Thompson & Sons, Inc.

In 1929, Paul Thompson, Sr. was the general manager for a local farm cooperative, selling farm supplies. The co-op was dissolved, so Paul, Sr. bought out the assets and started Paul Thompson & Sons. He continued to develop the business with his two sons, Lewis and Paul, Jr., as they became old enough to help. They operated a custom feed grinding business and also sold Case Equipment from the original building on Railroad Street.

During the 1950's, there were many mom and pop grocery stores in every town, but the only large stores would have been the A&P stores. Paul Thompson & Sons gradually drifted into selling flour and sugar to these small grocery stores. The next logical move was to sell to the local bakeries, bottling companies, and the many dairy operations that made ice cream and other products from sugar.

In 1962, General Mills, which was Paul, Sr.'s main supplier of flour and cereal, asked if he would supply the bakeries in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The answer was yes, and a whole new area of growth into bakery supplies was started.

In September of 1971, Paul Thompson and Sons became Thompson & Sons, Inc., with Lewis and Paul, Jr. becoming equal shareholders. Paul Thompson, Sr. died in 1975, but the business continued to be solid and grew in name throughout the 1970's. In 1979, Lewis died, and Paul, Jr. bought out his shares, becoming the sole owner.

Paul, Jr.'s oldest son, the present owner, is Donald Paul Thompson. Donald graduated from California University in Pennsylvania, with a degree in math education. He later recieved his master's in math, as well as his principle's certificate, from Xavier University. He taught math in Columbus's inner-city school system from 1970-1981. In June of 1981, he moved back to his hometown of Mt. Pleasant with his wife Rhoda and son Christopher, to help his father run the business. Donald and Rhoda also have a daughter, Amanda, who started working with her father after receiving her bachelor's in Digital Media Design, from West Liberty University. Amanda's daughter, Jaelee, was born in January, 2005, & is Grandpa Don and Grandma Rhoda's pride and joy.

With hard work and a lot of commitment, Donald has greatly expanded his family's business. Today, Thompson & Sons, Inc. sells bakery supply products to large areas of Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and parts of Kentucky. The facility now occupies about 25,000 square feet of warehouse space, including 18,400 cubic feet of freezer space and 8,600 cubic feet of cooler space. The business runs four large trucks, 52,00 pounds or larger, and has nineteen employees on the payroll.