When Henry Hermes joined forces with Judson Hilton in 1950 to form Hermes & Hilton Real Estate, he probably didn't know he was creating a family tradition. But now 48 years later, and 32 years after Henry's passing, son Jim Hermes maintains the name and represents the family as one of the top Realtors in the Washington, Chisago, and Northern Ramsey County areas.

In 1966, Jim took over Hermes Real Estate and proceeded to become the dominant area Broker.

Above Right: Henry Hermes
Below Left: 3rd Office, 1407 Lake St., FL

Under Jim's direction, the Company expanded with the addition of offices in Lindstrom, White Bear Lake, and Marine-on-St. Croix. At its peak, Hermes Realty totalled over 65 associates (a large brokerage for those times!) In 1985, Hermes Realty merged with Merrill Lynch Realty, then the nation's largest firm and known for its tradition of trust. Since then, Merrill Lynch has been repurchased locally by Burnet Realty. Jim has continued to work directly with customers as one of Burnet's top agents, maintaining the Hermes name for quality and service. Jim now is with RE/MAX Associates Plus. RE/MAX has offices in North America and 27 countries around the world with a sales force of 50,000.




Right: 2nd Office Location - 643 S. Lake St., 2/60



Above Left: Henry Hermes, pictured in the center of two of his friends in front of the first Hermes RE office in 1955. On the right is Idor Pederson, a long time country commissioner. On the left is Kline Johnson, deceased, a long time attorney in the Forest Lake Area. Taking the picture was another long time friend of my dad, Clinton Hallberg, who titled the photo: "Two high powered salesmen with counsel." Clinton was the owner of Hallberg Pontiac Buick, presently Novak Pontiac Buick GMC Trucks.
Above Right: First Office Location, 1950.
Below: Hermes Drive-In in the 1950's, owned by Henry and Eleanor Hermes. If you look close, you'll see two people in the picture next to the drive-in. They are my sister Marianne Machaiek and my brother, Mike Hermes, a 25 veteran in real estate. They were 6 and 8 years old at the time. I was the cook and my sister Pat Cowing was the car hop. This was my summer job for 3 years during my high school years. Just because he got fired 5 times, I should not forget my brother David Hermes who is now living in Palm Desert, CA. I think he spent to much time waxing his 1950 Dodge and chasing girls. She was nice (the car, that is!)