The Malzahns

Community,

Faith, & Family The Malzahns

If it weren’t for having flat feet, Gus Edwin George Malzahn may have lived a much different life. Despite his best efforts to join the United States military to serve his country in World War II, Ed found himself helping in a different way. After earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Oklahoma A&M College, now Oklahoma State University, he was teaching a machining class when something, more accurately, someone special caught his eye. A student named Mary Corneil was in that class.

One thing led to another and the two got married just a couple years later and settled down back in Ed’s hometown. They had a few kids and started their lives. Little did they know it at the time, but this community would become a major part of the newly formed Malzahn family; Ed and Mary, from Perry, Oklahoma.

His grandfather, Charlie, owned a blacksmith shop where Ed worked. Day after day he would see a plumber hand-digging ditches to install pipes from the street to the home. He would think about how hard that had to be and there must be a better way. He was right. There is a better way.

His innovative spirit and engineering know-how took over and led him to the invention of the world’s first service line trencher in 1949, later to be named the Ditch Witch model DWP. Over the coming years, the Malzahns would experience a whirlwind of business success, allowing them to support the town they loved so much in ways never imagined.

They’d always been active in the First Presbyterian Church in Perry. Mary was the director of the choir for nearly 25 years and loved singing. Ed taught Sunday School for more than 50 years. If the doors to the church were open, Ed and Mary were there, with their children, Don, Pam and Leasa, serving in whatever role they could.

They ate breakfast at a local staple of the community, The Kumback Café every Saturday. They were at pancakes feeds, parades, celebrations and any other reason Perry citizens could get together. Perry and its people were family.

Mary had an affinity toward animals in general, but “white cows” specifically. She started M&M Charolais Ranch in 1968 and managed a successful operation. She was known to spend a couple hours with her employees and get in the truck every morning to help feed, not to supervise, but to do whatever she could, including but not limited to hopping out and opening gates between pastures. Mary also raised llamas, emu, turkeys, quail and numerous other animals, but it was the cattle that made it to the top of her list.

Ed worked in the underground construction industry and made it abundantly clear that Mary was the rancher. Folks often thought M&M stood for Malzahn and Malzahn, but make no mistake about it, the first M was for Mary.

As the underground construction industry took off, so did the celebrity of Ed and Mary, but that didn’t change who they were or what was important to them. They became more involved with the Chamber of Commerce and supporting local initiatives with anonymously (in theory) provided funds. Uncomfortable in the unwanted spotlight, Ed and Mary would make yearly contributions to every church in Perry, never signing their names, in addition to providing a crisp $50 bill to every graduating senior in Noble County for nearly 20 years simply because everyone had to buy their own cap and gown for graduation. It was important to the Ed and Mary that everyone was able to participate.

As the couple’s passion for Perry continued to grow, so did the support. They established the Malzahn Family Affiliated Fund in 1992, primarily to support the City of Perry, the Noble County Family YMCA and Perry Public Schools, which were all identified as areas for the city to shine. Rather than build a fitness center and café on the Ditch Witch campus, Ed and Mary decided Perry would be better served by helping fund a community YMCA and supporting local restaurants with employee traffic. They helped renovate the hospital and jail, donated for the Cherokee Strip Museum and The Heritage Center, provided funding for new school construction, and the list goes on.

After Mary passed in 2011 and Ed in 2015, The Charles Machine Works, Inc. was sold to The Toro Company in 2019, with the proceeds opening many, many doors for the MFAF to make an impact to Perry and the surrounding communities. The fund provides thousands of dollars in annual scholarship funds, continues to support the YMCA, the City of Perry and the school system.

Ed and Mary were always looking for a better way to do something, a better way to support their families, and better life for their employees and a better Perry, Oklahoma. Quick to listen and slow to speak, Ed and Mary found those answers through the MFAF.