Nixa Hardware and Seed Company
Owner: Larry McCroskey
Location: Nixa, Mo.
Business History: Nixa Hardware and Seed Company was established in 1899 by F.M. Wasson, a distant cousin of Larry McCroskey. The store has stayed in the same family for the 112 years it has been in business. Larry and his wife, Jeanne, along with Larry’s sister, Macanna Murray, and brother-in-law, Gary Murray, bought the store from Larry’s parents, L.D. and Averiel McCroskey, in 1974. In 1988, the McCroskeys’ built the store where Nixa Hardware is located today at the intersection of Highway 160 and 14. In 2005, Larry and Jeanne purchased the outstanding stock from the Murrays’, making the McCroskeys’ the sole owners of Nixa Hardware and Seed Company. Larry has worked in the store since he was in the third grade. “I swept the floors for ice cream money,” he said with a smile. As a youngster, Larry also helped with the seed harvest and seed testing, cleaning and identification. “I learned by doing.” Larry is not the only one at Nixa Hardware with strong family ties to the Christian County community: General Manager Joey Glenn comes from a Nixa family whose lineage dates back into the 1840’s.
Products and Services: Nixa Hardware boasts knowledgeable employees and a wide variety of products, ranging from hardware to pet supplies, lawn and garden equipment to pellet stoves and fuel and of course, seed that is produced, cleaned and sold directly to the consumer.
Business Philosophy: “Listen to the customer and provide him or her with what their needs are,” Larry said, “Customers always have stories to tell. Take time to listen and learn from them.”
Best Part of the Job: Larry said that the best part of his job is, “working with the public and my fellow associates and I enjoy working with my three daughters, Christi, Cami and Casi.”
Story and Photo by Klaire Bruce
