Packing ice with Glennon Harter, co-owner of Pure Ice Co.

Ice. It cools drinks in the summertime, serves as a playing surface for hockey games and is a vital ingredient in making homemade snow cones. One local company has been providing the community with ice since 1926. Pure Ice Co., at 314 S. Ellis St. in Cape Girardeau, sells ice to large retailers and individual consumers alike. Business editor Brian Blackwell visited with co-owner Glennon Harter to learn more about the company.

Q: Before we get into the company itself, tell me about your personal life.

A: I was born in Perryville. It was a small town, not a whole lot different from Cape Girardeau. I grew up on a farm there with my two sisters and one brother. We could go anywhere and do anything in Perryville. We didn't even have to lock our doors there. I remember going to St. Louis for a trip and not even locking our doors to our home while we were gone. But times are different now. Like any kid I played sports, goofed around and had fun. I also worked on the farm until my dad bought Perryville Ice. Ice wasn't easy work, though it's not the hardest work I've ever done. The hardest was digging holes for my dad on the farm. The difference between ice and farming is, in ice, at the end of the day you're done. The next day you can then pick up where you left off. But farming involved many more hours. You worked day and night.

Q: How did you come to purchase Pure Ice Co.?

A: We had moved to Cape Girardeau in 1964. My dad bought the business from the Dean family, who had owned it since 1926. I soon attended and graduated from Southeast Missouri State University. That was about the time my dad was nearing retirement age. In 1976 my brother Richard and I bought the business from him. It was kind of a natural fit.

Q: Who has influenced you the most?

A: My parents, Austin and Esther. I learned a lot from them that shaped who I am today. They shaped my core values and made me a better person. And they taught me the right thing to do through leading by example.

Q: What drives you to success?

A: Again, it comes from my family growing up. We succeeded by showing up for work and working hard. My motivation is getting up and providing for them in a job I love to do. If you enjoy what you're doing then you won't mind getting up in the morning to do your job. People depend on me and I have to do my job.

Q: What changes have you seen in the ice business?

A: A big change was going from selling block ice to customers to more of selling packaged ice to convenience stores. That change began to really happen in the early 1960s. At one time it was the grocery stores and gas stations that had ice. When my dad was in the ice business, convenience stores weren't around in Cape Girardeau. Now, we have a lot of them here and they sell our products. People pick up more items at the convenience stores and use more ice. The convenience store now has all they need at one location. If it's a want or need, someone is going to provide it. If the convenience store can provide those items they'll put them in the store and make a profit.

Q: What has to do with that change and what changes have you seen since you moved to Cape Girardeau?

A: As late as the 1960s, grocery stores were not open on Sunday. It was mainly gas stations. Now it seems like everything is seven days a week. Our society has changed. There are more people living in urban areas than years ago when we first started in Cape Girardeau. The concentration of people allows people to have more conveniences they didn't have at one time. When people are playing more they need more products, like our ice, for their activities.

Q: Tell me more about your company.

A: We employ five full-time employees who work year-round. During the summer we hire extra help. May through September is when we do 85 percent of our business. People buy ice year-round, but when it's hotter is when we sell more ice. Our business of selling dry ice has really picked up. Hospitals and labs need it, as do those who want to take their deer meat from here to Alabama or North Carolina. And if you want to take a cheesecake from Cape Girardeau all the way to Tennessee, you're going to need something more than just regular ice. Dry ice will keep your products cool and in the best condition.