ALL IN THE FAMILY BUSINESS

Becky Glodo lets her daughter, Katelyn, 14 months, play with carpet samples at Cape Wholesale Flooring. Terry Glodo, in the background, employs his wife, mother and father in the business.

Roxie Penny didn't get a card from her husband last Mother's Day. She got a piece of notebook paper.

But the humble gift didn't bother Roxie. Her husband, Dave, had written a poem for her.

Roxie (My Partner)

My partner in business

My loving sweet wife

My partner through the journey

As we go through this life

My partner is smart and not very tall

But pertaining to me, she knows it all.

The six lines explain the Pennys' lives completely, Roxie said. The two own a business -- Dave Penny Painting and Drywall -- and work together almost every day of their lives.

They're one of many couples in the Cape Girardeau area who work together every day and say their relationships, and businesses, are stronger for it.

Dave started working for his wife's father in 1976. When the older man had a heart attack, Dave took over the business. He tried hiring a couple men to help him.

"One was too sloppy and the other one kept asking for a raise," he said. "When I saw Roxie was painting two windows to his one, I asked her to work with me."

His wife was an instant success at painting and drywalling. She didn't mind hauling heavy buckets or climbing high ladders.

Roxie's upbringing helped. An only child, she was taken on hunting and fishing trips with her dad and helped him some in the family business. All the kids in the neighborhood were boys, so Roxie learned to be a tomboy to fit in.

But construction is a man's world, and not everyone appreciates having a woman on the job, Roxie said.

"When I started, it seemed like I was always having to prove that I could do the job as well as a man could," she said. "I'd get looks from men that said, `You don't belong here.' But Dave kept encouraging me and telling me it didn't matter what anyone thought."

Her persistence paid off. For every person who didn't use Dave Penny Painting and Drywall because a woman worked in the business, about five more only wanted to use that business. People often call the couple and ask if they are the husband-and-wife team.

Many older women feel more comfortable with a woman working on their house, Roxie said.

The business has brought Dave and Roxie closer. Instead of fighting, they predict what each other needs on the job and hurry to help. They also learned their boundaries in the relationship -- he takes the lead on the job, she takes the lead at home.

"I don't want any other job," Roxie said. "I love working with Dave. If I stopped painting today, I don't know what else I'd do."

Her husband agreed. "I think we're going to stick it out," he said.

They will celebrate their 25th anniversary in September.

Two married couples work together at Cape Wholesale Flooring. Terry Glodo owns the business, working with is wife, Becky, his father, Earlis, and his mother, Betty. The women do everything but cut carpet, Becky said.

Terry and Becky married in 1990, when he was working in the carpet business and she had another job. In May 1993, Terry decided to head out on his own, and the business is going strong three years later.

It seems none of the four stands still on the job. All four rush to answer phones, help customers, fix displays and do hundreds of other little tasks that make a business work.

Surprisingly, none of them gets in the others' way.

Becky thinks she's lucky to work with her husband. She can bring her 14-month-old daughter to work if needed and can work flexible hours.

Working with all family members has its benefits for Terry, too.

"I don't have to worry about who has a hand in the till," he said. "And I'm not tied down here. I have the freedom to do whatever I want."

"We all know how he wants things done," Becky added. "He is kind of a perfectionist, so things have to be done a certain way. We understand that."