Demeter LP

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Demeter, the Greek goddess of corn and harvest, was actually Don's second choice for a name. His first choice was Ceres. Ceres was the Greek goddess of grain, and it is Ceres' statue on top of the Chicago Board of Trade building. However, someone else had already taken that name. The Demeter logo was designed by Don's son Mike. The horizontal lines represent railroad tracks disappearing on the horizon. The lower-case "d", with its square design and windows at the top, represents an old wooden elevator. In spite of rather intense lobbying by Don, managers were very reluctant to lose their identity by adopting the Demeter name. They continued to answer the phones and do business under their individual names (Raub Grain, Goodland Grain, etc.) until the company's rapid growth in the early 1980's. January 1974, Don established the first "central office" in a remodeled freezer in downtown Fowler, Indiana. The staff was lean -- Don gave the orders and Phyllis Henady carried them out. The freezer, being well insulated, did not require a furnace. In later years as the office came to contain more computer terminals (and employees) the door would be left open on warm winter days to keep the office from getting too hot. When the weather got really cold, the lights would be left on over the weekend to keep the office comfortable for Monday morning. In 1980, Demeter built the office it occupies today...

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