

Montcalm
County 4-H’er
Chairman Emeritus, Meijer, Inc.
“I think if young people can have responsibility and feel needed, it’s a wonderful thing.”
Millions of people
know Fred Meijer the entrepreneur and Fred Meijer the philanthropist.
It’s time they got to know Fred Meijer the 4-H’er. Born and
raised on his family’s 96-acre farm in Greenville, Meijer was one
of the original members of Montcalm County’s Burgess Lake 4-H Club
which today is led by the grandson of its founder, the late Walt Taylor.
Young Meijer raised cows for his 4-H projects, earning the opportunity
to show his prize Guernsey at the Montcalm County Fair. Ironically, the
Guernsey went to the
Montcalm County Fair with Fred, but went to the Detroit Fair without Fred
who was ill and stayed home. In 1934, Meijer went to work for his father,
Hendrik, at North Side Grocery, the original Meijer store located on the
western edge of Montcalm County. North Side Grocery became Meijer Thrift
Market, with a second store opening in 1942 at which time Fred was made
a full business partner. During World War II, Meijer was drafted, but
rejected by the Army due to a small hernia. Meijer Super Market operations
expanded to three different cities in 1946, the same year Meijer married
Lena Rader, a former cashier at the North Side Grocery. Today, 181 Meijer
stores employ more than 65,000 workers in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky
and Illinois.
Philanthropy
has become synonymous with Fred Meijer. Many Meijer stores are annual
contributors to 4-H, donating products and cash resources through their
Community Rewards Programs to 4-H clubs across Michigan. A founding donor
of the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Meijer is also a patron
of the Greenville Area Foundation, the Lakeview Foundation and Greenville’s
Spectrum Health United Memorial Hospital. Businessman and benefactor,
Meijer resides with his wife in Grand Rapids.



