Throughout 2015 we’ve been celebrating the 50th anniversary of Ralph’s Hardwoods Floors, which my father, Ralph Lorenz, started in a garage behind his house in Black Creek.
To mark this anniversary, we’ve talked a lot about Dad, who unfortunately passed away last year and isn’t with us to enjoy this milestone. As I’ve said before, Ralph’s was his “baby” and we wouldn’t be celebrating anything if it wasn’t for him.
But the same can be said for my mother, Roberta. Without her, Ralph’s would have never grown from Dad’s one-man shop into the leading hardwood floor company in northeast Wisconsin, with a sprawling showroom and more than 35 employees.
Mom was relatively “behind the scenes,” but she and Dad were partners in everything, and they jointly made the decision to start Ralph’s. So she was essentially a co-founder of the company.
She‘s also been the glue that’s held the company together.
It started at home. I was born in 1965, the same year Dad left his job at a hardwood flooring company in Appleton to start Ralph’s. Mom already had my sister (then 6) to look after while Dad worked, and now she had me. That was no easy job!
But Mom was also needed in the business. As Dad took on more work, she handled the bookkeeping and invoicing. And when Dad needed an assistant for the actual hardwood floor work, Mom was glad to help. As Dad drove them to jobsites, she used to carry her typewriter along so she could work on the invoices in the car.
I can still picture her diligently finishing floors. She was such a good helper that when Dad eventually hired someone else to do what she was doing, he was constantly grumbling that he needed Mom back. She always enjoyed doing the work, and she liked going from house to house and seeing what was being built and how beautiful the floors could be.
However, Mom’s contributions can’t be measured only by the paperwork she’s done or the finishing jobs she’s helped complete. I’ve heard her described by colleagues at Ralph’s as a “saint,” and I wholeheartedly agree. Her positive demeanor and willingness to help out however she can are contagious, and over the years, her attitude has spread throughout the company.
And when things get difficult, that’s when she’s at her best. During the 1970s, a bleak time for hardwood flooring companies, Mom was a rock. Her persistence helped keep the company on course through those years. Likewise, when I took over in 1992, she was always there for me if I needed advice or encouragement with challenges I faced—and she still is.
I’ve also got to give Mom a lot of credit for “managing” Dad, who had a creative energy that sometimes needed to be focused in the right direction. I think one of the reasons she liked working in the business was so she could keep an eye on him!
Mom and Dad were married for 58 years, and I know she misses him, as we all do. I’m very sorry Dad isn’t here to celebrate this milestone year with us, but I’m so happy that Mom is.
Ralph’s is her “baby”, too, and she has every reason to be proud of its success. It wouldn’t have happened without her.
