ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP, Ohio – Warren and John Smith started selling animal feed from a garage on East Liverpool Road in St. Clair Township.
On Sept. 1, 1951, they announced the grand opening of Smith’s Feed Mill, proclaiming it as “Columbiana County’s Most Modern Mill.”
On Sept. 18, descendants of the two brothers celebrated the 75th anniversary of Smith’s Farm Supply, 14880 East Liverpool Road, just slightly down the hill from the original location.
The day was spent by members of the Smith family welcoming customers and well-wishers as they shared memories of the business’ success.
John Smith died in 1952, just one year after the mill officially opened, but it was then that the family’s proclivity for keeping the business afloat first surfaced.
Kay Smith related that her future husband, Bob Smith, the son of John Smith, was just 14 years old when his father died.
She said after his dad’s death, the teenager would attend school in East Liverpool a short period each day then catch a bus to the mill in the township so he could work.
“It cost him a dime to come here,” Mrs. Smith said.
His brother Wilson, at 16, went to work at the brick yard in Irondale to help support the farm supply business when their dad died, Mrs. Smith recalled.
Once the mill portion was built, the family steadily added onto the structure until it included an office and showroom as well as a straw and storage shed and garages for vehicles.
Bruce Smith said he recalled sitting on the hood of the family’s truck along the railroad tracks at the Ohio River in East Liverpool as it was unloaded in the 1960s. Today, truckfuls of grains and supplies are brought directly to the mill and unloaded with a forklift.
“We’ve got it easy now,” he said.
Bruce Smith said “things come and go” as far as what feeds are sold, noting during the Covid pandemic, they sold much more chicken layer feed when people began raising their own chickens. Today, garden seeds are a popular item with customers.
In 1969, heating oil was added to the supplies, but not without a trial run. Bruce Smith said a well-known heating oil company owner from the northern portion of the county lent the family a truck on a trial basis to see if they actually wanted to get into that business.
Among the artifacts on display at the celebration was a handwritten note showing the cost of 100 gallons of heating oil at that time was $15.97, with tax.
“It would be $700 at current prices,” Bruce Smith pointed out.
Also among mementoes was a flyer of the original 1951 grand opening, calendars from the 1960s and 1980s the business gave away to customers, and newspaper ads depicting the costs for chicken feed in 1935.
While family members greeted well-wishers, some of the business’ six full-time employees – as well as two cats who reside in the mill – kept busy loading up grains, seeds and a host of other goods while family members fielded phone calls from customers ordering peanuts, shelled corn and other items.
Helen Smith, wife of Warren Smith, and Dorothy Reynolds, sister of Bob and Warren, were among the family members present.
They and the younger generation of the Smith family agreed the business has succeeded all these years because it is owned and operated by family members.
Scott Smith, whose father Wilson Smith was a brother to John and Bob, cited family members’ dedication to working day and night as a reason for its success.
Kay Smith added, “Also the personalities of (family members). They’re all outgoing.”
The Smiths have not shied away from community service, with John having been a Columbiana County commissioner, Wilson a St. Clair Township clerk and Calcutta Volunteer Fire Department treasurer, Scott an assistant fire chief for CVFD and his son Lance an assistant fire chief for East Liverpool Fire Department.
Pictured at top: Members of the Smith family welcomed guests to the store during its 75th anniversary celebration. Pictured are (front) Kay Smith, Helen Smith, Dorothy Smith Reynolds; (back) Don, Bruce and Scott Smith.
