Old, new interwoven in Webb's Feed & Seed

An early photograph of Webb’s Hatchery shows the slogans printed on the windows. Doug McKinney said his grandfather was responsible for the slogans which are now on the window of the feed store — Good Breeding, Careful Sanitation, Sound Management and Good Feeding as essentials in good animal management.
An early photograph of Webb’s Hatchery shows the slogans printed on the windows. Doug McKinney said his grandfather was responsible for the slogans which are now on the window of the feed store — Good Breeding, Careful Sanitation, Sound Management and Good Feeding as essentials in good animal management.

The red checkerboard still frames the walls.

The laying hens will be back, albeit in a different spot.

Webb Feed & Seed

215 E. Pickens Rd.

Pea Ridge, Ark.

8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday

8 a.m. - 12 p.m. Saturday

***

Flying RF Feed

16601 U.S. Hwy. 62

Garfield, Ark.

8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday through Friday

8 a.m. - 1 p.m. Saturday

Bags of feed line the walls. New shelving provides for more storage above the feed.

Customers walking into Webb's Feed & Seed Monday did a double take -- wondering if they'd walked into the wrong place. With newly installed drywall and fresh paint, and additional wall with double doors and a counter at the front window, the store has a bright, new look.

Honoring the long heritage and home town feel of the 80-year-old Webb's Feed & Seed, Brad Fortner and Adam Ash are excited about the future of the store -- keeping the old and adding new.

"We want to keep the heritage of downtown Pea Ridge alive!" Brad Fortner, owner, said.

"I love it!" Ash, manager, said. "I grew up coming to this feed store before we opened in Garfield. I love the town and the people and the history that is here.

"I always liked Fred, Doug, Aaron ... we've been friends for a long time now," Ash said, referring to owner Fred McKinney, who died in August 2015; his son, Doug McKinney and grandson Aaron David, who has gone to work for the city.

Doug, who sold the business and is leasing the building to Fortner, will work there four days a week.

Fortner said having Doug McKinney on board was essential to him.

"I hated to see that heritage lost," Fortner said, when heard the store may close. He began visiting with McKinney about the transaction in November and the deal was sealed Jan. 1. The business was closed last week for remodeling and opened the doors Monday to a new look.

"I think it's good," McKinney said. Other than a stint as a truck driver, McKinney, 69, said he has worked at the store his entire career. "Our dad would especially welcome it. I think he would be okay with the change.

McKinney said he considered going to Fortner, but Fortner came to him first. "When they came in here last week and first started, I couldn't figure out what they were talking about" as far as the remodel. "It came together in a hurry ... those boys are energetic."

The regular feed brands -- Purina and Crescent -- will be sold, but customers will also have access to brands sold in the Garfield store, such as Nutrena and ADM (Archer Daniels Midland).

"We'll have more retail and vet supplies, a few more pet food items. The full compliment of everything we offer at Flying RF, we'll be able to offer here. We'll have more buying power," Fortner said.

He will continue to buy and sell farm-raised eggs, will sell baby chicks, have "fish days" and sell garden supplies, just as McKinney has for years.

The retail space has been expanded. There are snacks and drinks for sale, as well.

"We're excited about it. We get a lot of the regulars questioning the changes," Fortner said. "We want to keep the nostalgia and make the new customers welcome."

Also working at Flying RF Feed will be Cole Deckard, assistant manager.

"He'll take a bigger role over there," Fortner said of Deckard. "Doug will run this one and Adam will manage both of them."

Fortner, a native of Garfield and graduate of Rogers High School (1989), earned a degree in animal science with a minor in busiess from the University of Arkansas (1994). He is chief operating officer of Farmers Protective Mutual Insurance Company, Rogers. He opened Flying RF Feed in Garfield 12 years ago. The name came from his previous hobby of racing motorcycles and a friend calling him the "Flying F." The feed store was opened in partnership with his brother-in-law Kevin Ruddick, hence the Flying RF.

"I saw the double name," Jerry Johnson, customer, said to McKinney about the new banner in the front window. "I just came in because I was being nosey."

Fortner and his wife, Tammy, have five children from 8 to 16 years of age. They are members of Pea Ridge Free Will Baptist Church.

Ash, 27, is a native of Pea Ridge. He graduated from Pea Ridge High School, then earned his degree in agri business. The son of Steve and Lawanda Ash, Adam and his wife, Leann, are expecting their first baby this summer.

Webb's Feed & Seed was begun in 1936 by Hugh Webb Sr., who obtained a Ralston Purina franchise in Pea Ridge in 1942. In 1940, Fred McKinney began working there. In 1944, McKinney married Webb's daughter, Mable Webb. In 1950, Webb's Electric Hatchery & Feed was incorporated. In 1971, McKinney bought the remaining stock of the business from Webb Sr.'s widow and the store became Webb's Feed & Seed.

Over the years, various family members worked at the feed store, either part- or full-time.

Business on 01/06/2016