Blake, John, Lincoln and Ben Swaggart stand at the front desk of their new office in Hermiston. Sarah Britain/The Hermiston Herald

Lincoln Swaggart remembers his grandfather, Merle Swaggart, waking him and his brothers up at 3 a.m. to go riding horses.

That early rising experience, coupled with his grandfather’s willingness to do all kinds of work, no matter what, helped the Swaggart Brothers learn a strong work ethic.

“We just learned so much from him,” Lincoln Swaggart said. “He knew a lot about wildlife and plants, but mainly just about work.”

Lincoln and his brothers Ben, John and Blake, run Swaggart Brothers Inc., a general contracting business in Hermiston. The business originally started with the ranch grandpa Merle started in Ritter; the T-Diamond-Bar.

The ranch was miles from the nearest neighbor – so remote the family did not have a telephone until 1972. The boys were able to watch television at their grandparents’ house. They didn’t have a television in their own home until 1998 when the boys were gone.

Many of their clothes were sewn by mom Nancy, while dad Cecil worked the ranch with the boys, Lincoln said. Much of the food they ate was grown or raised on the ranch. It was a rare thing to have processed foods in the house.

Cecil and Nancy started a logging business in the ’70s. Not only did the boys learn the ranching business, they also learned about logging, Lincoln said. By learning the true meaning of hard work, he said, they learned they could do anything.

Brother Ben Swaggart helped build the logging business into one of the most successful in Eastern Oregon, Lincoln said. From there, Ben turned his mind to a contracting business, which he started in 1998. He later brought in his brothers to help him.

In 2002, the four brothers formed Swaggart Brothers Inc., based in John Day until 2006, when they moved to Hermiston.

“We bought the property in June 2006 and had a mobile office trailer,” Lincoln said of their beginnings in the area. Near where the trailer sat is now a 6,700-square-foot building with office space, a conference room and plenty of room for expansion.

Each brother brings unique skills to the business – Ben with his business-development skills; Lincoln was a carpenter and ran several insurance agency offices as an insurance broker; John used his business management skills as operations manager for the logging operation; and baby brother Ben has problem-solving and construction skills and experience.

Swaggart Brothers Inc. specializes in big construction projects such as energy, excavation and concrete work, and agricultural projects such as dairies, Lincoln said.

“We are developing new farm land on Tower Road, clearing the land, dozing, laying the pipe” for an onion and potato storage facility, Lincoln said. “We have done civil work at the Pacific Ethanol plant in Boardman and in Burley, Idaho.”