Craig Daily Press

Craig — There are many people who dream about operating their own business. Some follow through on that dream and open the doors of a business only to discover that it is more work than they imagined with many challenges and demands.

A large percentage of small businesses don’t survive two years before closing their doors. It isn’t always the biggest and showiest businesses that make the cut and survive the ups and downs of the economy. Sometimes the best ones are small and modest.

Edith Persinger was born Nov. 28, 1878, in Central City, Neb. She grew up watching her father manage a dry goods store and those observations would shape her entrepreneur spirit for the rest of her long life.

She came to Craig in 1915 and took up a half section homestead in Great Divide. At first, she supported herself by working in a Mount Harris store, but within two years she struck out on her own and opened the first ladies’ ready-made clothing store in Craig. She began with modest stock but was careful to listen to her customers’ needs and requests and the business flourished.

As the shop grew in popularity, Edith decided that owning was better than renting and she purchased a building on Yampa Ave.

In 1924, her sister, Leafy, joined her in Craig and the two formed a partnership that would last nearly half a century to the end of their lives.

On the 12th anniversary of the business, The Craig Empire Courier paid tribute to their determination and business acumen:

“After 12 years of careful management The Persinger Shop is today regarded as one of Craig’s finest stores. From the beginning, the store has carried only goods of high quality and has been given over exclusively to women’s and children’s wearing apparel. From all parts of Northwestern Colorado people are accustomed to come to Persinger’s to shop.

“Far different is the store today from what it was twelve years ago when Miss Edith Persinger opened her shop in a corner of the Cowgill building. … At that time it took foresight and faith in a new and undeveloped country to venture upon an enterprise which would appeal exclusively to women and children. But, Miss Persinger foresaw a growth and development that she believed would justify the undertaking.” (Craig Empire Courier, Feb. 5, 1930)

The sisters had an attitude that can be an inspiration to small business owners today when taxes and inflation are limiting profits. The anniversary applause continued in the same newspaper edition:

“It would be wrong to assume that Miss Persinger’s business was all roses and easy successes. There were times when Miss Persinger wondered, along with other merchants of the town, whether the turn of events would make it possible to stay in business. There were years of depression when there was little money in the country, when work was scarce, when farmers were becoming discouraged, when there was talk of abandoning the Moffat road and ‘giving the country back to the Indians.’

“It was a case where sublime faith in Moffat County’s natural resources kept things going. A few loyal people who had this faith made the necessary sacrifices, paid the taxes somehow, and weathered the hardships until gradually there dawned a new day for the Moffat country.”

In 1926, the Persinger sisters decided to take on a new challenge. They purchased a home west of Craig and began raising silver foxes for the burgeoning fur trade. Leafy managed animals while Edith and their younger sister, Holly, ran the shop.

Holly married Victor Smith of Dixon in 1929. He was interested in aviation and went to Denver for flight school. Holly sold the shop to Lloyd Failing in April 1930 and went to join her husband. The Failings ran the shop under the same name until they sold it to Marj Marr in 1939.

The sisters remained a team even when they shut down the fox enterprise and moved into Craig for a relative life of leisure. They took delight in entertaining their neighbors at their home on School Street and remained active in the community. Leafy was a staunch Democrat and Edith a dedicated Republican, but they knew that blood was thicker than party lines.

In 1966, Edith and Leafy moved to Grand Junction for the warmer climate. They shared an apartment until 1969 when both entered a nursing home.

Leafy Persinger died March 25, 1972, and her sister Edith joined her in death on July 5, 1972. The sisters who spent most of their lives as partners left the same way. They were buried next to each other and the rest of their family in Nebraska.

They were pioneers in their own right and left valuable lessons for today’s small business owners.