A tradition of achievement
Published 10:01 pm Monday, April 18, 2005
By By RANDI K. PICKLEY / Niles Daily Star
NILES - On June 16, 1910, the S.S. Main docked at Ellis Island in New York. It was the end of the line for that particular ship which carried immigrants from the Old World to the America, because the Main was retired after that voyage.
But it was a new beginning for two and a half-year-old Rose Marie Zimmermann who came down the gang plank into a future full of twists and turns that eventually brought her to Niles, and to the heart of Shelton's Farm Market.
According to Joe Shelton, Rose Marie's youngest son, this is how the story goes.
While Rose Marie was growing up in the city of Chicago, a young man named Ethan Shelton was growing up on a farm in Milport, Ala., about an hour away from Birmingham.
At the age of 16, Ethan left home to head for Detroit, but eventually moved to Chicago to study optometry. It was there in Chicago that he found the girl of his dreams.
According to Joe, not too long after that, Ethan began to miss the rural life he'd grown up with, so he and his young wife moved back to Milport. "He just wanted to go home, buy a farm, and do what he loved best," Joe said.
But it wasn't easy for them. "They had no conveniences on the farm like those they were used to in Chicago," Joe said. "No running water, no electricity."
In addition, the country had just come through World War II, and in the deep south, a woman from the big city who was both German and Catholic did not easily fit in small town, rural circles.
The Shelton's raised six children in Alabama during the years of the Great Depression. Times were hard, but the family prevailed.
But after their next to last son, Kenneth, was diagnosed with what was called "water on the brain," they needed to be closer to expert medical care. They chose the hospital at the University of Chicago in Illinois.
Joe said, "They packed up, sold out, and moved close to the hospital around 1944 or 45. We bought a corner grocery store there. Dad was a barber again and we all helped with the store. It was a family owned business, which meant the work was pretty much non-stop."
The hospital experts had grim news, however. While Kenneth's body would mature in the usual manner, they were told that his mind would never grow past that of an eight or nine-month-old child.
But after a while, Ethan again missed the farm. "He realized the big city wasn't his cup of tea. He had always dreamed of raising fruit for a living," Joe said.
Then the Sheltons heard about Southwest Michigan, which was considered the "fruit belt" of the Midwest and began making trips to the area after work until they found and bought a place in Berrien Center in 1947.
Joe remembered, "We would work the store on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, then work on the farm on Wednesdays and Sundays. Dad thought he was buying a 40 acre fruit farm, but it turned out to be a forty acre mess."
According to Joe, a cucumber is just a grown-up pickle. Pickles need to stay small in size to make those crunchy, little sweet pickles. The larger they get, the cheaper they become. The large dill pickles that are sold in jars and barrels actually cost less per pound than the little guys.
Joe also remembered his mother's youngest sister who came to live with them for a while. "We called her Lilla Tante (German for 'Aunt Lilla')," he said. "She spoke four to six languages and she could sure cook. Breads, phylo dough, poppy seed fillings. Between the German-Hungarian side of the family and the Alabama side, we ate the best food around at our family reunions."
Originally, Shelton's was a road side stand on the edge of their property in Berrien Center. But in 1959, they purchased the property where Shelton's now stands on 11th street, from a Mr. and Mrs. Heckaman, who owned a small restaurant close to the road, and replaced it with an open-air produce market instead. It was one of 13 roadside markets located between Niles and Roseland at the time.
Not long after that, Joe's mom retired from Shelton's and took a position as a payroll clerk at Berrien General Hospital, then became personnel director. She retired in the early 70s, according to Joe, and was a very intelligent lady.
The two older brothers, Ron and Jim, helped with the new market while Ethan took a job as a barber at Augustine's on Fort Street. He eventually opened his own barbershop across from where the Riverfront Cafe now stands on Front Street.
Shelton's Farm Market grew as the years went by. Joe said that they originally sold produce entirely from their farm, then added some from local growers, and eventually began to bring in produce from all over the United States.
The problem was that when they wanted to have the produce shipped to Niles, they had to order large quantities to get a price they could afford. But their market was still too small to sell that much produce at one time.
Shelton's was still a seasonal market until 1972, when they opened for business year round.
Joe's sister, Jean, and his nephew, Mike, helped run the business at that point.
Over time, they added the meat department, the wholesale building, and the garden center.
Joe joined the team in 1979 after earning a degree from Michigan State University, then getting his MBA in California. When his wife's father became ill, they decided to move back home temporarily so that their 18-month-old daughter would have a chance to get to know her grandpa.
In 1979, the wholesale business was expanding rapidly and the garden center was dropped for a while to concentrate their energies on wholesale. Joe remembers how hectic things got.
Lots of decisions had to be made in developing the family market. Joe tells of trying to choose carpet for the floor of the market. He spoke about it with an architect friend who was visiting with his wife.
"About ten years ago, we went through a period where we were working about 22 hours a day each. I was having lunch with Dad at the Prime Table and was totally out of gas. The next thing I knew, I woke up. Dad gave me this advice: 'One thing I've learned is that you can get by on six hours of sleep, but five hours is a little tough.' And I've found that to be true," Joe said.
Joe Shelton remembers that even as a small child he was aware of being thankful for the parents he had. "They never told us we were dumb, never mistreated us, never yelled the way some other kid's parents did," he said.
Joe believes that his dad, Ethan, who is now 101 years old and still going strong, can attribute his longevity to several things.
Joe said, "People think it's because he's always eaten a lot of fruits and vegetables, but I think a lot of it is his attitude. He still thinks long term. When my daughter was younger, and Dad was 92, she asked him, 'Grandpa, will you come to my graduation?' He said, 'Absolutely, I'll be there.' He only has a year and a half to go."
Ethan's favorite pastime is his garden at home. "He plants radishes. He has a big garden. He likes it nice and big, and waits all winter for it," Joe said.
Ethan's other passion is golfing. He and the boys talked recently about purchasing a golf course. According to Joe, his dad kept asking, "So are we going to do this golf course?"
Joe's mom passed away nine years ago. Today, Shelton's Farm Market ships their produce as far away as Big Rapid, Jackson, and Lansing in Michigan, and Fort Wayne and Lafayette in Indiana. With Ethan retired, Ron, the oldest brother, and his son, David, work the 250 acre farm operation, which includes apples, grapes (which are sold to Welch's), strawberries, sweet corn, and cantaloupe.
Jim, the next oldest son, handles the garden center and retail business while his son, Mike, manages the wholesale business. Don Shelton is a produce buyer, and Jim's other son, Kevin, is in charge of shipping.
Jeanne is the non-produce buyer, although she is semi-retired now,
According to Joe, his two sisters, Jeanne and Martha Ann, have been a great help on the farm and are also wonderful helpmates to Ethan, driving him places and spending time with him these days. And they all miss their brother, Kenneth.
As for Joe, looking back on life in the family business, he said, "A lot of times we had very little income. We worked outside the business as well as inside the business, and we held it all together. Dad would say it was the family that made it all happen."
And judging by the success of Shelton's Farm Market and by the close knit relationship of its family members, it is still happening today.