Bob Kahrig, the “Face of Heritage Co-op” Retiring after Nearly Forty-Five Years

When you think of Heritage Co-op, you probably think of Bob Kahrig. He’s been running the Caldwell store for 27 years, starting back when it was called Rolling Hills Landmark.

In fact, Bob has outlasted several business names, including Green Valley Co-op, AgLand Co-op and now he’s retiring from Heritage Co-op, also sometimes called Heritage Country Store.

A graduate of Buckeye Trail High School, Bob married his high school sweetheart, Lisa. The couple live in Salesville where they are raising their four children.

 

Before coming to Caldwell to run the then-flagging store in 1997, Bob had officially worked at the Cambridge store under his dad, Manager Bill Kahrig, for 17 years, since he was a 15-year-old boy.

Officially, because in actuality Bob has worked for the farmer-owned cooperative since he was about five years old and accompanied his dad to work whenever he didn’t have school.

“I started carrying out small items for people when I was five; stuff up to about 25 pounds,” Bob said. “Then when I turned six, Dad let me carry out bags of feed and soil up to 50 pounds.”

When Bob was almost nine, he was asked to load a 100-pound bag into a woman’s car. The man who asked him warned him not to catch it on the trunk latch and tear the bag. Bob managed it and hurried in to tell his dad of his impressive achievement.

Bob said his dad raised an eyebrow at that. “But he didn’t tell me not to do it again!”

 

In those days, railroad cars would pull up not far from the Cambridge store, and employees would have 48 hours to unload them before they pulled out again.

Bob often found himself rolling a cart across a metal platform to load it up with bags of soluble potash, seed, feed, soil and other items. The insides of those metal cars were cold in the winter and hot in the summer.

It was the summer Bob turned 15, 1980, when he was helping to unload a sweltering railroad car. “The Big Boss came walking up to see how we were doing,” Bob recalled. I was sweaty and dirty. He said, ‘Bob, are you all covered in sweat?’

Bob told him it was hot in the car, and invited him to see for himself, but the Big Boss declined, instead asking Bob whether he was getting paid for his work.

“I told him I’d be getting a burger and fries for lunch,” Bob said. About a week later, the Big Boss came back and told Bob that starting on June 23, 1980, he would start punching the time clock like everyone else and drawing a paycheck.

He’d been working for free for 10 years at that point simply because he loved going to work with his dad. He’d also been learning the ropes from the bottom up, which paid off later.

 

Bob finished high school in three years, graduating with his class senior year while working full-time at the co-op. He spent the next 15 or so years working for his dad on the clock at the Cambridge store, and in 1997 the company’s management contacted him and told him they needed him to take on a new role.

“They wanted me to take over the Caldwell store,” Bob said. “I’d already told them no like four times.”

Bob said that the winter of 1997 was mild, and the company didn’t sell much heating oil or other petroleum products. Part of his job was to deliver straw to the Caldwell store, as Caldwell and Cambridge stores shared shipments, as did the Woodsfield and Bethesda stores. So he knew the people there.

Management told him they were considering shutting down the Woodsfield store and the Caldwell store. They wanted Bob to take over in Caldwell and see if he could turn things around. They gave him one night to decide.

“I spoke to my father, who said I should try it out,” Bob said. “They’d said if I couldn’t bring it back, I could return to Cambridge.”

So Bob took his years of experience in every aspect of working in the Cambridge store, and put it to good use. Within three years, his store became the top producer. He’s been there ever since.

 

Retiring after 44 ½ years as an official employee, Bob said his main regret is that he won’t see the people he’s served and worked with every day for decades. “I’ll miss the customers most of all. I love serving the customers.”

Bob’s last day at Heritage was Friday, Dec. 27. We at The Journal wish him well in his future endeavors.

Acting as manager until one is named is Assistant Manager Katie Miller. See her for all your agricultural, hunting and pet needs!