Gathering At The Water Hole With Russ Harman Of Alsco, Inc.

Just as water has been vital since the beginning of time, equally important are the ways in which people move water for their purposes. Controlling and moving water, otherwise known as irrigating, is a top concern for anyone who earns their livelihood from the land. According to a Department of Agriculture report, Tehama County’s total gross value of agricultural production in 2021 was $333,063,800. For the farmers and ranchers dealing in the five top Tehama County commodities — almonds, walnuts, beef cattle, prunes and table olives — water has long been the main topic of any lengthy conversation.

Ken Heiber, founder of Red Bluff’s Alsco, Inc.

Recently I sat down with Russ Harman of Alsco, Inc, the area’s leading agricultural irrigation company, to learn more about the company. Our conversation always flows into the areas of irrigation, ranching, farming and history and this time I learned history that goes back before  Alsco’s years in Red Bluff.

Ken Heiber, who would eventually help develop Alsco, Inc. into what it is today, had seen a lot in his young life before he started selling aluminum pipe. Soon after Ken’s father died when Ken was seven, Ken’s mother, Mary, loaded her seven children on a train and traveled from North Dakota to live with relatives in Dairyville, CA. Mary later met and married Alexander Kennedy, a farmer who had immigrated from Edinburgh, Scotland. Alexander first settled in Manton, where he cultivated large vegetable gardens and fruit orchards and made weekly trips to town with a wagon to sell his produce. When Mt. Lassen erupted, Alexander had the foresight to fetch journalists and photographers with mules and horses to document the after effects of the eruption.

Alexander eventually sold the Manton property and bought a farm on Highway 99E, 535 Antelope Blvd., in Red Bluff. There, he raised turkeys, hogs and cattle on the farm that would later become the Alsco property. Meanwhile, Ken Heiber was serving in the military when his two brothers were tragically killed overseas. His mother successfully petitioned President Roosevelt to bring Ken home before she chanced to lose him as well.

Back home after the military,, Ken worked on farms in Malin, OR; and then for Flaherty Tractor in Red Bluff. Ken’s friend, Pete Slauson, had founded Alsco in Salinas in 1948 and he wanted Ken to start selling aluminum pipe through the tractor dealer in this area. Before long, Ken purchased 535 Antelope Blvd. from his mother and stepfather to house “Alsco Heiber” and to join in with a third Alsco, “Alsco Geyer,” of Arbuckle. The incorporation was soon meeting the irrigation needs of farmers from Oregon down to Napa and over to Nevada.

In the 1950s Tehama County’s major crops were walnuts, prunes and hay for livestock; and irrigation was accomplished through flood irrigating, aluminum pipe and wheel lines. By 1970, many irrigation systems transitioned into the lighter weight PVC pipes, solid set micro and drip line irrigation systems. At the same time that the irrigation systems were being refined, so were the inner workings of the Alsco business. This is about the time when Russ Harman came into the scene.

Russ originally worked running equipment for Ken, and soon was doing invoicing, drafting and sales at Alsco. In 1979, Russ and Ken’s son, Clint, along with the Geyer family, acquired Alsco, Inc. In 1997, Russ and Clint split from the Geyer family and then in 2005 purchased the property from Ken. Ken passed away in 2014 leaving a legacy of hard work, vision and roots that run deep in our area’s agricultural heritage.

Alsco, Inc. carries hardware for farmers, ranchers & homeowners.

Land and life are vital for ranchers and farmers to stay afloat in their industries and water is key to it all. Alsco, Inc. has been a trusted irrigation supplier for our ranchers and farmers for 75 years. Russ says he has “enjoyed building relationships with ranchers and farmers over the years and Alsco, Inc. is now serving the third generation. We are working with the grandsons of some of our original customers. It is very rewarding to still have their trust after all these years.”

Alsco, Inc., at 535 Antelope Blvd., also has a remodeled hardware store ready to meet the needs, not just of farmers and ranchers, but hardworking homeowners as well. Call ahead and perhaps Russ will meet you at the “water hole” and give your family some area history and a tour of Alsco, Inc. (530) 527-4001.