Today in History - 1902

The year was 1902 and a 27 year old man arrived by train in Kemmerer, Wyoming to start a new business. He couldn't afford the train fare twice, so he made a committment in dollars before seeing the town. A scattered mining community, Kemmerer had about one thousand residents, a company store that operated on credit and 21 saloons where a good deal of spare cash was spent.

Two revolutionary ideas - cash only and do unto others as you would have them do unto you - were the basis for James Cash Penney's new business venture. He named the store the Golden Rule.

"When the sun rose over Kemmerer, Wyoming, April 14, 1902, it gilded a sign reading GOLDEN RULE STORE, and I was in business as a full partner. The firm name was Johnson, Callahan and Penney, but it was used only for bookkeeping purposes. In setting up a business under the name and meaning of Golden Rule, I was publicly binding myself, in my business relations, to a principle which had been a real intimate part of my family upbringing. To me the sign on the store was much more than a trade name. We took our slogan "Golden Rule Store" with strict literalness. Our idea was to make money and build business through serving the community with fair dealing and honest value, and did business cash-and-carry."