The McPhedrain family has an interesting family history with Mary Maxim dating back to 1952. In a tiny town called Sifton in Manitoba, Canada, Willard and Olive McPhedrain(grandparents of the current company president, Rusty McPhedrain) began manufacturing and selling spinning wheels. The woolen mill primarily created blankets and work socks.

The mill was so successful, Olive soon began running a fast-growing mail order company called Sifton Products from their home, while Willard continued working as a railroad station agent.

As the business grew, Willard being the marketing maestro that he was, wanted to personalize the business and took his cue from the Betty Crocker idea and re-named the business Mary Maxim, after a family employee at the time, Mary Maximchuck. With it’s new name the company moved to Paris, Ontario in 1954.

Willard soon persuaded his son Larry, a railroad telegraph operator in Maintoba, to join the family business. Larry recognized the tremendous customer draw from the United States and sought to create an office near the Canadian border. In 1956 he moved his family to Port Huron Michigan and opened Mary Maxim’s American headquarters with three employees. After several office moves around the city of  Port Huron, Mary Maxim settled at her current location of  2001 Holland Ave.

In 1971, at the young age of 10, Larry's son Rusty, began working in the business summers and weekends. Having grown up with and worked many different jobs throughout the business, Rusty worked his way to the top and is now the president of the company. The fourth generation of McPhedrain’s  currently work summers as their father did, and they are learning the business from the ground floor.