Our Story (short version)
1960-Landa's great-grandparents (Camiel and Alice) owned the building and opened the Wee Bite cafe selling 10-cent hamburgers, homemade pie, malts, and milkshakes.
1965-Alice and Camiel turned cafe into a second-hand store (Hardin Second Hand)
1978-Landa's grandma (Charlene) purchased the building, changed the name to Fort Custer General Store and ran a successful retail store for 40 years.
2018-Landa (instead of using her Elementary Education degree) purchased the building from her grandma, did a complete remodel, purchased all new inventory, added a soda fountain, changed the name to The Farmer's Daughter General Store and opened April 20, 2018.
Our Story (long version)
In 1957, Charlene and her parents moved from California to Hardin, Montana; hometown of Charlene's dad, Camiel. In the fall of 1959, Camiel purchased the building at 206 N. Center Ave in Hardin, Montana. In the 1920's, the building used to be the home of Schneider’s Confectionary and tack shop, in the 1940's the Arcade bar, and after other businesses took their turns, the building now sat empty. The building had no roof, so Camiel (who was a carpenter in California) spent all winter fixing the building . Charlene's mom Alice loved to cook, so they opened the Wee Bite Café and lived upstairs of the building. They sold 10 cent hamburgers and Goober Cocktails. The business was prosperous. Both Alice and Camiel did the cooking and Alice spent her mornings baking four or five pies daily. Alice and Camiel had five girls, but they were older by this time and most of them had moved out. Charlene spent her summers, weekends, lunch hours, and time after school working at the café and all five girls worked there in the summer. Five years later they decided to close the cafe. Alice opened a used clothing store called Hardin’s Second Hand. In 1966, Camiel added on a back room to make the store bigger. A year later Alice was diagnosed with lung cancer and handed the store over to Camiel as she was too sick to work. She passed in 1967. Camiel made the store into a second hand store and years later handed it over to one of his daughters. The daughters took their turns with the store and Charlene was the last to purchase it in 1978. She and her husband Harvey owned the property of Fort Custer, so she named it Fort Custer General Store: a craft store, gift shop, and souvenir stop. Charlene rented out the upstairs living quarters for a few years but eventually expanded and turned the upstairs house into additional store. The store was very popular with tourists and beneficial for the locals. Anything you wanted, Charlene had it. Fort Custer General Store was the biggest-little store in Montana for 40 years. In 2016, Charlene decided it was time to retire, but before she could, she had to keep the store one more year for her granddaughter Landa to finish college and come home to buy the store. Landa graduated from Montana State University Billings with a degree in Elementary Education and planned to be a teacher, but her dream of owning the store came a little sooner than expected. On November 1, 2017 Landa, her family, and their favorite carpenter began remodeling the store on what was to be some small repairs, new flooring, and paint on the walls. Working on a building that was built in 1910 quickly turned into an unexpected COMPLETE remodel. The grand opening of The Farmer's Daughter General Store and Soda Fountain was held six months later and has been supported by many members of the community.
1960-Landa's great-grandparents (Camiel and Alice) owned the building and opened the Wee Bite cafe selling 10-cent hamburgers, homemade pie, malts, and milkshakes.
1965-Alice and Camiel turned cafe into a second-hand store (Hardin Second Hand)
1978-Landa's grandma (Charlene) purchased the building, changed the name to Fort Custer General Store and ran a successful retail store for 40 years.
2018-Landa (instead of using her Elementary Education degree) purchased the building from her grandma, did a complete remodel, purchased all new inventory, added a soda fountain, changed the name to The Farmer's Daughter General Store and opened April 20, 2018.
Our Story (long version)
In 1957, Charlene and her parents moved from California to Hardin, Montana; hometown of Charlene's dad, Camiel. In the fall of 1959, Camiel purchased the building at 206 N. Center Ave in Hardin, Montana. In the 1920's, the building used to be the home of Schneider’s Confectionary and tack shop, in the 1940's the Arcade bar, and after other businesses took their turns, the building now sat empty. The building had no roof, so Camiel (who was a carpenter in California) spent all winter fixing the building . Charlene's mom Alice loved to cook, so they opened the Wee Bite Café and lived upstairs of the building. They sold 10 cent hamburgers and Goober Cocktails. The business was prosperous. Both Alice and Camiel did the cooking and Alice spent her mornings baking four or five pies daily. Alice and Camiel had five girls, but they were older by this time and most of them had moved out. Charlene spent her summers, weekends, lunch hours, and time after school working at the café and all five girls worked there in the summer. Five years later they decided to close the cafe. Alice opened a used clothing store called Hardin’s Second Hand. In 1966, Camiel added on a back room to make the store bigger. A year later Alice was diagnosed with lung cancer and handed the store over to Camiel as she was too sick to work. She passed in 1967. Camiel made the store into a second hand store and years later handed it over to one of his daughters. The daughters took their turns with the store and Charlene was the last to purchase it in 1978. She and her husband Harvey owned the property of Fort Custer, so she named it Fort Custer General Store: a craft store, gift shop, and souvenir stop. Charlene rented out the upstairs living quarters for a few years but eventually expanded and turned the upstairs house into additional store. The store was very popular with tourists and beneficial for the locals. Anything you wanted, Charlene had it. Fort Custer General Store was the biggest-little store in Montana for 40 years. In 2016, Charlene decided it was time to retire, but before she could, she had to keep the store one more year for her granddaughter Landa to finish college and come home to buy the store. Landa graduated from Montana State University Billings with a degree in Elementary Education and planned to be a teacher, but her dream of owning the store came a little sooner than expected. On November 1, 2017 Landa, her family, and their favorite carpenter began remodeling the store on what was to be some small repairs, new flooring, and paint on the walls. Working on a building that was built in 1910 quickly turned into an unexpected COMPLETE remodel. The grand opening of The Farmer's Daughter General Store and Soda Fountain was held six months later and has been supported by many members of the community.
