Oklahoma Legacy Businesses Span Generations

An Oklahoma legacy-business feature profiles organizations that pair long-standing community ties with adaptation and innovation across industries. The Boldt Company grew from an 1889 carpentry shop into a national, employee-owned construction firm, while Freese and Nichols, founded in 1894, provides infrastructure engineering and consulting and has twice won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The financial firms include independent, fee-only Retirement Investment Advisors; Ardmore’s First National Bank and Trust Company, founded in 1889 and serving communities across southern Oklahoma; and family-owned F&M Bank, whose roots date to 1902 and which has agreed to acquire Community National Bank of Okarche. Tulsa’s independent McLemore Insurance Agency, founded in 1903, offers personal and commercial coverage, and employee-owned software firm Phase2 develops enterprise solutions, including secure, AI-powered systems. Eischen’s Bar, opened in 1896 and still run by the founder’s descendants, is known for its fried chicken and Oklahoma history. The organizations are presented as enduring through customer relationships, dependable service, community involvement and adaptation to changing needs.