james cash penney

James Cash Penney (a.k.a J.C. Penney) is the article of the month in our Electric Coop Extra. He is the founder of J.C. Penney department stores. He led his life as a devout Christian. His father, a Baptist minister, taught him to live by the Golden Rule...

"Do undo others as you would have do unto them..." (Matt 7:12)

His hometown is where I lived the first five years of my life - Hamilton, MO. Reflecting back, I can remember going to the J.C. Penney Museum adjacent to the library countless times. They moved his boyhood house into the center of town. I also remember going to the J.C. Penney department store downtown before it closed. I used to beg my mom for a penny so I could have a gumball out of the shiny red globe stand. I can still visualize the chairs in the back of the store where people would sit to have their feet measured, and someone would assist them in trying on shoes. They even sold fabric by the yard.

It's said that James C. Penney did not practice selling items to customers using credit, but ironically today J.C. Penney department stores have their own line of credit that they provide to their customers to which they make most of their money.