NL_013020

is, I learned probably more
from my dad in the first six
months than I did in three
years at St. Francis.”
Today, Christopher
Herder and his wife, Kim,
run the company with the
help of their six children:
Kara, 28; Kate, 24; Jesse,
22; Madi, 20; Emma, 17;
and John, 15. The company
recently sent out its first allfemale
moving team, made
up of daughters Kara, Madi
and Jesse.
Christopher Herder
hopes to see one of the children
take over the family
business one day — and,
since he has five daughters,
the company could just as
easily be “Herder Sisters,”
he said.
“Every single one of
them has been out on a
truck, every single one of
them,” Christopher Herder
said. “My oldest, Kara,
she’s the most hands-on
with the business. She
drives the truck, she does
the moving ... There’s a lot
of things that pop up last
minute, and a lot of times
it’s the kids that do it, like
take the van and make a de-
8 | January 30, 2020 | the new lenox patriot news
newlenoxpatriotdaily.com
Frankfort business reaches 100-year milestone
LW Central alumnus
keeps grandfather’s
company running
Nuria Mathog, Contributing
Editor
The Small Business Association
estimates that 50
percent of businesses fail
within the first five years.
Herder Brothers Movers
has beat those odds 20
times over.
The Frankfort moving
company, which primarily
serves the Lincoln-Way
I can
area and has been managed
by three generations of the
Herder family, celebrates
its 100th anniversary this
year.
“It’s always been a
smaller family-owned corporation,
and I would say
the main reason for our
success is the service that
we always have intended
to give the public,” retired
manager John Herder said.
“And we keep close watch
over everything we do,
stand behind everything we
do.”
John Herder’s father,
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Eugene, launched the company
in Chicago in 1920,
when his brothers were
having a difficult time
finding employment in the
wake of World War I. They
started out delivering ice,
coal and firewood and later
transitioned into freight
and furniture moving. Ultimately,
Eugene and his
brother Frederick, who
served as the company’s
accountant, ended up running
the business.
The business spent a total
of 57 years in Chicago
at two separate locations
before finding a new home
in Frankfort, John Herder
said.
“In the late 60s after I
graduated from college,
one of my good friends
from college lived in
Frankfort, and he encouraged
my father to buy some
industrial property out
here,” John Herder said.
“And he did, although he
never saw it used for an
office, but he owned it. He
passed away and I moved
the corporation out here in
1977. Just thought it was a
good move, you know, to
come out south.”
John Herder’s son Christopher,
the current general
manager and a Lincoln-
Way Central alumnus,
began handling the company’s
day-to-day logistics
after graduating from the
University of St. Francis
in 1991. He took over
the business fully around
2007, when Herder Brothers
moved from its previous
Center Road location
to its current site at 11319
W. Stuenkel Road, he said.
“I actually went to a music
college for a year and
then decided I didn’t want
to be a teacher, and that’s
when I transferred to St.
Francis to take management,”
Christopher Herder
said. “But the funny thing
Herder Brothers Movers general manager Christopher Herder (left) and his father,
John, pose for a photo Jan. 21 at their office at 11319 W. Stuenkel Road. Photos by
Nuria Mathog/22nd Century Media
Please see moving, 10
Pictured are photos of three generations of Herder
Brothers Movers management: (left to right) former
accountant Frederick Herder, founder Eugene Herder,
former manager John Herder and current manager
Christopher Herder.
The company’s first all-female moving crew, composed
of (left to right) Kara, Madi and Jesse Herder, poses for
a photo. PHOTO SUBMITTED