By mid-September, AJ’s Maytag had already sold three-quarters of its inventory within a week of posting a newspaper ad for closure, according to owners Steve and Cynthia Amandson. .
That should make things easier at Prairie Farm as the business, which dates back 85 years, prepares to close.
Steve Amandson said in an interview Wednesday, Sept. 16, that Nov. 1, 2024 is the tentative last day of business.
The Ahmanson family has lived at Prairie Farm for 51 years.
“We’ve been talking about retirement,” Cynthia said. “The business was for sale last fall. We’ve had a few (potential buyers) look at it, but it’s not sold yet at this point.”
For the more than 60 years the business has been in operation, Steve Amandson has been a part of it.
“I started sweeping the floors here when I was 8 years old and never left,” said Steve, who turned 71 last month. “I bought the company from my father (in 2001). I think I’ve wanted to work here since I was in high school.”
“From an early age, it was a way of life for him,” Cynthia added.
A lot has changed in business over the past eight and a half years.
The Amundson family began selling appliances in the 1970s, as well as operating a garage, service station, and small convenience store. But Cynthia remembers advising Steve, “It’s time to get poisoned.”
They decided that consumer electronics sales and service was it.
Both Amundson families made several trips to Amana, Iowa, then home to the Maytag manufacturing line, for tours and training.
“Then I went to refrigeration school in Greenville, Michigan,” Steve added. “And I attended many seminars over the years and learned how to ‘take things apart and put them back together.’ But now it’s all online. ”
The Amundsons paused to count everyone who has worked for them and estimate they employ about 20 people, including relatives, spouses of relatives, significant others, and full-time employees. did.
“The more I keep thinking about it, the longer the list gets, probably more than 20,” Cynthia said. “They treated the business like it was their own.”
What happens next?
“I don’t have any concrete plans,” Steve said. “Maybe I’ll travel and spend more time with my grandchildren.”
“Our son (Aaron Amandson, owner of Chetek Resort and Pier) wants his father to work part-time,” Cynthia said.
Other current employees at AJ’s Maytag include service technician Landen Hanson and office manager Jill Miller.
Deeply rooted in Prairie Farm’s past
More than 15 years ago, in March 2009, Maytag, AJ received the Barron County Economic Development Corporation’s Longevity Award in recognition of its long track record of success in the community.
According to an article published in News-Shield, Steve’s grandfather, Otto Amundson, opened Standard Service Station in 1939. Otto and his wife Anna had five children, Gerald, Vern, Ozzie, Delores, and Ardella, some of whom were born later. I worked in business.
“Otto and his three sons used horses and scrapers to move soil to a low spot in a farm field adjacent to the village’s main street,” the newspaper article said.
“The new business was located just north of the former Oscar Broten’s Feed Mill, which later became the Old Mill Inn Tavern.Otto thought this was a good place to start a gasoline distribution business because the Prairie Farm Creamery was nearby. I thought it was.”
In 1947, Otto sold the company to his two sons, Gerald and Vern, who added a garage to the gas station.
In 1970, Gerald and his wife Josie purchased a stake in Byrne’s business and added a portion of the building that included an appliance showroom.
Steve joined the business in 1978 and formed a partnership. A renovation project was undertaken in 1998 to create a convenience store. The auto repair business was discontinued in 2006.
Steve and Cynthia pointed out that AJ’s Maytag has at least two artifacts dating back to its early days.
One of them is a regulator clock that dates back to the 1930s. It hangs on the wall behind the main desk (see photo attached to this article).
The other is an old electric fan back office chair that is still used in the office.
“Grandpa was tearing down the school building when he asked for the clock,” Steve recalled.
As for the chair, “Grandpa sat in that chair for years after he retired,” Steve added. “I still remember him getting up and saying, ‘Yeah, I’m going to go home and argue with my grandma.’
