STRICTLY BUSINESS: STIHL FAMILY MANUFACTURERS TO VISIT CRADER FAMILY OPERATION

Hans Peter Stihl is no stranger to Southeast Missouri.

Stihl, president and CEO of Stihl Germany, the world's largest manufacturer of chain saws, will be making his third trip to Marble Hill next month.

The last time Stihl was in the area, in October of 1993, was to honor Crader Distributing Co. as Stihl's top distributor in the United States.

Stan Crader, general manager of Crader Distributing, said Stihl will be accompanied by his sister, Eva Mayr Stihl, and her husband, Robert Mayr. She is CFO of Stihl Germany and is involved in the financial affairs of Stihl's worldwide operations. Mayr is executive vice president of marketing and sales for Stihl worldwide.

Members of the Stihl family, members of the Crader family, and as many as 300 Stihl dealer personnel will be on hand at Crader Distributing of Marble Hill Oct. 6 and 7 for the grand opening of the company's 45,000-square-foot distributing facility.

Crader Distributing, with facilities at Marble Hill and Dallas, distributes Stihl chain saws and power tools throughout a number of Midwestern states.

Peter Stihl and his sister are the son and daughter of Andreas Stihl, who is credited with inventing the one-man chain saw in 1926. He founded the Stihl company, which has remained in the Stihl family since. The Stihl family business now enjoys more than $1 billion in annual sales, and has factories throughout the world, including the United States. Most Stihl saws sold in the United States are produced domestically.

"We're honored to have Stihl family members join us for our grand opening," said Crader. "Mr. Stihl doesn't travel a lot. He'll be visiting only two Stihl distributorships in the United States this year."

Stihl first visited the Crader family business in Marble Hill 20 years ago, in 1975, noted Crader. The trip will be the second for the Mayrs, who also visited the facility in 1975.

Fred Whkyte and Joe Faheyt, president and vice president of Stihl Inc., of Virginia Beach, will also be on hand for the grand opening. More than 80 percent of Stihl chain saws and trimmers sold in the United States are produced in Virginia Beach.

Crader Distributing, now in its 52nd year, became the distributor for Stihl in October of 1961, 18 years after the company, which was named Mississippi Valley Family Business of the Year" by Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in 1994, was founded in 1943 by Buford Crader as an International Harvester farm equipment dealership.

Buford Crader's son, Don Crader, joined his father in partnership in 1952. The wholesale side of the business increased as Crader became a Stihl chain saw distributor in the early 1960s. Don's son, Stan, joined the business in the early 1970s. Another son, Val, joined the business in 1984 as controller, and a daughter, Becky, joined soon afterwards.

It's still very much a Crader family business. Don Crader is president of the company, Stan Crader is vice president and general manager; Val Crader is controller; and, Becky (Crader) Hurst, is bookkeeper.

The company moved into a larger building in 1968. The warehouse was expanded to 17,000 square feet in the 1970s. "But, we started running out of room again," said Stan Crader. Plans for a new facility were announced in 1993.

The new facility almost triples the space of the previous Crader building, which was sold to the Bollinger County Co-Op.

Crader Distributing obtained a Stihl distributorship in San Antonio in 1988, and moved it to Dallas. By the early 1990s, Crader Distributing covered all Stihl dealers in Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Kansas, and a large number of dealers in Texas and Illinois.

Crader employs 40 peoples at its Marble Hill operation and about 35 at Dallas.

When Crader first became affiliated with Stihl, only one model of the Stihl saw was available. Now, there are more than 20 models, along with a number of other Stihl products, all being handled by Crader Distributing.

"...And, we'll call it Uncle Ralph's"

The name for Uncle Ralph's Furniture operation was decided long before the business was founded in 1975.

On a day in the past, James Palmer and his son, Harold, then 3, were in the car talking about the day when they would open their own furniture store.

"And, we'll call it Uncle Ralph," said the younger Palmer.

There is an "Uncle Ralph," said James Palmer. He is Ralph Glasscock, the elder Palmer's brother-in-law.

