He watched as the Nasdaq index dropped to a near record one-day loss before rebounding slightly at the close of trading. A customer once called him a high-tech redneck. I thought that fit me pretty good. In the winter, he posted at least 1,000 items on eBay, an online auction service. January and February are usually slow times of the year for Krantz's business, but eBay has changed that.
Business is now solid year-round.
In 1958, Leo Krantz started the business as a farm supply store. He died in 1976 and son Mike took over the store in 1978 after working for Peabody Coal Co. in Lynnville. At the age of 4, he would watch the shop for his dad when he had chores or other business. Out front, piles of neatly stacked limestone and sandstone dot the gravel driveway. A little farther back is the barn that houses his many rollers, pigeons who like to do backwards somersaults while flying in a large flock over his property.