Ivan Millard, Hank LIners nd Margaret Cox

But that's not the beginning of this man's involvement with food. A town kid, he was one of six kids and the family had a big garden, so very early in life he learned how to garden and weed and enjoy the fresh food from the garden.

When he was in high school in Jefferson, Green County, Iowa, he got a job working in Bordenaro's Market. He worked there until he joined the Navy.

He was stationed on the aircraft carrier Coral Sea and was a cook for a couple of months and then in the commissary, managing the ship's grocery supplies. The carrier was stationed in the Tonka Gulf.

"The carrier was like a grocery store. Instead of trucks bringing in loads of food, the helicopters would land on the deck and we would unload the food and store it away," Ivan said.

The Coral Sea was involved in the Vietnam War. On one occasion, he flew in a helicopter to Da Nang, where they unloaded food for the troops. He was in Da Nang for two weeks and was very glad to get back on board the Coral Sea.

When his four-year enlistment was up, Ivan returned to Iowa and enrolled at Fort Dodge Community College, which had a grocery business management course. Upon graduation, he took a job with the Benardo Tea Co.

"They had several stores and I was an assistant manager. Fort Dodge is also where I met my wife, Kathy (Stromberg)," Ivan said.

The Strombergs had summer homes on the Whitefish Chain and the young couple would come to the chain for vacations. Ivan liked the area and told Kathy they should move here.

"I interviewed with Dick Andolshek at the Crosslake store and with the Schultz brothers. I was a young man and I thought if I couldn't work in a grocery store, I could do construction," Ivan said.

He never got to try his carpenter skills. Andolshek hired him and he stayed at the Crosslake store until Northern Food King was opened in Pequot Lakes. He was missed by his Crosslake customers, but had a new group of Pequot Lakes customers.

Being associated with food all these years hasn't hurt his appetite. Ivan said he eats everything. When he was in the Navy and on shore leave in Hong Kong, he'd just look at the street vendors' offerings and point to something that looked good and eat it. So far, he hasn't found anything he doesn't like.

"The only thing that hasn't changed in the grocery business is the personal contact with the customers," Ivan said. "Smaller stores take care of their customers. I enjoy people; I like them to be happy."

One day a week, he delivers orders to about a dozen customers who are homebound. He told Justin Bolz-Andolshek, NFK owner, that he wanted to do this and would use his own car.

"These people are real sweethearts," Ivan said. "I really enjoy helping them out."

Ivan also worked for Mike Wiebolt, owner of area convenience stores. He liked the work, but missed his customers, so he came back to NFK.

"It's nice to work for someone who treats you well," Ivan said. "Mike and Justin are both good to work for."

The major change in grocery stores is the same as at a lot of businesses today - computers. Ivan said he used to write out the order to the warehouse; now he just punches it in on a computer and within minutes the order is confirmed. Quantity, price and selling price are on the print-out that comes back to him.

Kathy and Ivan have a daughter, Sarah, who is a teacher in Edina, and a son, Paul, who lives in Pequot Lakes and works for Pequot Tool.

Ivan said he likes to go fishing and he plays golf on Tuesdays with the same guys. They usually golf at Whitefish Golf Club.

"I've been golfing for 15 years and my game hasn't improved," Ivan said.

But what Ivan does best is take care of customers.

He says, "The only thing that hasn't changed is the personal contact with customers."

And that's what he likes best, and so do his customers.