In January of 1954, Cliff and Pete Mose needed work. Having had some experience in electrical wiring, they decided to start wiring new homes and began working out of the trunk of Pete’s 1953 Plymouth. When they were able to afford a truck the father and son duo decided to start a business as C. M. Mose & Son Electrical Contractors, mainly wiring new homes.
Original 1953 Plymouth that started C.M. Mose
The new owners, Clifford Merle Mose, Sr. (Cliff) and Clifford Merle Mose, Jr. (Pete) enlisted Cliff’s wife, Thelma, to answer the phone, a party line with 14 people and handle the business paperwork. CM Mose & Son was run out of Cliff and Thelma’s home for the next ten years. During that time and for some years to follow, the morning meetings were held around a table with a cup of coffee at McBowl (now called Retro Bowl), the local bowling alley owned by the McCoy brothers. The McCoys also ran McCoy Construction, and many of the new homes during that time that were built in Liberty were built by McCoy Construction and wired by C. M. Mose & Son.
C.M. Mose & Son Changes with The Times
In April of 1964, A. Eugene (Gene) McEntire was returning from the service was looking for a job. Gene was hired that month and continued to CM Mose & Son until December of 2005 when he retired. By that time Cliff and Pete had started doing service work on furnaces. One of the larger in demand services that kept them very busy was adding 220-volt outlets for window air-conditioning in homes since many of the homes in the area did not have central air-conditioning. Over the years the workload has changed from the wiring of new homes to more service-oriented work, including the installation of garbage disposals, replacement of hot water heaters and other general electric work as well as service and maintenance on furnaces and central air-conditioners.
In the mid 1960’s the business location was moved from Glenaire to the home of Pete and his wife, Nancy, on Circle Drive in Liberty. With three children in the home this was a way Nancy could contribute her time and efforts to the business taking the phone calls that had previously gone to Cliff and Thelma’s home.
Roger Mose joins C.M. Mose & Son
The Mose children, Sheila, Marsha and Roger, all grew up working in the business in different capacities. All three of the kids went off to college and graduated from Central Missouri State in Warrensburg. Roger, the youngest, returned in 1984 with an associate’s degree in refrigeration and air-conditioning and became the third generation to join the business. He continued his education in the industries and now holds Master’s Licenses in three areas; Electrical, Mechanical (HVAC) and Plumbing.
In the 1970’s aluminum wiring was introduced to new home construction. Although it was more cost effective to use, Clifford and Pete anticipated problems with it. They lost many new construction jobs because quality was more important to them than cost and focused instead on more service work. Years later, Pete and Cliff would go on to correct a lot of problems that were caused by aluminum wiring. Aluminum wire still has its place in the electrical industry but not as residential branch wiring.
During the 1990’s service and replacement of air-conditioning units and furnace repair became a large part of CM Mose & Son. In 2000 they partnered with American Standard to become a distributor of their leading brand of heating and cooling equipment. In recent years C. M. Mose & Son Inc. added CurrentSAFE, an electrical hazard detection service, to their list of services. For many years C.M. Mose & Son installed back-up generators for customers in and around Kansas City. In 2012, they partnered with Generac Generators (a business that started n 1959) and C. M. Mose & Son Inc. is now the only Power Pro Elite Dealer in Kansas City.
C.M. Mose & Son Finds it’s Current Home
In 1999 the business was outgrowing the home of Pete and Nancy as Roger was taking on more leadership of the business and had plans of growing. About that time, Roger’s sister, Sheila, left her job looking for something different. Roger had plans of moving the business and needed someone to answer phones and do some office work. Sheila came to work October 1, 1999 and continues to help as the company continues to make changes. In July of 2000, the business moved from Pete’s home on Circle Drive to 6601-B Royal Street and a 3,200 sq. ft. building purchased by Roger and his wife, Darla. They outgrew the building by March of 2002 and relocated to 6603-E Royal Street, an 8,000 sq. ft.building. The company has seen many changes in their industry but has always maintained its reputation in the Liberty area as a family-owned business with a strong commitment to quality and excellent customer service.
We are Thankful
As C.M. Mose & Son marks this 60 year milestone, they are grateful for the team members who support their mission to deliver excellent customer service, to the customers who rely on them and refer their friends and neighbors for HVAC, Electrical, Generator and CurrentSAFE Services and to Clifford and Pete Mose who, by their commitment to quality products and customer oriented service, started a business that has stood the test of time.