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rN ameaenacenranes Wednesday, July 14, 1883 arm aac. Since 18798 Geta, Marshall Wi Meporeau = 4 35 Cents: By JAMES MOSES Editor The farm boy from Sheridan never shirked his work. He doesn’t know how to sit still. During his 57 years in Marshall, A.C. “Chet” Hemmingsen always looked for challenges — still does — and Helen Hemmingsen always backed him up. Still does. Whether it was building a business, a hospital, or an entire neighborhood, Chet took up the cause while Helen ran the store. “If I got involved in a project, I worked on it,” Chet said. Hemmingsen Rexall Drug Store would be there when he was finished. It sustained the couple and their family, not just as a living, but a source of tremendous pride. Their daughters Joyce, Vickie and Audrey worked at the store, and so did their grandchildren. Chet is 85 now, and the couple announced they're ready to retire at the end of the year. Dick Mumaw, pharmacist there for 28 years, is buying the business. They came to town in 1936 “and we've never been sorry,” Helen said. They have no specific plans for 1994, but Chet is not likely to relax. The story began when Chet left the farm in 1923 for Ferris Institute (Ferris State University today). He earned a registered pharmacist’s degree, then began a fast track with two drug store chains. He worked at and managed drug stores in Ypsilanti, Pontiac, Grand Rapids and Flint. “It was an experience you couldn’t buy,” Chet said. In 1935, he married Helen Nabozna in Jackson and then learned he would be transferred to Detroit. No, thank you. “We wanted to stay in a small town,” Helen said. “We looked all over Michigan; there were lots of things for sale during the Depression,” she said. They finally bought Grove Green's Drug Store, a figure since 1885 in what is now the Miner Building, home of The Halltree. “Didn’t know a soul” “We didn’t know a soul” when they came, Chet said, but that wouldn’t last long. Edwy and Willis Hillabrandt had their market next door. Cy Stebbins was the Hemmingsens’ first customer. Lee Sherman, Blaine Hatch, Lee HEMMINGSONS on Page 3 Chet and Helen Hemmingsen are ready to retire after 57 years at Hemmingsen Drug Store. Chet said he'll still “settle the affairs of the world” at early morning coffee, at Ken's Cafe.
Newspaper Details
Marshall Chronicle
Marshall, Michigan, US
Wed, Jul 14, 1993
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Matthew S.
