When Lehan Drugs opened in DeKalb in 1946, the store’s phone number contained only three digits.

And when U.S. automakers stopped producing cars during World War II, DeKalb car dealer John Manning made do by buying school buses to transport migrant workers to work.

As competitors have cropped up and the economy has fluctuated, it’s rare that some businesses have survived as long as 50 or even nearly 100 years. What’s kept some around longer than others is the ability to adapt to fast-changing markets and economic environments, whether it’s investing in new technology or getting creative when times are tough.