For nearly 50 years, Store 60 has thrived alongside its hometown.
When Walmart came to Troy, Missouri, in 1974, the town hadn’t yet installed its first traffic light. The population was only about 2,500 people.
Picture it: Polyester was the fashion fabric of choice and bell-bottom pants were in style. People were grooving to Top 40 hits like Barry White’s “Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up” and Stevie Wonder’s “Living For the City” on the radio. On the roads, you might spot a Pontiac Firebird, a Chevy Camaro or a Plymouth Valiant.
Humble Beginnings
Josh Ferrell, a team lead at Store 60 in Troy, says the town’s Walmart started out as a Division 1 store, opening in 1974 in the new Lincoln Shopping Center.
“It started small,” Josh shares. “Everybody knew everybody.”
Josh, who has been with Store 60 for 32 years, says that since its opening, the store has moved three times and grown into a supercenter. The current location opened in 1995.
When Josh started at Store 60 just after high school, he was a cart pusher. There were fewer than 100 associates at the store at that time.
Today, Troy has a population of more than 12,000—growth that Josh says was fueled by Walmart’s arrival. “There was nothing out here, and when Walmart came, it just started growing,” he says.
John Shear, Store 60’s store manager, says the store, which now has 350 associates and 140,000 square feet of space, is smaller than the average Walmart supercenter.
“We’re actually a relatively small store, but sales for square feet is pretty big,” he explains.
Hometown Pride
Though the town of Troy is on the outskirts of St. Louis, it still has a small hometown feel, John says. The store is involved with the community, works with the town and supports the police department. Over the years, it has supported surrounding communities through natural disasters like floods and tornadoes.
"There's just a great sense of pride in the store and that civic pride in the city of Troy."
— John Shear
“A lot of our customers know our associates by name,” he says.
As one of the longest-serving associates at Store 60, Josh says he helps mentor new associates when they join Walmart. His top advice? Be patient and listen to people.
“Everything changes every day,” he says. “You have to be ready to change because Walmart is always changing for the better.”
Staying Power
John says he believes store meetings and consistent levels of communication have kept associates coming back. The store’s longest-serving associate, Beverly Menne, has been with the store for 44 years!
John, who joined Store 60 in January after 25 years with Walmart, says the store has seven associates with 30 or more years of service with the company including:
- Beverly Menne, Stocking 1, 44 years
- Debra Fieth, Vision Center, 39 years
- Kathy Williams, Stocking 1, 35 years
- Kimberly Lavy, Overnight Stocking, 33 years
- Delores Penrod, Pharmacy, 33 years
- Joshua Ferrell, Stocking 1, 31 years
- April Browne, Pharmacy, 30 years
He says the associates work well together as a team, helping the store deliver successful results.
“There's a love not just for the store, but also for the community,” John says. “There's just a great sense of pride in the store and that civic pride in the city of Troy.”
As we celebrate Walmart’s 60th anniversary, we’re featuring stores and stories from around the Walmart World.
