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Are you ready to read something positive?

Are you ready for a little history lesson?

Well, it is with great pride that I have the honor to write an article about our amazing history of businesses in the City of Nederland.

This month I would like to celebrate the 67 businesses that have been with us for 13 or more years.

To give you a little history, we have 29 local businesses between 25 and 47 years of age and 29 of our oldest businesses range from 50 to 131 years. That is correct!!

We have businesses that have been around for a long time and are still going strong. Because of you, their doors remain open when you #SHOPLOCAL, #SHOPOFTEN and #SHOPNEDERLAND.

Anytime you step foot through the doorway of any of our local businesses, you allow them to continue to keep their staffing in place, provide meals for families, jobs for employees and sales tax for Nederland.

I think back to the black and white photos in the history books of Nederland. I have a copy of one of the history books in my office.

The photos begin with horse-and-buggy and then changes come in transportation and building architecture.

So many of the same businesses are still active today and have expanded to larger locations or have opened a second location in another town, while keeping their main business in Nederland.

These entities have been the sponsors of so many community events.

If you can, stop by and tell them “Congratulations” this month for being in business through the good times, hurricanes, floods, COVID and so much more.

Each of these businesses is our extended family and can be called SETX Strong.

Those with 50 years are Modica Brothers and LaSuprema Mexican Restaurant: 53 years, Cropo’s Barber Shop; 55 years, McCorvy Bookkeeping and Tax Services and Jim Snell Master Plumber; 56 years, Market Basket and Arnold’s Bowling and Billiards; 60 years, Harris Florist, Taco Rey, Ace Hobby Shop and Jiffy Trophies; 67 years, Cureton and Sons and Taylor Dance Studio; 72 years, B.C. Miller Electric; 73 years, Ritter Lumber Construction Company, The Schooner Restaurant and Burkett’s Emporium; 74 years, Mid-County Farm and Feed and Basco Construction Company Inc.; 77 years, Setzer’s Hardware; 80 years, Noack Locksmith; 82 years, McNeill Insurance; 96 years, Minaldi Shoe Repair; 100 years, Mazur and Vernon CPA and Nederland Independent School District; 101 years, Fred Miller’s Unique Gifts and Fred Miller’s Outdoor Equipment; 117 years, C Doornbos Inc.; and 131 years, Broussard’s Funeral Home.

Thank you to these wonderful businesses that chose Nederland for their homes.

We appreciate each of you and look forward to many more years working together.

Kay DeCuir is the executive director of the Nederland Economic Development Corporation. She can be reached at kdecuir@nededc.com.