The Mail-Journal, Volume 6, Number 52, Milford, Kosciusko County, 28 January 1970 — Page 31

Saga from horses to earth movers

Phend & Brown, Inc., pioneers rood building, blacktopping

When it comes to building roads, county and state, and doing general grading and asphalting, private and commercial, the well known Phend & Brown, Inc., company of Milford stands out as one of the leaders in northern Indiana. The firm had a humble beginning in 1922. known then as Phend. Brown and Treesh, and the principals were the late Harry R Phend. Ronald W. Brown and the late Roy I Treesh. This partnership was dissolved in 1924. at which time Harry Phend and Ronald Brown formed a partnership. It was on January 1, 1957 that the company incorporated and became known as Phend & Brown, Inc. Vsed Horses In its early days the company did all work with horse-drawn imits "In the early 20s you could hire a man and a team for $5 a day. for a 10-hour day.’’ Ronald Brown’ now president of the firm, recalls. “And that’s only 50 cents an hour," he added. The first power unit employed for road work was a rented oil pull tractor to pull a grader the company had borrowed from the township. Then, in 1923. the firm bought a Fordson Phend & Brown w s one of 13 county firms doing road construction during the 19205, and in 1930 they received their first state road contract for a 10-mile strip of road 31 from LaPaz to the south city limits of South Bend, which called for widening of structures such as fridges and culverts. Mr Brown looks back on that job as “good but expensive experience." The company also built bridges until 1942. and in 1952, ten years later, they added asphalt work to their line. Today the company has an asphalt plant at Milford and one at Warsaw, and has done such major asphalt jobs as Wawasee high school, Triton high school and the Lakes Village Shopping Center east of Warsaw. Perhaps the company’s biggest job was the recreation facilities at Salamonie Reservoir which took three years to complete. The company also does private drives and parking areas for homes and small businesses. 1n1»56 the company did all the asphalt work on the service areas on the Indiana Toll Road, from the Ohio line to East GaryThe company claims to have resurfaced with asphalt over 200 miles of state road, according to Mr. Brown To do all this work the company has over 100 pieces of equipment and 12 permanent employees. A peak employment of from 50 to 60 is reached in the months. Some units used by Phend 4 Brown include six Diesel earth movers, six tractors, five graders, two asphalt plants, two asphalt pavers, seven rollers, two cranes and considerable other allied equipment.

The late Harry Phend became inactive in the firm in 1956. His son Parker, a 1936 Milford high school graduate, joined the firm that year when the company was building the Claypool overhead bridge. Robert W. Brown, son of Ronald Brown and a 1942 graduate of Milford high school, joined the firm in 1940 while he was still in high school. He began work when the company was working on a 17-mile strip from Logansport to Kokomo. Robert later graduated from Purdue university with a degree in civil engineering. Ronald Brown is president of the company; Robert Brown, vice president; and Parker H. Phend, secretary-treasurer.

~Ji Kb • j Ip I Tt- yr* ; i MO®*"*" ‘I -> » •• M* *1 fWlr * — * —Gradlng-&-Aspbalt-Contractor— Two Large Asphalt Plants TO SERVE ALL YOUR ASPHALT NEEDS Large or Small / Commercial Parking Lots / Private Drives / Site Grading — INCORPORATED Contractors - Engineers Milford, Indiana

s TWI TTJ ® Ml ROBERT BROWN — RONALD BROWN — PARKER PHEND