Cloud’s celebrates 50th anniversary

There was little hesitation in Mike Cloud’s answer when asked what his favorite type of meat was — “A really good rib-eye steak.”

But moments later there was a slight hesitation, as the owner of Cloud’s Meats Inc. began contemplating nice slices of roast, or gravy-splashed pork chops, or even a marbled slab of buffalo meat.

“I don’t know, though,” he continued, “I mean, there’s nothing wrong with a fresh (pork) for breakfast, or slices of bacon. I guess you could just say that I really love both my beef and pork.”
It’s safe to say there are no vegetarians in Mike Cloud’s family.

It’s also safe to say that folks who have come to love Cloud’s processed meats — and there’s lots of them, from multiple states — have had this first weekend of June circled on their calendars for quite some time.

Saturday marked the 50th anniversary of this venerable, family-owned Carthage business.

Since 1959, the Cloud family has been a household name for Carthage and area folks wanting top-grade meats. Mike’s parents, Lloyd and Pat Cloud, purchased the meat processing plant on west Fairview from Emmett and Pauline Hammond — known then as Hammond’s Slaughtering Plant. The Hammonds treated Lloyd like their own son.

By age 8, a young Mike got his first job at his parent’s business.

“We had a freezer that had rather limited space so we would go to the grocery store to grab boxes so we could put the meat in. I had a cone corn planter that I used to punch holes into these boxes, so the air would go into the box more quickly and freeze the meat faster.”

He started out at the bottom of the rung and moved his way up, learning every facet of the business. He married his wife, Pat, at the time a photographer with The Carthage Press in 1970, after both had graduated from high school, “and I came straight into this plant. It’s all I’ve ever done. And really, it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. I didn’t want to do anything else.”

Operating a family business over 50 years, he said, “was never really a goal. It just worked out that way.”

On Friday night, a private gathering of some of Cloud’s most cherished customers was held beneath a tent, many of them fourth-generation customers who’ve cherished Cloud’s meats since the late 1950s.

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, $2 lunches were handed out to anyone who happened to come by, including numerous prizes and, of course, those beloved meat sticks.

So what’s the secret of their success? A part of it is their oft-noted customer service; a bit of it is the friendly family atmosphere that most family-owned businesses possess, and the rest has to do with the company’s adaptability in the face of changing times.

For example, 20 years ago, Cloud’s was all meat processing of beef and pork for area farmers. But farms continue to grow in size (up to around 200 acres), while farmers find secondary incomes and their kids get more involved with school activities, and so Cloud’s had to branch out into other areas.  

“We have a very successful meat market here, and we do catering — we’ve already got the smokers and we know how to cut the meat, so catering was just a natural thing for us to do — and we also do private labeling,” Mike said. “I’d say (processing) is still about 60 percent, but we have branched into other areas.”

And they’ve done it successfully. For example, five years ago, he ordered a ton of boneless buffalo meat “and started making stuff out of it.”

It worked.

“Now we are ordering 2,300 pounds of buffalo meat every week — making snack sticks or buffalo summers sausage — and it’s now a very neat part of our business.

“We try to listen (to our customers and their suggestions). I might think about it for a year or two, I won’t just jump into it, but I’m going to think about it and (will do it) if I think it will work.”

He also won’t hesitate to tell customers where a steak or slab of pork came from.

“If somebody buys a half-of-beef, I can tell them where their beef came from. I will say, ‘your beef came from this person.’ It’s just something we do,” and something folks appreciate.

“That sets us apart from everyone else, I think — we only go for the best, top-quality meats.”

Mike and Pat’s two sons, Andy and Chris, grew up inside the plant, much like Mike did years earlier. Andy works full time at the plant and is excellent with sausage, Mike said, while Chris comes by when he can. Chris’ wife, Michelle, serves as bookkeeper for the company.

“The family is involved, and that’s very important. I hope to slow down, but I doubt I’ll ever fully retire. I will always be here because I just enjoy it so much.

“Family,” Mike continued, “is very important. I cannot imagine anyone being as blessed as Pat and I are. I see my kids every day and I see my grandkids almost every day. (Carthage) is just a great community.”