Past, present and future

The arrival of one E.J. Shively in Saratoga was not big news, at the time. The announcement of his arrival in Saratoga could be found on page 8 of the February 27, 1919 Saratoga Sun among other short stories, later known as "Saratoga Chips".

"E.J. Shivley of Denver arrived here the first of the week to accept a position at Tilton & Son hardware store. His family arrived on Wednesday's train and will reside here permanently."

Just how permanent was likely unknown to Shively, his family and anyone else in the Platte Valley at that time. Nearly seven years later Shively would appear on the front page of the Sun as the December 17, 1925 edition announced his purchase, along with the aid of D.J. Courtney, of the Tilton & Son hardware store.

"A deal was consumated (sic) the fore part of this week whereby Messrs. E.J. Shively of Saratoga and D.J. Courtney of Custer City, Okla., became the new owners of all stock and equipment of Tilton & Son, hardware dealers of Saratoga. The new management took charge of the store Tuesday," the short article read.

D.J., or Dan, Courtney was quite literally like a father to Shively.

"Our grandfather was an orphan and Dan Courtney raised him. Dan Courtney owned a lumber yard, so that's how my grandad learned the trade. He worked the lumber yard selling roofing and all the things you do in the lumber yard," said Mike Glode, a grandson of E.J. Shively. 

It's been 95 years since Shively bought the hardware store from Tilton and Son and the store is still owned by Shively's family. Mike, who can be found at the downtown store, and Joe Glode, who can be found at the Shively's North location, are the 3rd generation to run the business. Joe's son, E.J. Glode, is the 4th generation. 

"There's a lot of nostalgia to that. It's awesome," said E.J. Glode. "Obviously we're proud of it. "

According to information from the Johnson Cornell College of Business, the average life-span of a family owned business is 24 years. About 40 percent of family owned businesses turn into second-generation businesses, about 13 percent are successfully passed down to the 3rd generation and three percent are passed onto the 4th generation and beyond. 

It all began with a request from E.J. Shively to Dan Courtney for $5,000 to purchase the business from William "Bill" Tilton. According to family lore, Shively paid his uncle back the entire $5,000 and Courtney wasn't too happy about that as he was hoping to be partners in the business. 

From there, Shively's was entirely locally owned and operated and, as one of the key businesses in the area, it has seen its share of changes in the Valley. From the eventual removal of the railroad in Saratoga, the consolidation of a number of family ranches and even the business' own physical separation of the hardware and equipment business with Shively's North in 2000.

A family business isn't always guaranteed to be handed to the next generation even if it is entertaining to think about where Shively's may be in another 95 years. Joe Glode points to how Shively's is rare in that it is one of the few family-owned businesses left in the implement industry as many of them have gone to corporate ownership. Will there be a Shively's in 95 more years?

"I doubt it because there probably aren't the people. Mike's three are gone and don't show much prospect of coming back, so who's to do it?" Joe asked rhetorically. "When there's no people to transition to, that's probably the end of it as we know it."

Of the four members of the 4th generation, E.J. Glode is the only one to have returned to the Valley to run the business. While his own children, Bailey and Kelly, would technically be 5th generation he doesn't believe that's a decision they should be making so early in their life.

"I would never ask my kids to commit one way or the other on having anything to do with the store right now. They're just not at that point in their life," E.J. Glode said.

It's not just the potential lack of succession that a family-owned business like Shively's faces, it's also the rapid change of the market. In 1985, Case and International Harvester merged and sales dropped for Shively's for a three year span. In 1987, Shively's picked up the Polaris franchise and began dealing in powersports.

Additonally, as big stores like Lowe's and Home Depot continue to move into areas and the internet takes a portion of sales in everything from construction material to parts, the family-owned business will need to evolve and continue to find its niche.

"I'm trying to figure out where we fit in. Are we going to have that 100 year anniversary? Has the 2020 evolution of mankind changed the way everybody does everything and can we evolve with it to survive? I know it's going to look different," E.J. Glode said. "What do I have to offer that other people don't, where I can now have this as a headquarters and sell elsewhere? That will be the big evolution and I don't have that answer for you just yet."