Paso. They have several sale barns across Central Illinois. Sales are held each Thursday afternoon in the winter months and on Thursday evening in the summer months. A restaurant, known as Dan's Cafe, is operated on the premises by Mr. and Mrs. Dan Kaufman.
El Paso has four building contractors at this time. They include Richard "Rick" Baker, who has been in business since 1964, and Del Redenius who started in business here in 1966. Rex Pinkham started in business in 1964, having been previously employed as a carpenter by Kent Lumber & Coal Company. The newest contracting firm in town is Weber Brothers, a partnership made up of Dean and Jimmie Weber.
Mrs. Ralph Scott opened an antique shop in her home at 546 Elmwood Court in 1954 and handles a wide variety of antiques, though dishes are her specialty.
The beauty shop business is one line of business that seems to be thriving quite well in El Paso. Most of the shops are located in homes, and some of them are as follows: Fantasy Salon operated by Dorothy Edwards, Juanita's Beauty Shop operated by Juanita Bigger, Luan's Beauty Nook operated by Luan Allen, Sandy's Beauty Nook operated by Sandy Price, M'Lady Stop Beauty Shop operated by Maxine Benson, Pam's Shop operated by Pamela Shoemaker, Doris' Beauty Shop operated by Doris Fever, and Brenda's Beauty Shop operated by Brenda Bauman.
Ron Mayne opened his photographic studio at 45 West Front Street in August of 1971, having been previously employed by the Daily Pantagraph.
The Unzicker Trucking Company located at West U. S. 24 in January, 1969. In April, 1972, construction began on new facilities on U. S. 24, 10 blocks east of U. S. 51. An office and garage to service the 32 trucks which the company operates, are housed in a metal building 80 x 125 feet in size. A similar building measuring 150 x 300 feet, located west of the office, is used as a warehouse. The company moved to the new location in December, 1972. Walter Unzicker is president and manager.
Marathon Metallic Building Company, a subsidiary of Marathon Manufacturing Company of Houston, Texas, erected a large plant one and a half miles east of El Paso in 1972. The company looked at sites in a number of Central Illinois towns before deciding to locate on some land owned by the George Norths, located between the T. P. & W. railroad and U. S. Route 24. The Norths owned 34 acres that had to be re-zoned so that a portion could be sold to the new industry. A railroad siding was built along with several metal structures which, when combined, gave the plant 81,000 square feet of floor space. The company, which manufactures metal buildings for industrial use, soon out-grew its quarters, and the plant was expanded to 130,000 square feet in 1973. The company is now one of the major industries in the community with about 75 persons presently employed. The demand for metal buildings is great, and the company may eventually employ
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