Chesterton Feed and Garden is celebrating 25 years of business under the Roth family this year and seventy-five years of feed and garden service to the community.

Twenty-five years ago, a young Chuck Roth, Jr. purchased the business known as Chesterton Feed and Garden Center located on Locust Street in Chesterton from Laverne Burchfield.

However, that is not the entire story.

In the early 1930s, Ben Bellman started a business known as Chesterton Feed and Supply located on Grant Avenue in Chesterton. Ben’s brother, Rudy, took over the business in 1943. Upon Rudy’s death, his widow continued to run the business until about 1950.

Mrs. Rudy Bellman sold the business to Everett Hundt who changed the name to Hundt’s Feed and Garden Center. The name change reflected the change in business as he expanded it to include a complete line of garden and lawn seeds, garden equipment, fertilizers and pet supplies.

In the mid-1950s, John, Tom and Walt Pliske purchased the business from Everett Hundt. After running it for four or five years on Grant Street, they moved the Chesterton Feed store to its present location on Locust Street. The Pliske brothers were also building contractors so they built the original 60 by 80 foot building themselves.

New lines of merchandise were added such as sporting goods, a bait shop, and a live parakeet, small animals and fish department.

In 1965, Laverne Burchfield, former Managing Editor of the Public Administration Review, purchased the business from the Pliskes as something to do in her retirement years. Laverne again changed the name to its present Chesterton Feed and Garden Center. She did a major remodeling of the store, both its interior and exterior, and added a greenhouse. Virginia Pliske continued working at the store and helped make the transition smooth. The business continued to sell livestock and wild bird feeds but Laverne turned the store’s major focus to gardening supplies and plants.

Roth Family Ownership

At the age of thirteen, Chuck Roth, Jr. went to work at Chesterton Feed and Garden Center as a carry-out. He progressed to stocker, cashier and finally in 1980 to proprietor when he and his father, Chuck Roth Sr., purchased the business from Laverne.

It was to be a family owned business and Chuck’s sister, Karyn, designed the store’s new logo. Chuck’s mom worked the register and attended to the greenhouse. Virginia Pliske, with her wealth of knowledge, continued to work at the store.

Eight years later, upon retiring from his printing business, Chuck Roth, Sr. joined the day-to-day activities of running the garden center. Their first full-time employee was Linda Miller, who was a great asset to the organization in those days.

Over the past twenty-five years, the store has grown to include two greenhouses, increased retail square footage, an outdoor garden pond, and a patio room full of nature friendly and garden oriented gifts. The focus of the business has been expanded to include garden and farm ponds, all natural pet foods and health conscience pet supplies, and an ever growing supply of new and interesting annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs. The roots of Chesterton Feed and Garden Center are deeply embedded in old fashioned friendly service, knowledgeable advice to the customer and good quality products.

Chesterton Feed and Garden Center will celebrate the store’s seventy-five year history and the Roth’s twenty-five years of ownership with a Special 25th Anniversary Sale running from April 15 to 24, 2005.

Posted 4/13/2005