Fresh Start

One day I would like to write my paternal grandfather’s story out in full. Today I will hit the highlights and show how he made a fresh start when he was almost 60 years old.

Harry Nels Peterson was born in Kewanee Illinois in 1905. He grew up on a farm outside of Princeton, Illinois. A move to a farm in Putnam Illinois cut short his education and he never graduated from high school. By the time he and his family moved back to Princeton around 1926, he was working full time on his dad’s farm.

I believe that something inside Harry wanted more than farm life. Once back in Princeton he procured a job at a Larkin grocery store in town. He also owned a car. From this photo you can see that he was quite a dapper man.

Harry must have been successful at Larkin because he became manager of one, then both, of the stores in town. 

  

He married Edna Johnson in 1932 and their only son Stan was born in 1936. Harry was a loving, involved father, dedicated husband, and hardworking businessman. In 1937 Kroger bought out Larkin and Harry began working his way up the ladder at Kroger. He became regional then district produce manager for Kroger’s, and was a deacon at First Lutheran Church in Princeton. 

Around 1961, about the time that his son got married, Harry received what must have been devastating news from Kroger. A new policy had been put in place and anyone with an upper management position was required to have a master’s degree. All of a sudden, Harry was unqualified to do his job.

Kroger gave him two options. He could take a job as a manager at the new flagship store in Peoria, or he could take early retirement. Managing one store after years of being a regional supervisor was a demotion Harry couldn’t stomach. He took early retirement.

Princeton Bureau County Republican,
17 August, 1972, p. 9

A fellow church member, Malcolm Lewis, was an insurance salesman and worked for Country Companies. Lewis helped Harry get a job at Country Companies and Harry started at the bottom of the insurance business. But he didn’t stay there for long.

Harry’s natural people skills served him well as he learned the ins and outs of selling insurance. He must have known so many people in town through church and the grocery business. Soon he was winning awards, trips, and accolades galore. He never retired; when he died on August 8, 1978, he was still employed by Country Companies.

Princeton Bureau County Record, 25 April 1978, p. 15

I only knew my grandfather as an insurance salesman, and a successful one at that. I remember his car that he used for business calls, the back seat and the front passenger side were full of papers, files, and notes. I remember hearing about several trips that my grandparents took: to Morocco where he rode a camel; to Spain where he attended a bull fight; and cruises to Alaska and the Caribbean. Not bad for a farmer boy with a 10^th grade education. Although Harry’s fresh start was forced upon him, he weathered it well and came out on top.