Weldon stands beside six grain bins with a grain leg he sold to Vern Swartz, Graham.
By Kathryn Rice
It began at a family reunion during a game of horseshoes. An uncle of a family member told George Weldon, Graham, that he should sell StorMor Bins, from Fremont, NE.
That was in 1961 and farmers were beginning to shell corn and needed a place to store it.
“They weren’t big bins then,” said Weldon of the 14- and 18-foot diameter bins. “They hadn’t thought of big bins then.”
The bins just kept getting bigger as more people began shelling corn.
As of 2002, Weldon had sold 1,230 bins, nine grain legs, and 37 grain storage buildings. He retired in 2015, at the age of 90, when he said his family wouldn’t let him get higher than a foot off the ground. He said he still has a lot of parts, mainly for dryers.
Weldon said he enjoys pitching horseshoes. Here he stands next to some of the 84 trophies and plaques, he and his wife, Eldora, have received.
In 1980, Weldon began a new project, building the United Methodist Church, Maitland.
“Some of my customers did think it was going to be round,” joked Weldon of the brick building. “The best thing is what the men working for me learned. They could go out and build whatever they wanted to.”
His son Kurby, recently deceased, initially helped him with the bins. When Kurby started a tree trimming business, staff at the Graham and Maitland schools helped Weldon with the bins during summers. Weldon said it helped them keep their muscles strong.
Weldon also built his home and the community building in Graham.
“You can’t always say that you enjoy your job, but he did,” said his wife, Eldora.
Pitching horseshoes has been another constant in Weldon’s life. He has played in 12 world horseshoe tournaments. He encouraged his wife to start pitching and they now play in Texas in the winter. They have 84 plaques and trophies on display in their home.
“We’re living in a mechanical world,” Weldon said, while gazing at bins he’d erected, “and I’ve had a small part in contributing to that.”
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