Pat Trottier, left, vice presdent of Landecker & Associates and Mike Landecker, founder, will ride in the Stars and Stripes Parade as grand marshalls.

In addition to Don and Barb Merritt, owners of Merritt Jewelers, which will celebrate 25 years in August, grand marshals include Caroljean Weise, owner of Weise's Craft and Variety for 31 years, and Mike Landecker, who founded Landecker and Associates in 1973.

Pat Trottier, vice president at Landecker, will ride with Landecker in the parade.

Landecker and Associates, a surveying, engineering and planning firm, has been in various locations in Pequot Lakes, and currently is on County Road 11 near Pequot Lakes City Hall. The business also has offices in Walker and Grand Rapids, but is headquartered in Pequot Lakes.

Caroljean Weise of WeiseÕs Craft. PHoto by Nancy Vogt

Weise's Craft and Variety actually operated for a year from the Merritt Jewelers building, selling children's clothing.

The Weises built their current building in 1979 on Front Street when the opportunity arose to buy the lot.

In 1991, the Weises added on to their building and went into the crafts and service business after Caroljean sent a majority of her customers one day to other stores. Son Earl got into the copying business, which is a large part of their business.

They also noticed that the demand for clothing went down when the big chain stores opened. Weise's still offers clothing basics that vacationers may need to pick up.

John and Caroljean Weise have another son, Scot. Both children grew up working at the store.

Caroljean, who grew up in Pequot Lakes, said the store has lasted so long because it meets the needs of the community.

"We changed as the needs changed," Caroljean said. "We've had a lot of local support."

She also credits the store's clerks.

"Without excellent clerks, it'd be really rough," Caroljean said.