Steve Miller has been involved in the carpet business for 50 years. He said he started laying carpet when he was a freshman in high school during the summer and then kept on laying carpet after he graduated.
Other than the one year that he worked in Clearwater, Florida, Miller has been in the Plymouth area.
Miller gives the credit for starting his own business to his father, Charles Miller. Steve Miller said, “My dad encouraged me to give it a try and even helped supply some of the tools necessary for the jobs.”
As the business grew, it became necessary to add on space for showrooms and inventory on his house on South Michigan Street. Eventually, he even took over one half of the garage for the business. Miller said he has thought about moving to other locations off and on over the years, but decided that he could do better staying where he was located.
When Steve married his wife, Jan, 27 years ago, they blended their family of five children.
Jan Miller said her job was to keep the household running and get the kids to their activities. However, Steve said Jan stepped up to help clean carpets or anything else whenever there was a need. Steve said, “For 15 years we had a secretary come into
our home and Jan was very supportive.”
Jan Miller said all five of the children helped in the carpet business at some point, but none of them wanted to go into the carpeting business for a living. The Miller’s are most proud of their 15 grandchildren.
Steve said they have had some long-term clients that they have enjoyed working with over the years. He said they have done carpet laying and cleaning for Hoosier Tire for at least 14-15 years. He laughed as he told how the Newton’s of Hoosier Tire would have him match a sofa, computer rendering or even a T-shirt to get the perfect color of purple. Steve said, “They have been great to work with.”
Steve said he has seen a number of changes over the years. He said when he started, they used to glue seams and tape; however, he soon mastered hand sewing them together to get a smooth finish. He added that he had to use a hot-taping method when carpet was manufactured with a plastic backing.
He also remembers hand loading carpet and padding rolls into the back of the delivery trucks by hand. He said his father helped devise a chain hoist for loading and eventually they bought a forklift.
Miller said he was one of the first businesses to buy carpet direct from the mills. He said when he started, they had to purchase from dealers, but the mills changed their way of thinking and allowed businesses to buy direct.
Although they stopped carpet cleaning services some eight years ago, Steve said they still gets calls for cleaning. He said, “We still clean when we perform any type of water or fire damage restoration, but we stopped regular carpet cleaning...except for some clients we have had for years.”
Both Steve and Jan have plans for what projects they will do next. Jan said she has a “honey-do” list already made. Steve said. “The list includes painting the house red since Jan has alwavs wanted a red house.”
They also plan to travel a little in the motor home they purchased in 2002. Steve said they have only used it 2 or 3 times each year since they purchased it. Now they hope to travel to flea markets and antique stores.
Retirement will also give Steve time to work on their 1950, two-door, customized Ford. Jan said they only drive it now on Sundays when they cruise to the Dairy Queen. When Steve bought the car, it came complete with the dice hanging off the rearview mirror. It’s easy to see just how much Steve loves his car since he has piclurcs of the candy-apple red antique hanging on his refrigerator. He took time to re-wire the entire car last winter as well as take everything off the engine to get them polished.
 Up until over three years ago. the Miller’s raised horses behind their house. An accident that left Steve with injuries to his knees and jaw prompted him to sell the horses. Jan helped him recover from his injuries by caring for him over a several month period. She said, “I became the post that kept him from falling down.”
Many people will recognize Steve from his participation in the Sheriffs Reserve for 32 years. He is the captain of the reserves that actively help the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department when requested. The reserves also serve as security during the annual Blueberry Festival that is held over the Labor Day weekend.