Staff writer
When Chuck Mead decided to purchase Peabody Farm Service from Dick Alcorn, he did so with backup from his family. His significant other Liz Clark and her son Darcy Pease joined him in the venture.
The business officially changed hands April 1. The three made some upgrades to the office area and the stockroom where parts are shelved and stored.
“We also started cleaning out the other building to the south of this main one,” Mead said. “We call it the back shop. It still has a bunch of Dick’s stuff in it, but we are making progress moving that out.
“The back shop has four bays and will help us accommodate customers better,” he said. “We will still fix and rotate tires and do servicing and simple things in the two bays up here like Dick and the co-op staff did. But we will use the back shop for major repairs. We’ll end up with a total of six bays. And we can keep cars we’re working on inside overnight if we need to.”
Mead has plans to expand the services that Peabody Farm Service has traditionally offered. He plans to offer small engine repairs for mowers, golf carts, and ATVs.
“We can work on most farm equipment — tractors, combines, and such,” he said. “We will also do welding. I hope to get a tow truck before long and be able to offer 24-hour service.”
Peabody Farm Service will keep the same hours, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday. He said he was not sure about expanded hours during harvest, but really had not considered it at this point.
“I guess if the farmers need for us to be open, we sure will be open,” he said.
Mead and Clark were working on a schedule of specials to attract customers and introduce their service to the people of Peabody and the surrounding area. They will begin the first week in May with an oil change and filter special.
“There will be some price changes as well,” Mead said. “Changes that should be helpful to our customers’ bottom line. I hope people will check with us and give us a chance to provide a quote on parts and repairs. We do business with several wholesale vendors and usually can have parts here in a day.”
Mead has been a mechanic for 33 years. He trained in vocational tech school and went through Caterpillar’s mechanical training.
“Darcy has 10 years of welding experience and Liz worked on tanks in the military,” he said. “Not too sure we will get many tanks in here, but if we do, we’re set.
“Really, I don’t know if this will make a difference to people, but we want them to think of this slogan when they think of us, ‘We will treat you like family.’ We want to give our customers the best service possible at the best price,” he said.