ROSEBURG, Ore. — In 1931, when Ormond Feldkamp and Herb Sullivan began delivering fresh local milk, butter and ice cream from the back of their 1929 Hudson, little did they imagine that 90 years later their Umpqua Dairy would have 275 employees delivering more than 60 products from distribution centers all over the Northwest.

Feldkamp’s grandsons, Doug and Steve Feldkamp, would agree with that statement. Ormond bought out Sullivan’s portion of the business in 1953 and continued delivering locally.

In 1961, shortly before he died, Ormond brought in his son, Bob, to take over the business.

For the next 25 years, under Bob’s leadership, the company grew ten-fold, distributing products throughout Oregon.

Success was not without bumps in the road. In 1974, a fire destroyed a portion of the production facility. The company rebuilt with help from other processors, and the same year joined the National Quality Chekd Association, giving the dairy access to purchasing programs and training.

Today, the third generation, brothers Doug and Steve, is at the helm.

There’s an unspoken curse on many third-generation business owners, Doug joked. He’s president of the company and the younger of the two brothers active in the company.

“There’s a stigma,” he said, implying that successful parents and grandparents may not be able to pass on their tenacity to their descendants.

Apparently, that has not been the case with the Feldkamp brothers. The two exchanged friendly kudos and barbs as they talked about the challenges, and rewards, of their family business.

“Doug was always mom’s favorite, so he got the (CEO) job,” Steve laughed.

Steve was four when his grandfather Ormand died, so his memories of the founder are few. Their father, Bob, had earned an master’s degree in business administration from Stanford University and taken a job with Union Oil Co. that required him to travel. As a result, Steve was born in Portland and Doug, four years later, in Spokane.

When Ormond fell ill in 1961, Bob brought his family home to Roseburg to help run the business. His father died less than a year later. The boys were raised in Roseburg with their youngest brother, Jim, who doesn’t work for the company. Steve graduated from Roseburg High in 1975, and Doug in 1978.

Doug’s interest in business management took root early, he said. After high school, he attended Oregon State University, as did his father and older brother Steve. There, he graduated from the school of business, but worked in Bend for a few years before moving back to Roseburg to work with his father in 1985.

Steve’s route back home was less direct.

“I did not want to come back to the dairy at first,” he said. He moved to warmer climes in San Diego and Hawaii, earning degrees in zoology and marine biology. Steve worked for several years at the University of California-Santa Cruz. But by 1988, his father, sick with cancer, called him home to help his brother. Steve said he was ready to go.

“I had five or six months to work with him. He passed away in December that year,” he said. “That was a very difficult time.”

Although the young men were fresh to the business, they said they had great support, as most of their father’s staff transitioned with them. Following their family’s succession plan, Doug became president and CEO, and Steve became vice president in charge of sales and marketing.

“I didn’t know a thing about dairy sales,” Steve said, looking back on his early years.

Apparently, he learned fast. The largest distribution expansion has occurred since the brothers took over. There were just two outside distribution centers when their father died. Now there are seven.

How do the brothers work together?

“We have our moments, our disagreements. But we try to work it out,” Steve said.

Early on, the family took advantage of Oregon State University’s Austin Family Business program, which has helped agricultural families for more than 30 years.

“Dad and Mom had gone to the programs to learn about transition before Dad got sick,” Doug said. The foundation helped the two young men, then 28 and 32, maintain the business they inherited.

The two continue to use whatever legal and professional resources they need to resolve problems when they arise.

“The family business is the most important thing. You have to trust one another that this is the main goal, and put selfishness aside,” Doug said.

Steve and Doug are both married with children and grandchildren, some of whom work in the business part-time.

What does the future hold for the fourth generation?

“We’re thinking about it,” Steve said. “Whatever we do, we want to make sure that Umpqua Dairy remains an important part of the communities we service.”