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Grab It Here

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grab It Here was a chain of cash-and-carry stores that existed from 1903 to the end of the 20th century in Illinois and Indiana.[1]

C. Sherman Paxton moved to Illinois from Kentucky as a coal miner around 1901. He began saving money to open his own grocery store. By 1903, he had saved $185 (6274 in modern terms) and opened a small store in Georgetown, Illinois. The store was originally called simply the "C. S. Paxton Store", and he ran it on credit and made deliveries; Paxton closed the store for a time during a coal strike but returned later and opened the store again.

In 1919, Paxton opened a cash-only store managed by his son Ernie and it was here that the "Grab-It-Here" name first appeared. By the 1930s, there were several cash-and-carry stores in operation. By 1941, that grew to a chain of 40 stores.[2] In 1968, Grab-It-Here became affiliated[clarification needed] with Dolly Madison Industries. By the 1980s, the chain was defunct.

C. S. Paxton died in 1950.

Locations

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Here is a list of stores according to an anniversary brochure from the 1960s:

Store Address City State
1M 101 North State Street Georgetown Illinois
3M 143 North State Street Westville Illinois
7M Illinois Street Chrisman Illinois
9M 103 Main Street Homer Illinois
11M Yates Street Newman Illinois
18M 12 South Hazel Street Danville Illinois
21 Main Street Kingman Indiana
22M Main Street Potomac Illinois
25M 320 Washington Street Covington Indiana
27M 206 Main Street Veedersburg Indiana
30 Buena Vista Kansas Illinois
32M 108 Washington Street Williamsport Indiana
37M 100 Jones Street Milford Illinois
38M 517 West Madison Street Danville Illinois
46 Main Street Boswell Indiana
47M 102 Chicago Street Rossville Illinois
51M 129 North Central Street Paris Illinois
57M 25 West Fourth Street Sheldon Illinois
66M 220 North Market Street Paxton Illinois
69M 2715 North Vermilion Street Danville Illinois
70M Jefferson and York Streets Rockville Indiana
71M 855 East Fairchild Street Danville Illinois
72M Prospect and Sherwood Streets Champaign Illinois
73M 200 East Main Street Attica Indiana
74M Seymour and 4th Streets Kentland Indiana
75M 2nd and Walnuts Streets Watseka Illinois
76M 1113 East Main Street Danville Illinois
77M 317 South Market Street Hoopeston Illinois
78M Pembroke and Parke Streets Tuscola Illinois
79M Division and Hubbard Streets Cayuga Indiana
80M 1615 Springfield Champaign Illinois
81M 109 East Market Street Crawfordsville Indiana
82M 417 South Gilbert Street Danville Illinois
83M Fairchild and Robinson Streets Danville Illinois
84M Adams and Fourth Streets Fowler Indiana

References

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  1. ^ Vermilion County Museum Society (2014). Danville. Arcadia Publishing. p. 70. ISBN 9781467111553.
  2. ^ Starch, Daniel (1943). How to Develop Your Executive Ability. Harper & Brothers. p. 120. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  • Grab-It-Here anniversary booklets from the 1950s and 1960s, courtesy of the Vermilion County Historical Society
  • The Heritage of Vermilion County magazine,[page needed] published by the Vermilion County Museum Society