EPHRATA — J.J. Heston, owner of Four Seasons Farm Service, was already familiar with the store long before he owned it. 

“All through high school and my young adult years, I’d say ‘Hey, Dad, what do I spray on this weed?’ ‘Go see (then-owner Bernie Martin),’” he said. “‘Hey Dad, where do you get fertilizer?’ ‘Go see Bernie.’ So I just kind of bypassed Dad and came to talk to Bernie.” 

Bernie Martin’s memory fills Four Seasons, as even a short conversation with Heston attests. Martin moved to the Ephrata area in 1979 after graduating from WSU, according to his online obituary, and went to work at Four Seasons in 1984. He bought the business in 1989 and ran it for 30 years before his failing health forced him to sell in 2019. He passed away in 2021. 

When Martin stepped down, Heston said he had been working for Martin for about a year and a half, and he was happy to take over. 

“When he got sick, I came down and asked him if he needed help, and he took me up on that,” Heston said. “And then it worked into an ownership thing. It's awfully humbling to be able to take another man's legacy and carry on with it.” 

Now that he’s the man people come to for answers, Heston said, he’s aware of the heavy responsibility. 

“(I’m) completely open and honest with them and let them know that this isn't (just) for a sale,” he said. “I want my customer to have the best information, even if that means I'm not getting this sale, because when they leave the store, they remember ‘He was helpful; he looked out for our best interest,’ and hopefully that's enough to bring them back.” 

Four Seasons Farm Service is a family business, Heston said. His oldest daughter had worked for Martin about half a year before her dad did, and Heston’s youngest daughter helped with the software and pricing structure.   

“My wife has, from day one, done the back side of things, all the bookwork, all the accounts receivable, the billing,” he said. “It's a family deal. Every single month, we're stuffing statements together and mailing them off. And the trade shows are a lot of fun.” 

Four Seasons is very old-school in the way the store is operated. The inventory, which fills the store to the brim, is neatly organized but not stored on a computer. But it’s a personal business, Heston said. As a man of strong faith and a recovering addict, he said, he finds an honest connection with people goes a long way. 

“It makes me boldly unique,” he said. “I speak about my faith in Christ to just about everybody who walks through the door. I hug customers, I laugh with them, I cry with them, I pray with them openly. I bring them into the office if they need to talk … It’s an incredible blessing.” 

It all boils down to motivation, Heston said. Money is fine, but it’s not the only factor in a successful business. 

“I'm not financially motivated,” he said. “You have to have money to pay your bills, but I'm people-driven. I'm connection-driven. So the more networking I do, the more connected I get with people, every time I get a new vendor, God works in ways where we could only begin to understand. He’s put people in my life that were supposed to be there, and we've kindled and made these long, lasting friendships because of this store. It's such a gift.” 

    J.J. Heston, owner of Four Seasons Farm Service in Ephrata, believes that a personal connection with customers goes a long way in making his business a success.