Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Published December 20, 2005
By Tim Dumas, Sports Writer
Bozeman Girls Basketball: Amanda Murdoch leading team on court with family support!
John Murdoch has nearly as many grandchildren as he has retail stores. Since "retiring" 11 years ago, his family and his chain of Murdoch's Ranch and Home Supply stores has steadily grown.
After selling a smaller business in Idaho similar to the one he currently owns, Murdoch never settled into the non-working life. It lasted three months. "I got bored with that," he said with a laugh that comes easy and often. So in July of 1994, he opened the first Murdoch's (then called Big R Ranch and Supply) on North 7th Avenue near the Villard Street intersection in Bozeman.
Today there are 13 Murdoch's in four states, including the 40,000-square-foot building the business moved into 2 1/2 years ago, still on 7th, but on the other side of Interstate 90. Stores are also located in Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska.
John's 14 grandchildren are equally spread out, with locations including Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Minnesota and Montana. The oldest (Amanda Murdoch) is the leading scorer for Bozeman High's undefeated girl’s basketball team.
Active in Sports
Amanda, a senior, represents the third generation of Murdochs to work at Murdoch's after spending part of her summer in the green house there. And when Bozeman plays tonight against Billings West, part of the Murdoch's work force will be in attendance.
Amanda's mother Lori, who works in purchasing, will be there, as will Lori's step brother Chris, who is in charge of store operations. Other employees are sure to show up, but the one who gets there the earliest most likely will be John.
"I start getting wound up about noon," he said of game nights. "It's so exciting to have someone you know out there playing." Amanda began playing basketball as a third grader in South Dakota, wearing a Michael Jordan jersey that covered her knees, and announcing to her mother, "I want to be a basketball player when I grow up." The 17-year-old is the family's first grandchild to play a varsity sport, although there may be more to come: Amanda's cousin Casey Helstrom is an eighth grade basketball player in Bozeman and her sisters Amber, 10, and Allison, 8, are active as well.
The athleticism appears to come from John, who played high school football in Nebraska before suiting up for a season at Doane College in Crete, Neb. He grew up in a small family; it was just John and his brother, the sons of a banker and a school teacher. The brood would soon get larger. John has been a father to seven children, including Lori, who came to Bozeman seven years ago.
Hard Work Pays Off
Lori, who is divorced, has spent many of her days since then shuttling Amanda to early-morning practices before getting her two younger daughters ready for school. But the activities don't end with basketball. Amber is into ice skating and dancing while Allison is trying gymnastics and volleyball. It's a lot for a single, working mother. "It's pretty amazing what a parent has to do to make it all work," John said. And with few complaints. "I don't think about it," Lori said. "You deal with what you're given. Sometimes I look back and think, 'how did I do that?' You just deal with it. I'm happy."
It seems John passed down another trait: A tireless work ethic. After college, he worked at ConAgra Foods in Omaha, then took jobs in Canada, Colorado and Minnesota, where he met his future wife Norma and married her 20 years ago. The couple later moved to Idaho where John owned D and B Supply in Caldwell, which he later sold. John's impending retirement was never intended to be spent on the golf course or along the shores of a river. "I don't have any hobbies," he said. "I don't go hunting; I don't just go fishing." He soon came up with the idea for his own store, even though he had never done any ranching or farming. "I just love the business because of the people and the customers," said John, 64. "It's still a business where you can do a lot of stuff on a hand shake. And that's pretty important."
That first store had a parking lot for just 21 cars. There was no air conditioning and there was only 11,000 square feet of retail space. In addition to the larger store, locations sprang up in Kalispell, Miles City and Helena. Colorado is home to six Murdoch's with a seventh scheduled to open in Windsor next December.
Community Relations
The company employs over 700 workers and is active in each of its communities. Murdoch's is heavily involved in 4-H (which stands for Head, Heart, Hands and Health) a countrywide youth organization. "On top of that, we're probably involved in another hundred things to some degree," said John, who listed Bozeman Deaconess Hospital, Eagle Mount and Big Brothers/Big Sisters among the local alliances Murdoch's supports.
John is also a big local sports fan. His office is adorned with a Montana State football helmet, a Carroll College football and a Bozeman Icedogs jersey. All are signed by the team's players. There is also a football autographed by former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz, who was in Bozeman two months ago to make a speech to the company's largest vendors. Holtz made sure to include "G.E.T," the company's motto, in his inscription. The acronym stands for Golden Rule, Excellence and Trust. "That's how we deal with our vendors, our employees and our customers," John said. That's how he also keeps his 700-plus employees to function as a family.
When Christmas comes later this week, he won't have that many people in his house, although a crowd of 29 family members is expected. Thirteen stores and 14 grandchildren. The Murdoch chain continues to grow.
Photo Credit: Erik Petersen
