Kautsch Lumber Company, Est. 1932
Featured in the January 2017 Issue
In 1932 Arthur Kautsch lived in Lohman, Missouri with his wife,
Ola, and their 3 yr. old son Marvin. Arthur was a banker and partner in
Kautsch-Lenhart General Store while Ola taught grade school. Having
become aware of the wonderful opportunities for farming in the tropical
Rio Grande Valley, Arthur decided to head to South Texas and check
it out. The Kautsches traveled south by train, courtesy of the Swallow
Land Excursion Company, to Alamo, Texas which was named Swallow
at that time.
They decided to buy 10 acres of land South of Alamo to grow citrus.
Arthur was a better businessman than a farmer and eventually he
bought Humphrey's Lumber Yard in Alamo from the First State Bank
and changed the name to Kautsch Lumber. He then purchased Temple
Lumber Company, also located in Alamo, which he eventually closed so
that Kautsch Lumber could flourish.
In 1933, a category 5 hurricane left $16.9
million in damage and 40 deaths in southern
Texas. Included in the property damage was
the complete destruction of Kautsch Lumber.
Undeterred, Arthur rebuilt a larger and more
stable structure, paving the way for his son,
Marvin, to join in the family business upon returning
home from World War II in 1945.
A third generation of the Kautsch family joined the business when Arthur's grandson, Marvin's son, John came to work after graduating
from college in 1971.
Kautsch Lumber Co. became a True Value Hardware store in
1984, which allowed the decades old business
to grow into one of the most established and
successful hardware stores in the area.
In the mid-1990s John added "The Siding
Source" to the company logo and became the largest vinyl siding distributor in South Texas, servicing the entire region with quality vinyl products and accessories.
Kautsch True Value - The Siding Source, was
built on honesty, integrity and customer satisfaction
over many years, spanning three generations
of the Kautsch Family philosophy that
continues to be a Texas tradition.