Angela Longnecker’s whole life has revolved around J&I Power Equipment. The shop first opened in Olympia in 1974 and was purchased by her grandfather, Virgil Longnecker, and his business partner, Ted Peabody, who were accountants and maintained the books for the store.
Angela Longnecker said they were never operators, but they purchased the business as an investment. In the 1990s, her parents, Randy and Lori, bought the business, and she and her brother, Greg, became co-owners in 2017 along with their parents.
Some of Angela’s earliest memories include coming to work with her parents on the weekends, assembling equipment with her brothers, answering phone calls and handling register duties as an elementary school student.
“I can always remember being in the store. As we got older, we would work when things came up, like storms and power outages, because we sold generators,” she said. “When we had power outages, we would be open all night, and I would make waiting customers coffee.”
J&I, which sells equipment such as tractors, mowers, mini excavators, wheel loaders, saws and more, opened its Yelm location in 2006. Angela said the business, as well as its vendors, had many customers in the area.
“Our vendors realized that this was very rural and that it wasn’t easy for people to get to Olympia or Puyallup from here, and that this place was growing. People had property so they needed equipment to take care of it,” she said of Yelm. “It’s been a blessing and very successful.”
Throughout the generations of business owners in the Longnecker lineage, supporting the local community has always been one of their values.
“I learned about giving back to the community from my parents. That’s their heart. My mom and dad have always wanted to give back, especially to the kids, whether it was the FFA or sporting events or some kid trying to raise money for their dirt bike,” Angela said. “They have been really involved over the years in different nonprofits. We try to be a part of anything that helps the community.”
J&I has been involved in the Nisqually Valley Spring Expo, formerly called the Nisqually Valley Home & Garden Show, for many years. The business typically brings different types of equipment to demonstrate and teach attendees how to use, including tractors and mowers.
For this year’s Nisqually Valley Spring Expo, from Saturday, April 27 to Sunday, April 28, at Yelm High School, J&I will highlight its smaller, handheld, battery-powered tools like saws, hedge trimmers and vacuums.
“Helping the community is really what we’re about here. We’re all part of the community. Any opportunity we get to be around at a big event and showcase our products and give out knowledge and tips and advice, we just want to help people get their jobs done and give them the right tools to do it,” said Jordan Martin, a parts specialist at the Yelm location.
Teresa Harwell, parts manager in Yelm, said the business is excited to connect with people in the local community and support the Yelm Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the event.
“We’re looking forward to seeing some of the same people and then meeting more new people this year. Last year, it was one day, and this year it’s two days, so we’re going to have the opportunity to reach more people through our demonstrations,” she said. “We’re taking a very hands-on approach so people can try what we’ve got there to show them. Last year, they realized how easy these are to use and how it can make their job so much quicker and more enjoyable.”
As J&I celebrates 50 years of business in 2024, the Longnecker family has reflected on its time in Yelm, a place it initially had no plans in which to open. Angela said she once thought Yelm was somewhere in the middle of nowhere as an adolescent, but it is now a place to which she and her family owe so much.
“We’re so grateful for the community. Being a business owner for the last 50 years in Thurston County is huge, and we could not have done that without the support of the community,” she said. “Even though we’ve only had a location in Yelm since 2006, we have been serving this community for the last 50 years. It’s really fun to help generations of families and for them to make comments about how they remembered seeing us as kids in the Olympia store. It’s amazing, the connections that we get to have with people.”
