Merchants Hardware Store - 1942

My brother Marty sent me this picture of Merchant's Hardware Store front from 1942.  This was the year I was born and my dad worked for Merchant's then.  He continued to work for them when they building their current building until around 1957 when he started working for Sinclair Oil Company.  After retiring from Atlantic Richfield Oil Company (name changed for Sinclair in the 1960's), he returned to work at Merchant part-time.

Comments accompanying the picture from Marty:  E. W. Merchant's Hardware Store - 1942    A trade was made with George Gray to exchange buildings, so Merchant's could expand their building.  The hardware store and later Gray's Insurance was located in the building where Heator's Insurance is located today at 215 North Broadway.

For those who only remember Merchant's Hardware where it is located today, the picture above is where the hardware store was located prior to them building at their current location.  Where there store now stands, was a vacant lot where the Union Hotel once stood when this picture was taken.

A & P Grocery Store - c 1949

Thanks to Junior Edwards for letting my brother Marty scan and send me this great picture of the A & P Grocery Store taken around 1949, and sharing the information below.

Junior's comments he shared with Marty: The people in the A & P picture are: Bob Borst-Manager, Junior Edwards, Dale Little, and Willoene Smith. 

In the mid 1940's the A & P Store was on the southeast corner of Broadway and Hammond Streets, the next store was Dancers (only in one building at the time the picture was taken), Brown's Department Store, and Rathburns.

Brown's Department Store moved to building where the Pioneer Bar was up until 2012, to allow Dancer's to expand next door.

Ken Ford and Lindley Johnson purchased the Brown's Department Store and converted it to a grocery store in 1946 (called Johnson & Ford Grocery).  In 1947, it was purchased by Leonard's from Battle Creek.  Leonard's was a grocery store for a couple of years (1947 & 1948).

This solved a mystery regarding what kind of store was Leonard's was that has been a mystery for the past couple of years.

Junior Edwards worked at Brown's and then the A & P.