Happy Father’s Day: A Small Business Legacy

This Father’s Day I thought I would take the opportunity to highlight a small business that is near and dear to my heart. Mainly because these days when I think of what it takes to be a good parent and father it is impossible not to think about how hard my father has always worked and the business my parents started and still run.

But let’s go back to where it all began- on a small farm on a dead end road halfway between Cecil and Bonduel where a young boy would grow weary of the walk to school and the secluded farm life and rent a room from the town butcher in Bonduel. He would work there (and a few other places) until he started his own meat market. That man was my grandpa.

The Meat Shop my grandpa ran would operate from 1951 until 1978. It would be almost 12 years later before my father, already working full time as a baker for a company in Appleton, would buy the old paint store across the street from his father’s original meat shop and open Lawrenz’s Sausage Shop. My mother was the only full time employee, becoming known as the friendly face in the red hat behind the counter that people would share their life stories with as they made this their regular stop on their way to Shawano Lake and beyond.

I only recently realized just what a gamble starting this business really was. Business loans were harder to come by for someone like my parents who relied on the resources a small town bank had to offer. There were those who didn’t think they would make it. But with their house up as collateral- not making it wasn’t an option.

And so my father kept his day job. He made sausage early in the morning, after work and on weekends. He would come home after he loaded the smokehouse and would often leave halfway through the evening to run back and check the temperature or take things out. This was the life we knew. That when you really wanted to succeed you had to do what needed to get done.

As the years went on he became more successful and instrumental in his “day job.” Suddenly they were promoting him and giving him raises he couldn’t refuse. Without any college degree my father became the head of Research and Development for a frozen pizza crust company that had accounts with many big name pizza makers. When people would ask me what the head of R&D does, the simplest explanation was- the client tells him what type of crust they want and he writes the recipe. He could develop formulas based on specific ingredients, bake times and aesthetic results. He also worked closely with the plant operations to see the crusts through production to make sure they came out as promised for each client.

Through it all he never stopped making time for his sausage shop- for the German recipes that ranged from summer sausage, snack sticks, smoked brats, bacon, farmer sausage, ring bologna, headcheese, Bavarian liver and more. All made with simple ingredients and without excessive preservatives.

He retired from the pizza crust company in 2021. He was far beyond the age of retirement but I think there was a comfort in going to work every day in an environment that had become so familiar. During COVID and a particularly challenging summer converting from USDA meat regulations over to the new FDA requirements with the state, many feared he would retire from the sausage biz as well. But it is now 2023 and he makes what he feels like making- and most weekends stays open until he sells out. I still encourage him to allow himself more days off but there is demand for this honest “old fashion goodness” as was their business card tag line in the 90’s.

In a day and age where parental engagement with their kids is encouraged at an all time high I could try to fault my father for all the hours he spent working while we were growing up. But I only remember that he was there when it mattered. Our current Sunday tradition of dinner in Bonduel and spending the day together is made possible by parents who worked hard to start a business, worked hard to have their house and worked hard to acquire additional land for all of us to enjoy every week. My dad set an example for us that modest living and hard work pays off. He re-energized a family tradition into a successful and respected business.

But perhaps the best investment he made was in a future where his family would surround him every week, help him with anything he ever needs, and love him unconditionally.

Happy Father’s Day!