STRICTLY BUSINESS: LEEROWAN IN JACKSON NOW UNDER A NEW NAME

LeeRowan is out, Rubbermaid is in.

LeeRowan, which was founded more than 60 years ago in St. Louis, became a subsidiary of Newell Co. in 1994 when it was purchased by Newell.

Newell and Rubbermaid merged in March 1999 to form Newell Rubbermaid Inc., a $6.2 billion, Fortune 500 company.

Today, LeeRowan is out.

Rubbermaid Closet Organization Products (RCOP) is the new name of the company at Jackson, which has more than 900,000 square feet under its roof and about 1,400 employees.

LeeRowan was founded in 1939 by Edgar D. Lee and John V. Rowan. The company's first products were metal trouser-creasers that were sold to Sears, Roebuck and Co. and JCPenney, which have been LeeRowan customers for more than 50 years.

During World War II, the firm, unable to obtain steel for the trouser-creasers, started manufacturing arming wires for bombs. After the war, the firm experimented with new products that eventually led to Storage Systems by LeeRowan.

Today the firm not only makes the hangers, but a complete line of ventilated storage products and an assortment of traditional closet accessories.

LeeRowan expanded its St. Louis operation to Jackson in 1964, in a 49,000-square-foot building with 25 works.

Since then, the plant has had more than a dozen expansions. In 1998, the company moved its Memphis manufacturing facility to Cape Girardeau.

Welcome to Jackson, Rubbermaid Closet Organization Products.

Almost time for market

Vegetable growing is big business throughout Southeast Missouri.

The University of Missouri Extension Service reports that about 19,000 acres of vegetables can be found in Southeast Missouri, accounting for about 60 percent of the vegetable production acreage in the state.

Pick an area, you'll probably find a farmers' market. In Southeast Missouri, consumers can find fresh produce markets at Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, Poplar Bluff and Kennett. Community markets can also be found at Anna and Carbondale in Illinois and at Paducah, Ky.

Eighteen to 20 growers are members of the Cape Gir-ardeau Farmers' Market, held Thursdays from May through October, at the Plaza Galleria parking lot, 2001 Independence St., from 3-7 p.m.

The local market is designed for vendors who produce fruits, vegetables, plants and flowers. Producers who sell jelly, jams and baked goods at the Cape Girardeau market have produced the principal ingredient included in the product.

There has never been a statewide farmers market association, but the Missouri Department of Agriculture and University Outreach and Extension are working to establish a Missouri Farmers' Market Association to represent the needs and interests of farmers' markets and the growers who supply them.

The goal of the Missouri Farmers' Market Association will be to help independent farmers produce better crops and value-added products and also make them more widely available to the public, said Tammy Bruckerhoff, horticulture marketing specialist with the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

Organizers say the association will increase communications among the state's farmers' markets by bringing markets and vendors together to share information about special events, fund raisers and promotions. In addition, members will join forces to inform producers, legislators and consumers about the benefits of farmers' markets.

The association's first meeting is scheduled for November, on a date to be announced. A group is already working on a logo.

Funding to develop, support and promote the association comes form a grade awarded to the Missouri Department of Agriculture through the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Additional information about the new association is available by calling Bruckerhoff at (573) 751-3394.

Also available is the Farmers' Market Directory.