KEMMERER — Kemmerer’s Golden Rule Community Picnic was held on Thursday, Aug. 24, with a huge crowd enjoying food prepared and served by city and county officials.

Guests included many dignitaries from the JC Penney Corporation and affiliates, including Angela Marshall Hofmann, JC Penney’s head of government affairs; Teresa Scott, president and CEO of the Penney Retirement Community; Steve Strom, with the JC Penney National HCSC Alumni Club; Gerald DeClouette, a district manager; and two of JC Penney’s granddaughters, Alissa Keny Guyer and Marion Guyer.

“The alumni club was formed in 1932, and we follow JC Penney’s motto of honor, confidence, service and cooperation,” Strom said. “The club has lasted for over 90 years, and we have 1,800 members, [some] from every state in the U.S.”

Representing the state of Wyoming at the event were U.S. Sen. John Barrasso and Sarah Hale, a field representative for Sen. Cynthia Lummis.

Also attending the event and leading a tour of the JC Penney historic sites was David D. Kruger, agricultural research librarian for University of Wyoming libraries and author of the nonfiction book “J.C. Penney: The Man, The Store, and American Agriculture.”

Kruger began the tour at 4 p.m., starting at the JC Penney statue on the corner of Triangle Park. He then progressed to the first site of the Golden Rule store that Penney built, which is now a parking lot for the local First Bank. The tour ended at the second store’s site, which is located across from Triangle Park and is an abandoned building at this time.

A group of people followed Kruger on the tour and listened as he told the history of how JC Penney started in the department store business by working in the Golden Rule stores and eventually founding the JC Penney mother store in Kemmerer, which is the third site and on the corner of the Triangle.

“In 1902, when he was only 26 years old, Penney opened his first store. The small building was only 45 feet by 12 feet, and he and his wife, Berta, lived upstairs,” Kruger said. “J.C. loved small towns. He was quoted as saying, ‘Cities are places to keep away from; I like to get to know people.’ He loved Kemmerer and Evanston.”

Kruger said Penney grew up on a farm in Hamilton, Missouri, and his father was a Baptist preacher and a “teetotaler,” so J.C. learned those same values which influenced his business practices. Penney believed in selling the best quality items at the lowest price he could,” Kruger said.

Penney worked in and owned Golden Rule stores and, in 1904, the name was changed to the JC Penney stores. In 1904, Penney also bought a little cottage for his and Berta’s home — which is now a tourist attraction in Kemmerer.

Penney never lost his love of agriculture and, during the depression, he established Penney Farms to help out destitute people. Today those farms are the Penney Retirement Community in Penney Farms, Florida.

Dave Quirk, past president of the Penney Retirement Community Association, who attended last week’s event, said, “The people living there still practice the Golden Rule and have given away 14,000 personal energy transportation [wheelchairs] overseas. They are three-wheeled, hand-powered wheelchairs that can go on hard terrain to help people who have lost limbs and are limited in movement.”

After the tour, guests gathered in the Triangle Park for an award ceremony led by Trista Gordon, director of events and recreation. She asked Diamondville Mayor Clint Bowen, Kemmerer Mayor Bill Thek and County Commissioner Kent Connelly to each address the crowd.

Each thanked the crowd, the representatives and all for coming and attending the event. Connelly then introduced Sen. John Barrasso as “the best senator in D.C.”

“I am happy to be here with you all tonight and I want you to know Wyoming values continue to inspire America and this community,” Sen. Barrasso said. “Thank you for coming and celebrating the history of J.C. Penney.”

Hofmann was next to give a special recognition and award. She asked local resident Cindy Miller to come forward. Miller maintains the J.C. Penney homestead.

Hofmann presented Miller with a check for $10,000 to help maintain the cottage and continue Penney’s legacy. Penney’s two granddaughters presented Miller with another check for $7,500. They said all of Penney’s grandchildren had donated to the amount.

“I am so grateful,” Miller said. “This will go a long way to maintaining the home and the legacy. I would like to recognize the two docents who have worked hard this summer at the cottage.”

The crowd applauded as the two docents stood in the crowd to be recognized.

Gordon came forward to present the Golden Rule award, “This is the first time we have given this award and we intend to make it an annual event,” Gordon said. “We asked members of the community to nominate a neighbor who they think lives by the Golden Rule and explain why. I was shocked when we received 17 nominations. I then organized a committee to help me choose. It wasn’t easy, so we actually settled on two awards.”

Gordon read off the names of the nominees: James Dunford, Clint Bowen, Caleb Ellis, Colby Merritt, Jeremy Rodgers, Marchane Hunt, Ginny Rogers, Lexie Scherr, Bridget Stewart, Crystal Clark, Julieann Reeder, Tony and Kathy Tomassi, Madonna Long, Robert Bowen, Jamie Miller and Keisha Robinson.   

She asked the first winner, Clint Bowen, to come forward. Gordon read from the nomination letter for Bowen and said, “Clint Bowen gives countless hours beyond being mayor to serve Diamondville residents. He truly walks the walk.”

The second Golden Rule award was given to Colby Merritt. Gordon read from the nomination, “Colby is the most selfless person I know. Even when she was fighting cancer, she continued to teach school and coach volleyball. She is always there for everyone and she makes the world a better place.”

Both recipients received a standing ovation. Following the awards and speeches, community members formed a long line at the food tables where they were served dinner by local officials. It was a pleasant evening and the weather remained warm and clear even as dark clouds loomed in the distance.