Jim’s Story

Hi! I am making this page so that you will know who it is you are about to do business with.

My name is Jim Maginity.

I was born in West Michigan near the Lake Michigan shoreline. They call it where “the north begins and fine cherries are grown.” I was raised on a small family farm where we grew potatoes, strawberries, corn and Asparagus. In fact, you might say I was raised in the Asparagus patch. As Mom and my older brothers picked the crop of asparagus daily, I could be found playing in the sand in my diapers. Later, as I grew, I learned to pick too. Besides asparagus my brothers and I would sometimes picked rocks too.

Early in the spring after Dad or my brother (Dave) had plowed the fields, we would hook the flat-bed trailer up, go along and pick up the rocks and large stones. There was no lack for something to do on the farm. Work was an everyday thing. When there were no chores to do my Dad would have me help him with the junk clean-up. Junk clean-up is when we would take apart old radios or TV’s he had collected, from God knows where, and knock apart the electric motors, switches or other electrical parts. What we could not knock apart we would throw into the burn bin. That was where we kept the pieces we were going to burn when we had enough of them.

My Dad and I worked on many projects together. From junking to building sprinkling systems used to water the fields or changing oil we were always busy. I remember bringing the crops into the weighing shed where we weighed asparagus or counted corn out so that Dad could take it to the shop where he worked later that night and sell it to his co-workers. We played too. But mostly we worked and enjoyed life together as much as possible.

Of course me being the rebellious one (I think that is how kids just are) sometimes my Dad would get a bit perturbed by me and he would say, “Hey what do you think Jim? That the world owes you a living?” I would sheepishly answer, “No.” Then it would be back to work.

His question would actually stop me in my tracks. What? Why would I think that? As it turns out, this lesson has been with me for as long as I can remember. This one thing has brought me to where I am today safely.

It goes like this, go to work Jim because no one owes you a living. No one is going to give you anything. You earn what you get and that is the best way. And always, and I mean always, give more than what they expect. Which brings me to my next lesson.

Give more then they expect.

When I was 8 years old my Dad set me up a sweet corn stand by the road. He told me when someone stops to buy the corn to give them one more then they order. If they want a dozen, you count out 12 and place another one in the bag too, making it 13 ears of corn. The people loved this! I quickly sold out and Dad had my brothers bring me more from the 1-2 acres we had growing which were quite a distance from the roadside stand.

Read to Learn

Another lesson I learned from my Dad was if you want to know something, read about it. My Father only went through the 8th grade when he was young. He had to go to work. That is how it was back then but he always wanted more. One day he decided he wanted to learn how to fix electronic radios and TV’s so he found magazines that would teach him. He had stacks of them and he read every single one of them, some twice. I watched him make working radios and fix ones that were not working. He developed a passion for things he wanted to know and this rubbed off onto me. I can say most of what I have learned in my life I have read about and then applied what I had learned. This goes from how to paint houses to canvases or how to build cabinets to houses and everything in-between. I am self taught in many things. Hands on is my style. From wanting to ride and race Motorcycles to racing Radio controlled cars. I read about it and then I did it, and was good at it too!

Education

Shelby High School 1973

Muskegon Area Skill Training Center 1974

Baker College A couple of Quarters

Mainly Life Experiences has been my best teacher!

Business

Jim Maginity Drywall & Remodeling Service-1980-2001

Greenspace Lawn Care-1999-2002

JRM PUBLISHING-2005-Present

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