Marathon Feed has served area for 40 years
Anniversary is Nov. 15
Marathon Feed Inc. has adapted and evolved during the past 40 years to changes in the animal feed business. For example, employees no longer unload an entire semi-trailer of barn lime by hand.
One thing, however, that has remained the same at Marathon Feed during all these years is the employees are treated like family. Thus some employees have remained working at Marathon Feed for over 30 years, including Todd “Zip” Zastrow, who began working at the feed mill on Nov. 15, 1988, and he still works as mill manager of Marathon Feed and Grain. Bob Brunke started working at Marathon Feed on Oct. 27, 1986, and he is now retired.
Dale Heise was employed at Cloverbelt Co-op Services, a Purina feed dealer located in the city of Wausau where Wausau On the Water (WOW) family entertainment center operates today along the Wisconsin River. He didn’t tell his wife, Pat Heise, that he planned to purchase Marathon Elevator from brothers Harry and Raymond Rajek in Marathon. They were supposed to close on the sale of the business on a Friday but the Rajek brothers closed the feed mill so they could attend a Milwaukee Brewers game. Therefore, Dale Heise bought Marathon Elevator on Monday, Nov. 15, 1982, from the Rajek family. Dale Heise renamed the business Marathon Feed Inc. and Raymond Rajek stayed to be his employee. He also hired Mike Fordyce, who was a Purina Farm Consultant, who came to work with Marathon Feed Inc. right out of college.
Dale Heise still has a plaque on his office wall that contains the first dollar bill he earned on Nov. 15, 1982, from Vern Strackbien, a Purina Chows & Health Products representative from Clearwater, Fla., selling a milk generator. Dale Heise, now 85-years-old, shared memories about the early days owning and operating Marathon Feed Inc.
“The Rajek brothers sold flour and eggs at the feed mill, but I discontinued the eggs when I bought the business from them,” he said. “The Rajeks sold sugar and flour to the high school and I continued doing this at first. Customers would buy the cloth bags the feed was in to make dish towels out of them. The feed mill had no heat or plumbing but the office was heated with fuel oil. You’d need to fill the fuel oil tank in the middle of the night. Since we had no indoor plumbing at the feed mill, we’d need to go to Myszka’s Oil to use the bathroom. My employees and I would start each day with breakfast at 6 a.m. at Hack’s Diner and then we’d start work at 6:30 a.m. I just can’t thank our customers enough for their continued support over the past 40 years.”
Marathon Feed Inc. built a new office at 401 Pine Street in 1988 that had heat and air conditioning. A warehouse was added to the office in 1993. It is now home to Parts City Auto Parts. Marathon Feed constructed a new facility and warehouse at 137020 Feed Lane in 2001, on STH 107 just south of Marathon. In 2011, Marathon Feed Inc. built a new retail store that opened in January of 2012 at 137040 Feed Lane.
In 2012, the feed mill joined a partnership with Heartland Coop, which is now River Country Coop, forming Marathon Feed and Grain LLC, which operates as a separate entity.
Marathon Feed Inc. still operates its retail store that is a proud premium Purina dealer full of feed, seed, fertilizer, farm supplies, shavings, barn lime, heating wood pellets, bird seed and feeders, lawn and garden decor, gift items, greeting cards, bulk gourmet chocolates, home decor, Woodwick Candles, Myra Bags, Twisted X Footwear, Graphic T’s, Swedish dish cloths, holiday and seasonal decor, metal art and more. The retail store also has a cafe called The Scoop, which serves breakfast and lunch, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.
The Marathon Feed Inc. retail store in 2021 sold 621.37 tons of Purina feed, which is equal to 1,242,740 pounds of feed or 24,854 bags of feed. The Marathon Feed Inc. retail store in Marathon serves 13 counties in central and northern Wisconsin.
Marathon Elevator had $500,000 in yearly sales when Dale Heise purchased it. Sales have greatly increased at Marathon Feed Inc. since then. Today Marathon Feed Inc. has four fulltime employees and 12 part-time workers.
Marathon Feed Inc. is still a familyowned and operated business today. Dale Heise’s son, Todd Heise, and his daughter, Terri Heise-Sturm, now coown Marathon Feed Inc. with their spouses. Todd and Christine Heise oversee the day-to-day operations in Marathon and Terri Heise-Sturm oversees Marathon Town & Country, which is a separate entity in Wausau.
Todd’s wife, Christine Heise, explained why Marathon Feed has remained a Purina dealer all these years.
“I just think the red and white checker board is so cute,” she said. “Their continued support and quality products through the years has made it the right decision to be a Purina Dealer for 40 years.”
Marathon Feed is holding a 40th anniversary celebration on Saturday, Nov. 15, by bringing Amberley Snyder to Rib River Ballroom in Marathon. She is a well-known barrel racer who has her own Netflix movie and she’s also appeared on the popular television show “Yellowstone.”
Snyder brings her amazing inspiration to her tragic life event and will tell people in attendance they can “Get back on the horse” with hard work, passion and determination. The evening includes a social at 5 p.m., dinner at 6 p.m. and seminar at 7 p.m. Marathon Feed will offer its Purina horse feed sale included in its coupon card, prizes and autographs.
