care about the farmers, their family, their
neighbors, and their country—it’s a way of
life and it’s a good one.”
Although Ken and Cecilia are both
graduates of Center High School, they
didn’t meet until after graduation. They
married in 1980 and have always lived in
Shelby County where they currently make
their home on a working farm.
Daughters, Anna Boles Lee and Emma
Boles Whitehead, are both Shelby County
residents. Anna and her husband are
the owners of Boles Feed Company in
Nacogdoches and make their home on a
working farm as well. In addition, they own
Center Glass Company that Anna oversees
while Justin runs the feed store. They have
three children: Dylan, age 3; Mac, age 4;
and Jacie, age 9.
Emma and her husband, Carl, project
superintendent for Bobbitt Construction,
also reside on the Boles farm with their
children Avery, age 11; Gentry, age 4 and
Whitley, age 2. Emma is a Registered Nurse
currently working on a Nurse Practitioner
degree.
Boles Feed Co. Inc. is a full-service farm
and ranch store in Center. Employees Jaime
14 Business MATTERS | 2020 Spring Edition
Rojas, Micah McArthur,
Carlos Garcia, Caden
Chessher and Saul
Ocha assist Ken and
Cecilia in meeting
customer’s needs with a
wide variety of quality
products that are,
as Ken says, “… just
things I would buy and
use myself.”
At Boles, Feed
Co., customers
will find farm and
ranch products and
services including
a full range of feed for livestock and farm
animals, veterinary supplies, de-wormers,
animal health products, Redwing and Muck
boots, farm and ranch tools, knives, horse
tack, seed and fertilizer in bag and bulk,
herbicides and insecticides, plants and
more.
Glancing out the window and reflecting
for a moment after being asked if there was
anything they would do differently if it were
possible to go back, Cecilia said, “I often
wonder about what our life might have been
Cecilia Boles, Whitley Whitehead, Emma Boles Whitehead
like if Ken had taken that job with Gold Kist
and we had moved to Alabama. Our lifestyle
would probably be different, we would not
have gotten to work together and see our
girls grow up in the store.”
Then looking back inside the store, she
adds with a smile, “But to do anything
different? No, I don’t think I would change
a thing.”