FEDCO OPENED IN 1963

Many of the retail businesses we grew up with in downtown Albion are now gone, but one that still remains is FEDCO located at 217 S. Superior St. The name in capital letters sounded like an implied acronym for "Federal Discount Company" or thereabouts. In fact when it opened here in Albion in October, 1963, it was touted as the "FEDCO Discount Center of Albion." No one was fooled however. The Federal government had nothing to do with the store.

FEDCO opened as a discount center for health and beauty aids, and vitamins as well. It sold many other items, however. It was part of a chain based out of Detroit. There were FEDCO stores in Michigan, Ohio, and Florida. When it opened on October 17, 1963 in Albion, it was first located in the old Frost Shoe Store location at 213 S. Superior St. Their first advertisement in the Albion Evening Recorder stated that they were "The Most Modern Discount Store in Michigan," and "We Discount Everything." The first thing they advertised was cigarettes at $2.39 a carton.

The original manager of FEDCO was Lester J. Boes, a field supervisor for the chain. He had formerly been in the grocery business and had worked in National Food, and A & P stores.

FEDCO opened during the "discount center" fad of the early 1960s and hoped to capture on the local market with that theme. They were listed as "FEDCO Cosmetics and Vitamins" in the Albion City directories, but eventually they became more of a party store as the years evolved. Cramped in their original location, FEDCO moved into its present location in the former Weatherwax Drug Store in the late 1970s. There it has remained even to this day. Later this year they will have been in business in Albion for 52 years.

From our Historical Notebook this week we present a photograph of FEDCO at their original location at 213 S. Superior St. Next door of course is Tuchtenhagen’s Jewelry, with the historic clock out front. How many of our readers remember FEDCO at this location?

	Frank Passic — Albion Historian An Albion native and 1971 graduate of Albion High School, Frank Passic has been researching and writing Albion history since 1976. He is the creator of the Albion Historical Notebook, with hundreds of articles appearing weekly in the Morning Star and The Recorder. Frank maintains an extensive personal archive including Riverside Cemetery records, family surname files, genealogies, photographs, city directories, and high school yearbooks. Support his 2026 research at the Historic Albion Michigan Facebook page. Historical Notebook \| From the Archives \| Subject List \| 100 Years Ago \| Alphabetical Index \| Frank Passic Home Page \| Albion History Books \| Contact Frank
	Michigan Prints by Maggie LaNoue Michigan Prints offers limited-edition archival Giclée prints, miniprints, notecards and boxed sets featuring Michigan landmarks, nature, resorts and nostalgia. Each print and card includes a legend on the back with stories about Michigan history. Albion scenes include the Kalamazoo River waterfall and the Blizzard of 1978. Find Michigan Prints online and at local shops. Michigan Prints \| Albion Scenes \| Custom Cards \| Zazzle Gifts
	AlbionMich.net — General Guide to Albion AlbionMich.net is a hub for community life in the greater Albion area, featuring current news, city council updates, river restoration stories, parks and trails. See Albion's beautiful Kalamazoo River waterfall as it looks today — and follow the story of its future restoration. Includes news from The Recorder and stories about Albion's 17 parks. AlbionMich.net \| Albion Blog \| Frank Passic on AlbionMich.net
	General Guide to Albion AlbionMich.net offers two General Guides to the Albion area — one covering community life including city council, veterans, history, youth and wellness resources, and one covering the outdoors including roads, rivers, parks, trails and downtown. Both guides feature stories by local writers including contributors to The Recorder, sorted by topic for easy reference. General Guide — Community \| General Guide — Outdoors
	Robin James — Indices Unlimited Robin James is the editor of the Albion Historical Notebook and has kept Frank Passic's thousands of articles organized and searchable for decades. A trained librarian and archivist, Robin specializes in back-of-book and online indexing, multimedia collection management, and corporate information distribution. He also enjoys strange music and is a contributing editor for Igloo electronic music magazine. For more about his indexing services, visit Indices Unlimited.
AlbionDesign.com — Communications Specialists Since 1981 \| Advertise on AlbionMich.com