Anderson's Masonry Hearth and Home an Evergreen mainstay

Anderson’s Masonry began serving the Flathead Valley’s masonry needs in the 1940s, and though the business has grown and changed, its mission to provide the products and services needed stands as firm as the buildings and products they sell.

The masonry business began with Edwin Anderson, who worked as a mason in the Flathead Valley in the late ’40s with his sons, Bud and Don.

As the two brothers became more and more involved in the business, they decided to expand into the retail side of the masonry trade in the 1980s.

In the 1990s, the brothers split the construction and retail aspects into two separate businesses, Anderson Masonry Inc. and the retail store, Anderson’s Masonry Hearth and Home, which has stood at the curve on Woodland Ave. in Evergreen for decades.

Not long after the split, Rich Todd, then a teenager fresh out of high school, started working in the yard, loading stone and learning the ropes.

Over time he moved his way up in the company, and when he moved to Missoula for college, the business followed.

Around that time, the Andersons opened their second retail branch in Missoula, where Todd worked while going to school.

Now a co-owner of Anderson’s Masonry Hearth and Home, Todd jumped at the opportunity to buy into the business in the early 2000s.

Today, he and his partner, Justin Anderson, carry the legacy and continue to look for ways to expand their goods to suit the ever-changing markets in each of their three locations.

In addition to the fireplaces, hearths and other stone and concrete products, the Evergreen store now also offers hot tubs, pool tables and more.

“We’re a company that provides products to customers that…people enjoy in their home,” Todd said. “The products that we carry, that’s really what it’s designed to do. It’s about experiences inside your home.”

Though markets vary and change depending on where you go, Todd said masonry still thrives in the Flathead Valley as people come and invest in their dreams homes, determined to create something that’s built to last.

In other cities where the business has expanded, Missoula and most recently Bozeman, the markets have veered away from the more traditional masonry style structures common to the Flathead, but Todd said Anderson’s has those markets covered, too.

Each store adapts, he said, offering the products and services the customers in those regions want, reaching outside of the masonry field if necessary.

That aspect of growth, Todd said, is what drew him to the business from the beginning. He said the opportunity to develop and grow something of his own in a community he loves has been the driving force behind his dedication to the business for over last 20 years.

The success of the business, however, he attributed to the hard work and knowledge of his team.

“I would be a fool to tell you that it’s because of me that this place is here,” Todd said. “Everybody that works for us, now and in the past, are tremendous. They’re knowledgeable. They understand the importance of customer service. They’re what make this business work and without them we wouldn’t be here.”

The combination of strong employees, adaptive products and loyal customers have carried Anderson’s through the decades, and Todd said he hopes the business will continue to stand as long as the masonry buildings it occupies.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.