[Magdalen] Invasion from Upper Midwest.

[Cantor03 at aol.com]

I was surprised just now to get an add from  Medards.com

 
After Home Depot and Lowes, this is the third largest  lumber/construction/
home improvement retailer in the USA.  The company is the  brainchild of
John Menard, a neighbor of mine in Eau Claire, Wisconsin which is  also
the location of the company headquarters.
 
Menard opened a small lumbaryard on the site of his family farm at  the
western edge of Eau Claire in the 1960's.  His father, a math  professor
at UW-Eau Claire had given up active farming, so the land was  available
to John who lived, at the time two houses away from me, and his  land
abutted mine.
 
John Menard has been for some years the wealthiest man in  Wisconsin,
and the latest figures I saw put his income at something like $125  million
per year.
 
All that money and knock-out good looks, too.  Some people have  all the
luck.
 
Whether you'll start to see Menards retail home improvement stores  in
your area remains to be seen.
 
 
David Strang.