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The History of Our
Company...
Picture a
dusty road in a rural area of Talbot County. A 12-year old boy rides
his bicycle to school, pulling a lawnmower behind him. After school,
he cuts his neighbors' grass on his way to ball practice. While it
sounds like the subject of a Norman Rockwell painting circa 1950, this
slice of Americana is actually a description of a real-life boy, Eric
Bridges, just 20 years ago.
Mr. Bridges came from a family of
farmers and has lived and worked in Talbot County his entire life. "I
could have opened this business anywhere, but I wanted to stay in St.
Michaels because this is my home," he says. "I have customers - some of
them my former teachers-that I've been taking care of since I was 12 years
old. I never thought about doing anything else."
Bridges Land Management, Inc.
provides a broad range of landscaping services, including
demolition and
excavation,
shoreline restoration,
patios,
stone walls,
ponds,
plantings
and lawns, as well as installation and
lighting for most any type of
outdoor living space.
"Over the last five years, there
has been such an influx of landscape companies coming to the shore that we
decided to also create a
contractors' yard," says Mr. Bridges. "We
hope to get the landscaping jobs, but when we don't, we sell the
contractors what they need." Bridges Land Management is a distributor for
Eagle Bay and Belgard pavers, as well as A.M. Leonard rakes and shovels,
different brands of landscaping cloth and other tools and supplies.
The
contractors' yard offers
equipment rentals for do-it-yourself gardeners as well as small
landscaping companies that may not own their own equipment. These
include tractors, mini excavators and bulldozers.
Although business slows during the
months of January and February, Bridges Land Management's
garden center is
pretty much a year-round operation. The selection of plants, gifts
and other items changes with the seasons. Colorful annuals are
available in the spring and summer, while fall brings the mums, pumpkins,
corn stalks and straw, followed by Christmas trees and wreaths during the
holidays. Over the cold winter months, Bridges Land Management's
employees plow snow for the state and local communities.
Eric and K.C. Bridges married
seven years ago and have been partners in the business ever since.
"Bridges Land Management, Inc. is pure Eric Bridges," says Mrs. Bridges.
"We enjoy working together so much and the business has grown with us as a
couple but Eric is the face of the business and the knowledge and
expertise behind it."
In addition to Bridges Land
Management, Inc. Eric and K.C. Bridges also own and operate
Bridges Waste
Management. They actively support many community organizations and
events, including the annual Waterfowl Festival, Maritime Museum, Talbot
County Hospice and Ducks Unlimited. Says Mrs. Bridges: "The
community is important to us and we are happy to be able to give back."
©
Jordan Publishing, Inc.
Exclusively Eastern Shore 2009
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