A Story by Rick Davis

 

History of J. Walter Davis Grocery

 
 
                      About 1925 J. Walter Davis and maybe a few years earlier, he and his brothers were together in a grocery store by the name of "Davis Brothers' Grocery". After the brothers dissolved their partnership, Walter built a small building next to their residence in the east part of town, north of Highway 287 running parallel to the highway. The name of this store was "Gusher Grocery". In 1929, the store was moved to a location on Highway 287 about 2 blocks closer to downtown Chillicothe. The name of that business was "Live and Let Live". In 1937, he turned this store over to his son, James and his daughter, Hazel. They ran it about 2 years. James married and moved to Vernon in 1939 to work at "Brown's Grocery". Walter had started a store in 1937 in town by the name of "Chillicothe Trading Post" which was in business ' til about 1952, with the exception of a year out because of the trouble of  dealing with food stamps during World War II. During that year or so, Walter and Medwin both worked for "Cole's Grocery". They went back in business next door to the First National Bank. Walter was sick for a long period of time and his younger son Edwin came to help his mother run the store. Walter died in 1951 and Medwin continued to run the store 'til 1952 at which time she moved to Vernon to live with her two daughters, Ora and Hazel.
 
(As told to Richard Davis by his aunt Marilyn Davis Newth Wilson on  3-13-06 )