When the Purina plant was open for business in Montgomery City on Sept. 7, 1963, Dave Patke was a 10-year old who helped give away ice cream to the customers for lunch.

Now, Patke is a regular attendee at the plant, picking up feed every day for his business, Straatman Feed.

“They have good people who take care of us,” Patke said.

On Oct. 23, Patke was one of numerous people who attended a 60-year anniversary celebration at the plant that included barbecue and dessert. When the plant opened 60 years ago, barbecue was on the menu.

“We just wanted to have this day of recognition of being in Montgomery County,” plant manager Karen Scott said. “We’ve been an employer for 60 years and a lot of people have retired from here. We have people who have over 40 years with the company and are still working. It’s a good place to get a job and retire with.”

Scott said the Purina plant – located at 950 N. Walker Street – is a wholesale operation, meaning it just sells its products to dealers.

“This has been a big employer for Montgomery County for many years,” Scott said. “We have 27 people. It’s not a lot like CertainTeed, but for the county, there’s not a whole lot of industry here. We’re still here and we’re here to stay.”

Scott said all of the employees who have worked at the Purina plant for over 40 years have been valuable to the company.

“They’ve been through a lot, they understand the business and they’re dedicated employees,” Scott said. “People who do the right thing for the company and for us in the long term are something we look for. If we’re not servicing customers, we may not end up with jobs, right? If we’re taking care of our customers and doing the right thing, this company will be successful. When you’re in a small town and you don’t want to drive to St. Louis, you want a good company that you can work for that’s close and you can be home every night. There’s a lot of value in that.”

A graduate from Kansas State University, Scott has been plant manager since 2008. She has been with the Purina company since 2000.

“I actually went to school to learn how to run a feed mill,” Scott said. “As I advanced into different roles, I got my first plant manager job out here.”

In 1963, about 5,000 people attended the grand opening of the Purina plant, which was made to manufacture Purina products for livestock and poultry. Patke was one of those people. His family ran a dairy.

“At that time, we sent milk and ice cream to the visitors center in Gray Summit,” Patke said. “Every day, the workers ate lunch there and the visitors ate at the research farm. We sent milk and ice cream every day for dessert. When they built this plant, they asked my dad to bring 5,000 of them up and we just gave them out to the people for lunch.”