All of Us are Born for a Reason

When you drive up to the corporate headquarters at Bloomsdale Excavating, there’s no doubt it’s an impressive sight. What’s even more impressive is to think this office was once housed in the breezeway of a green, ranch home on Highway 61.

Marvin Drury spent many late nights in that breezeway, bidding jobs and doing paperwork. Days were spent on the jobsite where projects worked six days a week. At that time, the union only allowed eight-hour days.

He had a routine for entering a jobsite. First was to check and make sure everything was safe. Second was to find a way to make it more productive. Safety on a jobsite followed a common sense approach and didn’t have the requirements or training found on today’s sites. He made a point to say the hard work and dedication to safety found today at Bloomsdale Excavating has definitely proven to be a success.

One of the projects he found particularly interesting was in Gads Hill, MO. The company was supposed to construct railroad siding in a rock quarry for MO Pacific Railroad. This was also the site where five members of the Jesse James gang held up the train in 1874. According to Jesse’s widow, his share was one-fifth of $2000 and used to finance their wedding and honeymoon trip. Marvin remembers digging and finding the old timbers from the train station in that area. Other notable findings on jobsites over the years include Indian relics and arrowheads.

During Marvin’s working years, most jobs were close to home. However, he was involved in several businesses and it took quite a bit of time away from his wife, Ethlyn and their six boys. His hard work and determination was rewarded. He officially retired in January of 1990. He is extremely proud that he was able to build a stable company that is able to provide jobs for his family, including his children and grandchildren. He speaks highly of the caliber of employees found in the company today.

Marvin and Ethlyn have enjoyed extensive traveling during retirement. Most of they time they took long trips in their motor home. You’d find them in convoys, driving as far as Alaska, Mexico and Nova Scotia. They’ve even traveled with their motor home on trains and a barge. Current travel plans find them in Florida two to three months out of the year. Keep in mind, that even over 20 years after retirement, he still looks at jobsites along his travel routes. He’s quick to judge whether someone is being productive and using their time effectively, whether or not it’s a BE site. He still enjoys visiting company jobsites today and meeting with current employees. One of his biggest retirement projects was the development of Lake Lasata.

The lake has been a wonderful gathering place for friends and family. To date, the family includes 22 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren and one great-great. (It was discussed we combine the great and the great-greats since he’s already a “great” guy!)

Marvin and Ethlyn have made significant contributions to charity over the years. He said it was a lesson learned from his parents, “if someone needs it worse than you, give it to them.” They are strong supporters of St. Agnes School and Church.

They developed the Bloomsdale Catholic Foundation several years ago to help sustain the parish school. Marvin counted out five generations that have attended the school located in Bloomdale, MO.

They have also contributed to Pony Bird and Sisters of the Most Precious Blood. It’s important to them that these groups are not forgotten.  They are generous in their support of the Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Marvin referred to St. Jude’s founder Danny Thomas’ famous quote. “All of us are born for a reason, but all of us don’t discover why. Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others.” It seems that those words were spoken with Marvin Drury in mind.