Originally started as a means of supplementing the meager income realized from a small Amish family farm, the business prospered and by 1968 had expanded into a renovated chicken house. Leacock Coleman then specialized in parts and service and was often called on to locate "hard to get" parts for older lamps and lanterns. In the beginning the business was family-oriented, even Grandpa participated in the opening of mail and packing of daily orders to many small shops and stores in Amish communities throughout the U.S.
