Josh Matthews and Charada Rose
In town: “We have our own business in a shop by our house just outside Joplin, Mo. It is called Four State Industrial Maintenance, and we do anything from janitorial services to small construction such as cleaning silos and remodeling. The business had been in the family for over 20 years when we took it over and changed the name to begin our own business. We have some of the same accounts and have added new ones of our own.”
In the Country: “Though we have 15 acres of our own, we share a lease with the rest of the family for another 60 acres that we use to pasture all of our horses. The grass is almost all Fescue. The two of us own three of the 60 total horses that pasture together. The land is really important because it is the main support for our horses. We alternate pastures so the land has time to recover. We buy hay for the winter, and also use a commercial grain mix to supplement the horses’ diet. Charada competes in rodeos in the barrel racing event and is beginning to train our two other horses for barrel racing. We were both raised in the country, so the country feels like home while town never could.”
Future Plans: “We’re going to get married soon and we want to raise a family out here. We are hoping that Four State Industrial Maintenance will be the main source of our income with Charada adding income from her cosmetology degree, which she will finish right before we marry.”
Story and Photo By Terry Ropp
