Reaserch Paper

Dahlia Alvarez

Mr. Skipper

Encounters 7

February 15, 2023

                                               The Impact of Charles R Walgreen

Walgreens has been a store that's been in business for more than one hundred and twenty years. But did you ever wonder how Walgreens started the early products they sold all the different mistakes that then, later on, helped him improve himself or even where he even got the idea to open his own drug store? Was it a long life dream of his or was it maybe an incident in his life that led him to that path where he is today? Who were the people that helped him when he could not do something on his own? What made Walgreens stand out from all the other drug stores and helped stay open for this long?

Charles Rudolph Walgreen was born on October 9, 1873, his father was Charles Walgreen he was born on May 20, 1829, and lived in Juteburg Sweden, and then later on in his life moved to Galesburg where he met his wife Ellen Olson. Then they lantern on had three children Charles, Linda, and Esther. Then the family moved in 1889 to Dixson Illinois. Charles lived an everyday life as a child, later on, got a job at a shoe company, and that is where he accidentally got the top joint in his middle finger chopped off. After that accident, it ended his athletic competition. But the same accident caused the greatest thing to happen to him. Then when he was sixteen was the first time he got a job in a drug store where he got only paid four dollars a week. But he only worked there for a year and a half. After that job, he moved to Chicago in 1902 where he started working in many more different pharmacies, and as he did all of that he more 

and more began to learn all the benefits to have in a drug store all the things to have in a drug store and what attracted customers and the best things that sold a lot, what was good and bad in business. But with only five cents to his name, he decided to spend two cents on a newspaper and throw the rest in a river for luck. when the war with Spain came he signed up in the Illinois national guard. On his return was when he got the idea to collect money and open a drugstore.

Charles Walgreen was important because he made a drugstore that he was able to spread all over the world.