The name stuck, and when Palmer opened his own business, it was Uncle Ralph's Furniture.

Today, Palmer and his son, Harold, are partners in the store at 1739 N. Kingshighway, and are observing the 20th anniversary of the business, which was founded in August of 1974.

James Palmer has been in the furniture business more than 37 years. He worked with Biederman's at stores in Cape Girardeau, Harrison, Ark., St. Louis and Louisville, before the company went out of business in 1974.

Uncle Ralph's Furniture first opened in a building at the corner of Good Hope and South Sprigg. It moved to the downtown area in 1979.

The company grew and prospered in a century-old building at the corner or Spanish and Independence for 10 years before an early Friday morning fire in June of 1989 destroyed the structure and contents.

Following the fire, Palmer established temporary facilities in a smaller building at 109 Independence.

The business operated at the Independence site two months before moving to its current site. The North Kingshighway store, open six days a week, consists of 15,000 square feet.

The store carries many of the majors in furnitures -- Best chairs, Howard living rooms, Douglas dinettes, Jamison bedding and more.

"We're happy with the business here," said James Palmer. "It's been good."

The store is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Gambling on the river

The Players International riverboat gambling casino averaged more than 6,400 visitors a day during the past three months, with a high of almost 7,000 a day during July, when 210,000 boardings were reported.

Players, which operates on the Ohio River from its Metropolis, Ill., dock, had 189,886 visitors during August, for an average of 6,125 average a day.

Some 2.2 million people visited the 10 riverboat gambling casinos in Illinois during August, according to the Illinois Gaming Board's monthly riverboat casino report.

The state received $17.7 million in August as its share of revenues from its riverboat casinos.

The city of Metropolis received $573,847 for the month.

East St. Louis Casino Queen attracted 340,622 visitors to top the list of operations in August. The July leader, The Grand Victoria at Elgin, attracted 336,726. The Casino Queen and Grand Victoria were the only casinos to top the 300,000 mark.

Meanwhile, plans are continuing for a larger casino riverboat at Metropolis. The current riverboat has a capacity of 1,300 passengers and about 750 gambling positions. The new Players II will have a capacity of 1,625 passengers and almost 1,000 gambling positions. The new riverboat will provide four decks of gambling, compared to the current, three-deck boat.

Players officials say the new boat should be in operation sometime in November.

Meanwhile in Missouri, Casino Aztar at Caruthersville is averaging about 2,000 people a day on its 500-passenger riverboat.

Casino Aztar has also applied for more gambling space. The company has petitioned the Missouri Gaming Commission for permission to add gambling positions on its landing barge and to allow the riverboat to remain dockside.

Aztar is the only "cruising" casino left among the eight riverboat casinos in Missouri. "The City of Caruthersville" currently has dockside operations at night, but cruises through the day.

Aztar, located on the Mississippi River in downtown Caruthersville, had a total of 67,000 visitors in August.

Competition for gambling dollar s

Gambling casinos in Northern Tunica County, Miss., may soon have competition for consumer dollars.

Tunica County, once the poorest county in the United States, has attracted national media attention with the influx of such gambling names as Sam's Town, Circus Circus, Horseshoe, Hollywood, Harrah's and others.

Over the past three years as many as a dozen casinos have set up operations. That list has settled down to seven or eight now, and there's talk of a major outlet mall in the area.

Tentative plans call for the mall to occupy a 90-acre site at the intersection of Old Highway 61 and Casino Center Drive.

Other future developments include an Exxon service station and a Subway Restaurant, which will locate along the same intersection of the mall.

A number of retail establishments have already opened in the casino areas, including two service station-convenience store operations and an antique store.

The new antique shop, Antiques Unlimited, opened in a 4,000-square-foot showroom along Highway 304, a mile east of Casino Strip near Robinsonville.

Groundwork is also under way for additional apartment complexes and home developments throughout the area. Road improvements from the Tennessee state line to Tunica are visible. Highway 61 along that stretch will be expanded to four lanes, joining the four-lanes from the Tennessee line to Interstate 55.