It Happened in Crawford County: Bob Berry has a head for business
Bob Berry is the son of Robert Sr. and Cleta McClenethan. Bob has a half-brother, Jim Healea, who was killed in an auto accident in June 1990, sister Judy Drake, brothers Ronald, who was killed before his 14th birthday, and Eric Berry. Bob was born in Marion and the family moved to Martel when he was 5. He went to River Valley school when he was a freshman, and his class was the first to go there four years. Bob enjoyed art the best, then bookkeeping and business courses.
Bob also worked at the Gulf Station in Galion in his senior year when he was 17. One customer pulled in with a black Cadillac and Bob gave him full service, customary at that time. It happened to be Mr. Bosler, the North Electric’s plant manager. He said, “I like the way you work, put your application in at the North Electric." Bob was soon hired by them, and after a year there, he graduated from River Valley in 1966.
Bob married Sandy Drake, living in Bucyrus at that time. Her dad was the fourth generation to work at Erie Lackawanna Marion. In May 1968 they made their home in Bucyrus and later had three sons — Robert III, Craig and Jamey. After a few jobs, Bob was called to Timken in October 1967 until he retired in December 1998 with over 31 years. After retirement, Bob worked a short time at B & K Medical and while going to CDL school in January 2000 he started driving for K & P Trucking in Willard. He also drove for Heartland Express from Iowa City, Iowa, for four years.
Bob and Wanda married in 1979
After divorcing, Bob met Wanda Mee when she was working at Westinghouse in Upper Sandusky. She is a daughter of Alfred and Cora Mee and has a brother Jim. She was in band and graduated from Bucyrus High School in 1973. She went on to OSU where she took business courses and, after two years in college, she ended up in the banking business. Wanda worked her way up from a teller at the Bucyrus City Bank, later known as Park National, and she became the vice president. They married in 1979. Bob’s stepdaughter is Tonya Swick, and Bob and Wanda also have a daughter Hayley.
On June 20, 2008, Bob and Wanda purchased Ehrhart’s’ Drive Thru & Party Store at 108 N. Lane St. It was formerly owned by Pudge Hargis until the business was acquired by the Berrys from the Hemmerlys. They also acquired their state liquor license from Rick Geyer.
Ehrhart’s is a drive-thru convenience store for parties, liquor, wine, beer and tobacco. They also have pull tabs that support the Humane Society Serving Crawford County and Ohio Lottery tickets are available, too. They are excited to have recently acquired the status of a Super Lotto agency where winners can cash tickets up to $5,000. Before, they couldn’t go to a local bank to cash in. They had to go to a casino or Super Lotto agency. Their very first lotto winner didn’t fare very well. The State of Ohio soon found out that he owed back child support. His winnings were all gone except $150! Two weeks ago, a guy was anxious to cash his $1,000, but he also owed it all to the attorney general. However, they also had one winner who got the full $1,000.
Bob is still involved daily in Ehrhart's
Wanda is currently taking care of her 89-year-old mom in a nursing facility, but Bob is still involved in the day-to-day activities at Ehrhart’s and works mornings. Their daughter Hayley is a graduate of Bucyrus H.S. in 2000 and went on to school at Bradford in Columbus studying graphic arts design. She also gained experience from different jobs locally. She works full time at Ehrhart’s in charge of daily operations and is a third part owner along with Bob and Wanda in their LLC. Hayley is married to Harry Matheny, a full-time UPS driver who also works at the store.
Bob and Wanda have traveled to Cancun three or four times, several cruises out of Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera, Dominican Republic and U. S. Virgin Islands. They also ride motorcycles with their group of cyclist friends. They went to Colorado Springs, Pike’s Peak, Smokey Mountains, Finger Lakes in New York and to Sturgis, South Dakota, three different times. One was an "all guy trip" to Key West, Florida, the most southern part of the U.S.
Bob is a member the Moose Lodge, secretary/treasurer of Moose Riders, and member of Bucyrus Brown’s Backer’s Club. He wants to thank everyone in the community for the success of Ehrhart’s as there wouldn’t be a business without them.
Go online for more of Mary Fox’s stories and photos on bucyrustelegraphforum.com. If you are interested in sharing a story, write Mary Fox, 931 Marion Road, Bucyrus, OH 44820 or email littlefoxfactory@columbus.rr.com.
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Bob Berry and wife Wanda bought Ehrhart's Drive Thru in 2008
