When Hicks Store first opened for business, Harry S. Truman was President of the United States, the St. Louis Cardinals won their sixth World Series championship and “The Lost Weekend” won an Oscar for Best Picture.

That year was 1946.

After 75 years, Hicks Store is still a popular spot in the Bellflower community and Montgomery County.

“With good support from the community, we kept it going,” store co-manager Ted Hicks said. “Hopefully for several more years, we’ll keep it going.”

Hicks Store will have its 75th anniversary celebration from 2 p.m.-6 p.m. on Sept. 25 in front of the store, which is located on 115 N. Main Street. There will be games for children and adults, door prizes and food and drinks.

“We've been looking forward to it for several years now,” Hicks said. “We did a 50th anniversary 25 years ago and we’re doing a 75th anniversary. Hopefully, it will be a big celebration with a lot of people coming out. We hope we have good weather.”

Hicks Store offers groceries, hardware, electrical and plumbing items, houseware, farm supplies and lumber.

“We try to offer a lot of goods and services where people don’t have to drive to get them,” Hicks said. “When they run out of something, they come in here and get it. We can order things for them. Hopefully, we’ll have everything for them.”

Glen and Marquerite Hicks purchased the store from George and Janie Strack in January 1946. When the store was bought, it had groceries in one department with a soda fountain and dry goods in another area. Glen later added hardware in an area that used to be a pool hall.

All transactions were added up by hand. During the winter, people from all over the area would gather around the pot-bellied coal stove that was located in the rear of the store. Hicks would stay open until at least 10 p.m. on Saturday nights.

A total of eight members from the Hicks family helped operate the business during its 75-year run. Glen and Marquerite operated the store for the first nine years before son Jack Hicks and wife Mary moved to Bellflower to help out with the business. Jean and Bill Earnest – Glen and Marquerite’s daughter and son-in-law -- joined the staff in 1959.

After Glen and Marquerite retired in 1965 and the Earnests moved to Florida two years later, Jack and Mary went on to manage the store for 15 years. When Jack died in 1982, Mary shared managing duties with son Ted, who started working full time for the store in 1973. After Mary retired in 2009, Ted teamed up with son Andy to become the store managers.

Hicks had its own truck to deliver eggs and chickens to St. Louis and picked up groceries, hardware and farm supplies to bring back to the store. When the store’s suppliers started delivering goods to the store, the truck was no longer needed and it was sold in 1975.

A 1973 Montgomery County High graduate, Ted Hicks said he enjoyed being part of the family business for nearly 50 years.

“It’s been fun,” he said.