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Century Wine & Spirits

On Century Blvd. * 952-401-WINE

Jeff said that Gertens Greenhouses, located in the Twin Cities, has helped him get the nursery up and going. “We purchase certain plants from Gertens and Bachmans and smaller suppliers,” he said. “Maybe we’ll have our own greenhouse someday.”

What are the simplest directions you give to the Nursery Retail Center? “It’s here at the Tree Farm on Bavaria Road, one half mile south of Hwy 5.”

Grading and Excavating

Jeff’s first business venture as a sole proprietor was officially entitled Hartman Excavating. He recalled his first excavating mentor, a Victoria resident and neighbor, and an incident that occurred when Jeff was 8 years old.

“I remember that in 1965 -- the year of the big snowstorm -- Dad and his crew got snowed in at the Hazeltine Clubhouse for three or four days and they cleaned out the refrigerator ...

“Our family only had one car then and my mom dropped off Dad every day at the clubhouse. He was building it for Bloomberg, but the course had been open for play since 1962 or 1963. The place had one long driveway at that time and not the other buildings and facilities that are on the entrance street today,”

“The snow was higher than a schoolbus,” recalled Jeff, a second grader in 1965. “Donny Kerber had to go in and plow them out. He was the only one around with a cat.”

“That’s probably how I got into the excavating business,” he laughed, “living next to Donny. He dug the basements for the homes my dad built. But then I started doing the excavating and the finishing for my dad and I just liked it. This whole madness began in 1971 or 1972. I started adding features to the yards, and drawings were a big thing, and then other builders hired me.”

“My dad gave me 50-cents an hour and you might call him cheap but, you know, it added up!” stated Jeff. “I was able to buy my first car, cash. A lot of my high school friends went on to college but the college parties just didn’t make sense to me ...

“Then I borrowed money from the Victoria State Bank in 1976, when I was 18, to buy a motorcycle. I was going to resell it or return it but I never did.” To this day, motorcycling suits Jeff’s fancy and he rides a beautiful shiny Harley Davidson when he’s not playing in the dirt.

Hartman Excavating expanded as Jeff began getting business from more and more developers. “That’s when it got hard,” he said. “I had gotten used to working with my dad, but then I learned that until a house got sold and paid for, I didn’t get paid. Excavators are first in and last out and sometimes I had to fight to get paid at all .

“My dad purchased the excavating equipment but then the caterpillar needed new tracks and it was always something. I think that first piece -- a 1970 trackscavator -- cost $13,000, used, of course. Now it costs $113,000.”

The son recalled the words of his father. “My dad always said we don’t get rich, but we can get comfortable. The number one thing to do is work hard, to keep doing better what we’re doing. He said if you don’t like what you do, nobody’s happy. He was not an easy person to work for. He kicked my ass the whole time ...

“Then the early ‘80’s came around and Dad said, ‘You know, it’s time to go out on your own.’ The interest rate was 17% to 18% and I thought I was going to die. It was a disaster but I made through it.”

Almost as an afterthought, Jeff added, “I never liked that word, excavating. I never liked that name. It never described what we really did.”

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