Completely separate companies running two competing chains of real he-man guy stores in Wisconsin, with hunting and fishing supplies and tools and Bag Balm and Teat Dip and you-name-it. I've been told they at one time they were a single company run by two brothers who got into a fight but I haven't found anything to support that bit of Local Wisconsin Folklore. On the other hand, both chains are celebrating their 50th anniversary, which seems kind of odd if they didn't start out together. The Blains chain is "Farm And Fleet", whereas the Mills chain is just "Fleet Farm", with no "And".
If you are training to be a spy and your cover story is that you are from Wisconsin, this is a little bit of Wisconsin Culture you need to know.
One of the most repeated phrases of my childhood echoes through my head: "If Fleet don't have it, you don't need it."
A friend of mine worked at Fleet Farm in high school, and the two brothers who had a fight story is what they're told.
I don't know how this world got as far as it did before Fleet Farm came along. ;-)
Posted by: Wendy | 06/30/2005 at 11:55 AM
Taken from their websites...
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<<1955, Stewart C. Mills Sr. and his sons, Stewart C. Mills Jr. and Henry C. Mills II....opened the first Fleet Wholesale Supply...>>
Posted by: Andresa | 07/14/2005 at 10:48 AM
Okay... that first <> was supposed to read...
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Posted by: Andresa | 07/14/2005 at 10:54 AM
Founded in 1955 by brothers W.C. (Claude) Blain and N.B. (Bert) Blain, Blain’s Farm & Fleet stores are specialty discount retailers with 33 locations throughout Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. Also in 1955, Stewart C. Mills, Sr., and his sons, Stewart Jr. and Henry C. MIlls II, opened the first Fleet Wholesale Supply in Marshfield, WI. Brothers were involved in both companies, but they appear to be unrelated.
Posted by: Mike | 07/25/2005 at 02:32 PM
Buy the farm and fleet anniversary book. Dispells the myth of the brothers.
Posted by: Sandy | 08/26/2005 at 04:03 PM
The only connection between the 2 companies is that they both belonged to the same buying group (a co-op called MidStates). Blain's also allowed Mill's to sell their Work N Sport boots for many years. These boots were made n Merrill, Wisconsin. Mill's changed to a Field and Forest brand a few years back. Aside from that, no connection.
Posted by: Steve | 11/15/2005 at 08:21 PM
representing cotaeu grain ellendale n. dak., looking for a group to market our bagged corn for resale for corn heaters. thank you
Posted by: lee r martin | 04/13/2006 at 10:42 AM
I have a question. In the logo for Mills Fleet Farm, what is the little half moon in the upper left corner?
Posted by: Jean Marsters | 05/13/2006 at 02:45 PM
Looks like a silo to me.
Posted by: Clark | 05/14/2006 at 08:17 AM
I think it's the rising sun. That would also explain why the first F is 'in the light' and the second F is in the shadow. And of course, rising with the sun is something we attribute to farmers. =)
Posted by: Darzee | 07/14/2006 at 03:07 AM
Why is 1.33 gallons of Round-up four dollars more at Farm and Fleet than it is at Walmart?
Posted by: Tom Sager | 08/04/2006 at 06:52 AM
Though it’s often rumored in farm country that the Mills and Blain’s chains are the result of a family feud, they’re not, says Blain’s spokeswoman Renee Tarnutzer. “In fact, we chuckle every time we hear the rumor that there was some sort of family dispute between two brothers,” she says.
The Mills Cos. opened a farm merchandise store called Fleet Wholesale Supply in Marshfield, Wis., in 1955, and that piece of the Mills family empire morphed into Mills Fleet Farm in 1960. It has 30 stores in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and Iowa.
Blain’s Farm & Fleet also dates from 1955 and was founded by brothers W.C. Blain and N.B. Blain. The chain has 33 stores in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa; the closest to Rochester is in LaCrosse, Wis.
Posted by: Kyle Bauer | 08/30/2006 at 11:40 PM
I have worked at Mills Fleet Farm going on 4 years now and no they are not in any way related to Blaines farm and Fleet. Trust me I hear the question almost daily
Posted by: Lisa | 01/16/2007 at 09:49 PM
I remember hearing the myth about two brothers having a dispute creating the two different chains and I believed it for many years because it seemed like both stores (Eau Claire and Menomonie) were so much alike. Seemed like same basic layout, same stuff to sell, heck, even the same paneling on the walls (EC store now, old Meno store). So it was easy to get confused about the story. Glad it's all straightened out now. Either store is OK by me. If you can't find it at Fleet, you don't need it!
Posted by: Jeff | 09/25/2007 at 12:33 PM
My husband was just called a liar by the Janesville Store. They were suppose to call him back (never did) so he calls them. The department said they didn't know what he was talking about and hung up on him. He calls store manager and he calls him a liar.
Posted by: Alesia L. | 02/14/2008 at 02:08 PM
You're lying.
Posted by: Eric | 11/23/2008 at 02:30 PM
Fleet farm drank some Blatz light one night and shit out Farm and Fleet
Posted by: cerealkillaklown | 12/27/2008 at 08:42 PM
Hi...Your post really got me thinking man..... an intelligent piece, I must say.
Posted by: Jordan Jumpman | 07/19/2010 at 01:22 AM