Circa 1901 photo of Milward Funeral Directors at 159 North Broadway.
In 1825 Joseph Milward opened a cabinet and furniture-making business on South Broadway in Lexington. The 21-year-old soon began crafting caskets and providing comfort and counsel when delivering them to bereaved families in the Lexington community.
Milward’s sons took over the business when he retired in 1865, and one of them, Col. William Rice Milward, built Milward Funeral Directors at 159 North Broadway. Ownership then went to his son, William Rice Milward Jr., who passed it to his son, William E. Milward. Today his son and grandson, Robert E. “Bob” Milward and Robert E. “Rob” Milward Jr. are the fifth- and sixth-generation funeral directors, making Milward Funeral Directors the oldest known independently owned business in Lexington.
In 1825, furniture and casket maker Joseph Milward started the business that would become Milward Funeral Directors.
This kind of continuity and longevity doesn’t come without challenges. Every business—and especially independently owned, family-run enterprises—encounters periods of stagnation or a sudden, unexpected development. To persevere requires a degree of creative adaptability and a cautiously optimistic outlook, as well as a commitment to sound business practices and a well-defined set of guiding principles. “The dynamics of a generational business can be challenging and must be kept at a professional level wherever possible,” Rob Milward said. “The give-and-take of competing ideas is what sustains all successful businesses.”
Milward staff members eschew voicemail in order to respond directly to customers at any time of the day or night. “Technology affects everything we do, but we are not technology-based,” Milward said, adding, “As more big businesses seem to dominate the landscape, family-owned businesses really stand out to me. I look for and I prefer to do business with these small companies. My expectations are for better service because the owner is local and paying attention.”
We spoke with leadership from several of Lexington’s oldest businesses for insight into their longevity.
The 10 Imperatives of Quality Client Service
Stites & Harbison is a full-service law firm with an office of nearly 50 attorneys. Based in Lexington since 1905, the firm name at the time of its founding was Harbison, Kessinger, Lisle & Bush. A Frankfort office opened in the late 1940s, Dailey & Fowler, which merged with Louisville’s Stites & McElwain in 1972, to become Stites, McElwain & Fowler. In 1983 the current shortened name came about when McElwain & Fowler combined forces with Harbison, Kessinger, Lisle & Bush. Today, Stites has offices in Lexington, Frankfort and Covington, Kentucky; Jeffersonville, Indiana; Atlanta, Georgia; Nashville, Franklin and Memphis, Tennessee; and Alexandria, Virginia.
The firm’s chairman from 1997 to 2011, the late Kennedy Helm III, wrote a guide for attorneys and staff members titled “The 10 Imperatives of Quality Client Service.” The No. 1 imperative was to “be accessible”; The final one was “recover from service errors.” In between, his directives were to be reliable, be responsive, provide assurance, show empathy, pay attention to tangibles, communicate, show initiative and add value.
“Our Lexington attorneys not only provide clients with top-notch legal representation, they also give back to the local community by serving a wide range of arts and cultural, charitable, civic, educational, environmental, health, human services and professional organizations.” — Cassidy R. Rosenthal
Today, Stites represents clients across the United States and internationally. “Our Lexington attorneys not only provide clients with top-notch legal representation, they also give back to the local community by serving a wide range of arts and cultural, charitable, civic, educational, environmental, health, human services and professional organizations,” said Cassidy R. Rosenthal, office executive member.
‘We do what needs to be done.’
Anne Oram and Susan Oram Baker are sisters and the fourth-generation owners of Oram’s Florist. Their great-grandfather, John A. Keller, came to Kentucky from Germany and started John A. Keller Co. in 1877. He had a retail store and big greenhouses that took up nearly a city block on Sixth Street, the spot where STEAM Academy stands now.
John A. Keller emigrated to Kentucky from Germany in 1877 and founded John A. Keller Co. The fourth-generation business is today known as Oram’s Florist.
One of Keller’s nine children was Louise Keller, who married Albert “Bert” Oram in 1925. “They carried on the shop for a while,” Anne Oram said. They had two sons, Albert and John, who took over the florist business, and by 1948 they had moved it from downtown to Chevy Chase and renamed it Oram’s. The younger Albert Oram was Anne’s and Susan’s father.
From 2001 to 2007, ownership was in friendly—but not family—hands, as Vicki and Toney Chaney owned the store and moved it around the corner from High Street to Euclid Avenue. The fourth-generation Oram sisters were able to purchase it back after six and a half years.
Because flowers and plants are available these days “at every grocery store and everywhere you turn around,” according to Anne Oram, the local shop prides itself in offering quality products and personalized service. Oram’s has 250 accounts on the books from the University of Kentucky alone.
“I remember ’08 being a little tight, but you just work through it,” Anne Oram said. “We never said ‘This is what you do, and this is what I do.’ We always did what had to be done. We do what needs to be done.”
‘You have to evolve.’
In 1922, Barney Miller set up shop on Main Street to sell auto parts. He got into the electronics business by selling radios and then black-and-white television sets in 1939. The company continued to grow under the leadership of his son, Harry Miller, whose son, Barney Miller, is owner and president today.
Barney Millers, a fixture on Lexington's Main Street, began selling radios and black-and-white television sets in 1939.
“To be in business these days, you have to evolve and offer things people want,” Miller said. That includes the latest products, of course, like the new 8K Samsung TV, but the service aspect of tech intelligence for smart homes has grown exponentially.
“We are a dramatically different company than we were years ago,” Miller said. “We’re an electronic systems integrator.”
The company designs and installs audio/visual setups for corporate boardrooms, training rooms for manufacturers and technology environments in classrooms, as well as residential installations for smart-home features, including motorized window shades, lighting control and home security.
Back in the day of having a TV and VCR, service involved a “repair or replace” business model. Tech service looks different now, so Barney Miller’s implemented a membership plan for customers with different levels of service offerings. “We can proactively look at their home and reboot remotely, and we offer customers 24-7 tech support via email and phone, and talk to people,” Miller said.
Proving once again that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Evolving with the times, while keeping customer service at the fore, is one trait family businesses have in common.