The J C Penny Store
by Maralyn Fink
J C Penny Company was located in the first block of Main Street back in my day. Ah, this was a staple store at that time.
Downtown was full of businesses back then going from all three blocks on both sides of the street.
I remember shopping there when I was younger with my mother; and when we went to pay for our purchase, the clerk would pull a cord and a container would run down a corded line from the balcony where the store manager sat at his desk. The clerk would put the money in and pull the cord and send the container back to him. He in return would send it back to the clerk with change if needed and a receipt. I couldn’t wait to see that work and remember watching it in awe.
The store was well stocked with whatever you needed and busy for back to school time, of course you might see your outfit an a schoolmate but that was okay. We were always thankful for what we could get and happy with it.
This is just another example of simple times and we were always grateful for what we could have. Back then a shirt might have cost $3.00, but that was a lot of money for that time.
The building was built by George Chapman for use as his dry goods business. It was designed by Harry E. Walsworth.
J/C. Penney Store No. 811 opened to the public on August 12, 1927.
J.C. Penney & Co. was founded in 1902 by James Cash Penney and William Henry McManus. Penny moved to Kemmerer in 1902 from Evanston to open dry goods store in the booming mining town.
He was born in Missouri, he worked for eight years in a Missouri dry goods store before moving to west.
The original name for the store that started J.C. Penney in the dry goods business was The Golden Rule.
By 1912 there were 34 Golden Rule stores, but the following year it was changed to JC Penney when Penney accepted a majority ownership of the chain. In two year alone from 1915 to 1917 the company grew from 83 stores to 175.