Salt Lake Telegram | 1939-12-12 | Page 1 | Walgreen Drug Founder Dies

Walgreen Drug Founder Dies $18 Week Clerk Became Head of 500 Stores CHICAGO, Dec. 12 Iff) Charles R. Walgreen, who rose from an $18 a week clerk to become founder found-er of a drug store empire, died last night He was 66 years old and had been 111 several months. He borrowed money to buy his first store In Chicago in 1902. It took him four years to pay the .debt. From the single establishment establish-ment grew a chain of nearly 500 stores In 39 states, with an annual business of (50,000.000. Charles R. Walgreen had visited Salt Lake City several times and was well known In the intermoun-i intermoun-i tain states. A merger of the Schramm-John-son Drug company, operator of 30 retail stores in five western states, and the Walgreen company was announced in October, 1929. This affected a number of stores in Salt Lake and qther Utah cities. The late F. C Schramm and the late Joy H. Johnson, for years prominent Utah business leaders and operators of the Schramm-Johnson Schramm-Johnson Drug company, were close friends of Mr. Walgreen.