 The Warehouse |
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 For many years, Ray ran his business out of his house (office) and garage (packing operations and warehousing). Buying a separate (and HUGE) building for his business was a big step. Located "on the other side of the tracks," this gave him room to expand...and gave him a lot more grass to mow! |
 At first glance, the warehouse wasn't much. Then again, it was a warehouse! Even though it looked run down, Ray had big plans for the building - the first of which was a major face-lift. (Oh, and that's Beulah's favorite car - her 1956 Ford Fairlane.) |
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 A little work completed, the warehouse is starting to look more like what Ray had in mind. Out front are his trusty 1963 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 (left) and his wife's 1956 Ford Fairlane (center). A mystery salesperson apparently dropped by driving that junker on the right. The crushed rock has been poured over the parking lot, but the street is still unpaved -- a condition which didn't last long, as the city soon paved it with concrete. |
 That major face-lift included repainting the whole building -- the WHOLE building! Plus adding a fence/railing around the main driveway, covering the driveways with crushed limestone, adding a company sign to the building (east end) and in the lawn, and cultivating the grass (out, damn weeds, out!) in the front of the building. |
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 After Ray finally sold the building, the new owners modified the upstairs living quarters by expanding the area and adding on an external enclosed stairway. Who'd have ever thought about putting an apartment in the upstairs portion of an old warehouse? Well...... |
 The building and the business ultimately became too much for Ray as he grew older and his health declined. Selling the warehouse meant the end of Ray-Vitam Products Co. But Ray was never one for traditional approaches to ... well, anything. Instead of a typical For Sale sign and an ad in the newspaper, he published this sizeable offer to give i it away absolutely free*. (Well, this was in the days before the dreaded asterisk, but you get the idea.) |
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