A piece of Dixon history: The death of 'Dixon’s most famous citizen'

Editor’s note: This is part 5 of our series on Dixon’s Charles Walgreen, the founder of Walgreens. The first four parts, covering his life from 1873 to 1939, were published on Nov. 1, 15 and 29, and Dec. 6.

DIXON — What kind of man was Charles R. Walgreen? What kind of personality could build an empire from nothing to almost 500 stores throughout the country? Are there connections between this man’s personality and his roots in Dixon?

His clash with Communism

Much about Walgreen’s character was revealed in a significant public controversy in 1935. It all began over a breakfast table discussion between Walgreen, 62, and his 18-year-old niece, Lucille Norton, who was staying at the Walgreens’ apartment while he funded her schooling at the University of Chicago.

Every day at breakfast, Uncle Charles would ask Lucille about her studies and give her a ride to the campus. But one day, as Time magazine reported, Charles found that she was learning things that were critical of America and “sounded dangerously like Communism.”

At the time, the “Red Scare” was on the rise in America, as was Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in Nazi Germany. After getting insufficient answers from faculty and administration, Walgreen wrote a letter to the university’s president, Robert M. Hutchins.

“With regret, I am having my niece, Miss Lucille Norton, discontinue her studies at the University of Chicago,” he wrote. “I am unwilling to have her absorb the Communistic influences to which she is so insidiously exposed.”

The media and State Senate get involved

The controversy spilled into the media. President Hutchins, fearing a public backlash, denied the charges of promoting Communism, claiming that a university is the proper setting for discussing radical ideologies. Walgreen, unconvinced, requested a public hearing before the board of trustees, but Hutchins refused.

The press loved the turmoil, which spawned an investigation of the university by the Illinois State Senate. More importantly, the uproar resulted in many personal meetings between Charles R. Walgreen and Robert M. Hutchins.

Finding common ground

The matter finally settled on June 5, 1937, when Walgreen made a $550,000 gift ($12,000,000 in today’s money) to the University of Chicago to establish the Charles R. Walgreen Foundation for the Study of American Institutions. The foundation would promote “a fair and impartial study” of American institutions, including “their virtues and their defects.”

In short, Walgreen had graciously – and generously –reversed his earlier opposition to the university. By promoting a close study of the American system, he believed that “to understand it will be to cherish it.”

One might describe the clash as a confrontation between Walgreen’s conservative rural roots in Dixon and the progressive urban thinking of higher education in Chicago. Through an ongoing face-to-face meeting of the minds, Walgreen found a middle ground where both perspectives were honored in a peaceful coexistence.

Secrets to his success

Whenever reporters were able to interview the quiet humble drugstore magnate, he was reluctant to take credit for his enormous business success. But occasionally, he would reveal some secrets to his success, painting a portrait of a conservative, down-to-earth patriotic man who valued people and performance.

Walgreen shunned the spotlight and notoriety.

“I believe I would have been just as happy with the one store as I am with this big chain,” he said in 1937. While he did enjoy the luxuries that wealth brought, he resisted ever having an office in the prestigious Chicago loop.

Known to be calm and cool headed, he said, “Worry never helped anything.” He added, “Too many people push. Things come if you wait.”

Kind and modest, he treated all people equally. “A good bricklayer is as successful as an opera star,” he said.

Management tips

He gave store managers a sense of ownership and independence, which inspired superior performance. Believing that communication is key, he produced a monthly employee publication, the “Pepper Pod,” which constantly beat the drum of his management philosophy.

He required stores to be profitable. He carefully selected store locations. He insisted on superior customer service and clean stores with attractive displays.

“Take care of customers,” he said, “like guests in your own home.”

He believed in the power of advertising. He bought the first full-page newspaper ad in the Chicago Tribune (1922), he took out full-page ads in the Saturday Evening Post (1928), and Walgreens was the first drugstore to advertise on radio (1931).

A simple farewell

Diagnosed with cancer in 1939, Charles’ health began to fail at age 65. On Aug. 10, 1939, he stepped down as president and was succeeded by his son, Chuck Walgreen Jr., 33, while his son-in-law, Justin Dart, 32, became general manager.

The iconic Charles R. Walgreen died in Chicago on Dec. 11, 1939. But his funeral was not held in Chicago, where he had maintained his primary residence and office since 1893. Rather, his funeral was held in Dixon at his beloved Hazelwood estate. It was a private affair with a few friends and family gathered in the big living room of the guesthouse.

You’ll never guess who delivered the eulogy. It was Robert M. Hutchins, the same university administrator with whom Charles publicly clashed only four years earlier. After those battles, the two had become quite close.

“Mr. Walgreen was the best friend I had,” began Hutchins in the eulogy. “There was no bunk about Mr. Walgreen. He was always himself. Simple, honest, and direct.”

“He didn’t ever form acquaintances because he could get something out of them,” added Hutchins. “We shall not look upon his like again.”

His permanent return to Dixon

Charles was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Dixon. Myrtle described the plot as “a beautiful section of woodland at one edge of the cemetery where trees seem to form the walls of a cathedral built by nature. There we left his body.”

The Telegraph aptly wrote: “Dixon bows with grief in the loss of its foremost resident, a simple, kindly, modest man who here received his education and the training that was to determine the course of his illustrious career and whose great genius and remarkable ability enabled him to build a vast business empire.”

Today, Walgreens is now corporately known as Walgreens Boots Alliance. Its fiscal 2024 sales hit $147.7 billion as the chain has more than 8,500 stores and 311,000 employees in nine countries.

In our final installment, we’ll reveal details about Myrtle Walgreen’s life at Hazelwood in Dixon after her husband’s death.

• Dixon native Tom Wadsworth is a writer, speaker and occasional historian. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament.