LINCOLN — Tractors and farm equipment parts have been a staple on the corner of Main Street and Pridemore Drive for 63 years.
The view is changing quickly as every item at Lincoln Supply was auctioned off.
Bob Daugherty is closing the family business he owns with his nephew Steve. Bob Daugherty said his grandfather started the business 67 years ago on the town square before constructing the current building at 100 U.S. 62 in 1949.
“Since I was 11 years old I’ve worked here,” Bob Daugherty said Friday in front of the shop. “I grew up in the business.”
At A Glance
Liquidation Sale
Lincoln Supply, 100 U.S. 62, Lincoln, is holding a liquidation auction starting at 9:30 a.m. today.
Source: Staff Report
The store was a bustle of activity Friday as the first of a two-day liquidation sale was under way. The auction continues today from 9:30 a.m. until the last item is sold.
Bob Daugherty said the time had just come to close. Both men were ready to do something new.
“I’m looking for a new beginning,” said Steve Daugherty. “This is the only thing I’ve ever done.”
He has worked at the business for 22 years. Bob Daugherty has been around the business for about 50 years.
Steve Daugherty said he plans to stay in the farm equipment business, but plans to work for someone else in a larger setting.
“I’ll miss seeing all the customers who came in every day,” he said. “But I want to go to a more productive atmosphere. It’s hard to keep a business going in a small town.”
Bob Daugherty has already dabbled in other areas. He got his real estate license in 2002 and is co-owner of Legend Realty in Farmington. He also owns 1st Employment Staffing in Fayetteville with his son, Jason. They started the employee placement business in 2004.
He said closing shop was not an easy decision.
“The community has supported us all these years. I feel like I’ve let them down,” Bob Daugherty said.
Business has been down the past two years because of the drought, he said.
“You have to be able to spread costs around and that takes volume,” Bob Daugherty said. “Farming is so different than it was even just 20 years ago.”
Carl Richardson, a cattle farmer from Elkins, was at the sale Friday. He said he’s been coming to Lincoln Supply the past five years.
“This is one of the last places in the area to get after-market parts,” he said. “A lot of these places are closing down.”
Bill Meuser knows the challenges of running a farm supply business. He has owned Meuser Material and Equipment in Springdale since 1971. He downsized in the early 1990s and knows the challenges of running this type of business.
“Everything is changing. There are less and less of these businesses across the country,” he said.
Rob Hulse, Lincoln mayor, said it’s hard to see any business close and it’s even harder when it’s one that has been around for so long.
“Lincoln will not be the same with them gone. With Lincoln and the area being a farming community, there are a lot of people who rely on Lincoln Supply,” he said.
The mayor is hopeful the building won’t sit empty for long. Bob Daugherty said John Blosser purchased the property.
Washington County property records show Blosser bought the property in February for $150,000. It is now owned by Blosser Enterprises LLC.
Attempts to reach Blosser Friday were unsuccessful.
“I’m glad someone has purchased the building and they will hopefully open something that will be good for the community,” Hulse said.