In 1932, Val Rausch moved his wife and ten children from Melrose, MN to Ortonville, MN. At this time the granite business was beginning to boom around Ortonville with many new quarries being discovered. He became part owner of a mahogany quarry and monument retail store, Columbia Granite Works, in downtown Ortonville. Who could have guessed that this would begin the family legacy of creating custom family memorials for over 85 years.