MOUNDSVILLE — For many residents entering the cooler months, keeping up a supply of propane means keeping the home warm through the winter.

Marshall County Co-Op’s manager, Dave Voithofer, knows the dangers posed to the area’s customers from the cold, and he makes home deliveries a top priority, even in the nasty winters and hazardous roads that common in the area.

“We are the best — we do not let customers run out of propane no matter how bad the road conditions are,” Voithofer said. “Now, we’re not going to put our drivers at risk if there’s 10 feet of snow, but our guys have delivered within two to three days in the worst of conditions.”

Voithofer said the co-op keeps four CDL drivers on staff to make propane deliveries, plus one person, Susie Henderson, in the office to handle paperwork, for the five-person department.

The Marshall County Co-Op is part of Southern States Cooperative, the 10th-largest propane distributor in the country.

“We got into the propane business August of 1990,” Voithofer said. “Most everyone above us is a national distributor, and we’re only on the East Coast.”

Beyond propane, Voithofer is proud to say the co-op offers much to assist with home and garden care, as well as serving as a farm supply store.

“We have a lawn and garden business in the springtime,” Voithofer said. “I really believe that we are the most diverse retail store in the valley — propane, lawn and garden, bedding plants, we grind feed, things for livestock, we dabble in tires, bulk and bagged mulch and soil.”

In the spring, when Voithofer said the store is busiest, the outside of the store is populated with plants for gardening in the spring and summer months.

“This store is unique. Because we’re a co-op, we’re owned by 1,200 … 1,300 farmers in the community,” Voithofer said. “We have our local board of directors, members who are local farmers.. … I’m blessed that the 16 employees, we have a very good relationship,” Voithofer said. “If not for them it’d be rough.”