WSET.com - ABC13Made in Virginia: Bacova Mailboxes

Reporter: David Tate

Roanoke, VA - Bacova Mailboxes are iconic mailboxes, and nothing much has changed over the years except the owners of the company who once did work for Bacova Guild, the company that began making the mailboxes in 1965.

Called Bluegrass Woods, they've been making the Bacova mailboxes for more than a decade now and have used that success to move their business in a second direction as well.

Most people have seen at least one of the mailboxes in their lifetime. Officially called the American Classic Mailbox, many people know them as Bacova Mailboxes. They have been an American standard since 1965.

"Any time you mention even Bacova Guild or Bath County somebody says, 'Isn't that where the mailboxes get done?' Because they are everywhere you go," said Vickie Ryder with Bluegrass Woods Inc.

In 2001, Ryder and her fiancé Glenn Cauley got the chance to buy the company, and they did. Having both worked for Bacova Guild for more than a decade, they realized their dream the moment the business was offered to them, and Bluegrass Woods was born to carry on an old tradition.

"It carries on the Bath County name. I'm a native of Bath County and I just love to carry on the Bath County product name and take it on into the upcoming years," said Glenn Cauley.

The unique fiberglass mailboxes start out as a customized order that is matched with art. Art that is glued in place and then hand laminated with a thick resin for durability which needs a night to dry. Assembly comes the next day before the final product is boxed and shipped off.

All of this happens some 50,000 times a year.

"You know... you are keeping history alive because everybody knows the Bacova mailbox. And we will still get calls now of people looking for it. 'I've been trying to track you down for years to replace my mailbox.' Because now of course it's Bluegrass Woods. They usually make a couple of phone calls and figure out where we are at," said Ryder.

However, Bluegrass Woods didn't stop with a product that practically guaranteed certain success.

"We've taken it and we've kept it alive. It is part of history and we've been able to add to it," said Ryder.

Bluegrass Woods added to the business in a big way. The company, which employs nine people, is the only warehouse a distributor for the English company, Capital Gardens, which manufactures large, fiberglass business and home accessories.

Major clients there include Princess Cruise Lines, the Bellagio Casino and Resort in Vegas, plus the Homestead and Greenbrier in our region.