We are saddened to hear the news that our good friend and longtime Hillsboro businessman Jerold Vogt died Sunday night. I knew he had health issues that had slowed him a great deal in recent months?we are just not ready for this moment. I know Karleen and his family will miss him immensely as will I and so many others.
Jerold was the dedicated and tireless patriarch of Vogt?s grocery store, which he took over right out of high school when his father passed away nearly 50 years ago.
He has supported this community for all of those years including as Chamber of Commerce president and many other roles of dedicated service. His leadership in the Hap Dumont baseball program was recognized and rightly so a few years back.
Jerold was a good baseball player himself back in the day as well as a high-caliber golfer all these years. He was in my foursome for the Rundstrom tournament this past April and still wielded a pretty good stroke in spite of his declining health.
The new Vogt?s Hometown Market in Hillsboro Heights wouldn?t be there without Jerold?s determination and grit to make it happen.
We?ll miss you, Jerold. Thanks for letting me be your friend since our school days.
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Hillsboro is blessed to have many world-class industries, businesses and a college that provide employment, products, services and education that help our city thrive. It?s a good idea to recognize the contributions of a few each year.
The reception sponsored by Hillsboro Development Corp. this past week for Countryside Feed, The Lumberyard and Tabor College was a nice touch. A representative of the Kansas Department of Commerce was on hand to award certificates and plaques to recognize these entities and their achievements.
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As I was visiting with Dan Bernhardt of Countryside Feed, I learned that some of the specialty horse feed manufactured here for another Kansas company actually ends up in Hawaii.
I?ll bet you didn?t know that.
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It was said that Countryside Feed makes up to 500 tons of feed and other products per day.
So my quizical mind kicked in. I wondered what the equivalent of bowls of Raisin Bran would be.
I figured it out to be the equivalent of 8 million 2-ounce servings of cereal per day.
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On the longevity front, Tabor College recently celebrated its centennial and The Lumber?yard, in its 125th year, is the longest continually operating business in town.
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I was planning to fix some chairs during the weekend. I bought some chair caning supplies in January and I was ready to fix the chairs that had knees or butts go through them over the years.
Turns out the spline they sent me was too narrow so I was stymied.
I called the company Monday morning to explain my dilemma and was told they would send out the right material right away, no questions asked.
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Dave and Candice Ranney were in town for the weekend and for some reason we got on the topic of the old Sunday ?Blue laws.?
I said I wondered who was responsible for ending this law.
Dave, still the quick wit, said, ?It was Mr. Green.?
