear.î
Jerry was no stranger to the family business. He had been involved since he was old enough to work and, with the exception of the time he spent in the army and college, most of his time had been spent working for his father. Not that he necessarily planned it that way.
Jerry graduated from college in 1963 with degrees in teaching and biology, but things didnít go as planned. ìI couldnít buy a job, so I came home,î said Jerry, who has worked for the family business ever since. Still, it isnít hard to see that Jerry still thinks of Petersonís as his fatherís company. ìHe was quite a man. I couldnít even begin to fill his footsteps. I wouldnít even try.î
In 1999, shortly after Burtís death, Jerry put plans for a home and garden center into motion. Coupled with the mill and a Cambridge fertilizer blending plant purchased in 1983, Petersonís acts as manufacturer and retailer for a host of agriculture-related products.
All the while, Petersonís has remained a family business. Jerryís son Jeff, the current president, is expected to succeed Jerry as CEO upon his retirement, though no one is taking bets on when that might be.
Jerry, 67, has no plans to retire any time soon. Although he does take winters off, he considers work to be his hobby. ìMy biggest fear is that theyíll realize they can get along without me,î he said.
Regardless, Petersonís is destined to remain a family business, as it has been since 1956. Attempts to figure out how many family members have worked or do work for Petersonís currently were forsaken because the number is tremendous. Various of Jerryís children, in-laws, and grandchildren grace the aisles of Petersonís.
There isnít much milling happening at Petersonís these days. Rather, it is by and large a grain elevator and agricultural retailer and proud of it. And, while Petersonís has adapted to the world, the world certainly hasnít changed Petersonís.
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