814 Delta Avenue

814 Delta Avenue. . , Star Grocery was the longest serving grocery store in Gladstone. Swan Nelson built Star Grocery as one of the first grocery stores in the city. Mr. Nelson came to Gladstone in 1895. He and his family lived above the store until he built a beautiful home on Wisconsin Avenue. Swan Nelson and his sons were very involved in the Fox Farm near Brampton, so he sold the grocery business to P.G.Erickson who operated the business for 10 years. , , In 1916, Edward Johnson formed a partnership with his brother Ted Ohlin and Adolph Wickstrom (Ohlin was the family name when they came from Sweden but at the request of their employers, they changed their name to Johnson because Ohlin was too hard to pronounce) Edward came to Gladstone in 1903 and married Signe Johnson in 1907. He worked at the flour docks and then became a sawyer at the Cooperage. He was fired by Northwestern Cooperage when he lost a hand on the job. In 1926 Edward bought out his partners and he a[nd] Signe operated the store until he became the Food Inspector for the State of Michigan in 1932. His son Walter ran the store with his mother until 1946 when he then purchased the building. , , There have been several owners over the years and in the 1970's Dick and Kay Thompson owned and operated Dick's Star Market for 18 years. , , This building also succumbed to a devastating Delta Avenue fire.