The Bowers-Schweitzer Company opened a new business in Rigby, Idaho on May 16. 1903. The business was named “The Golden Rule Store” and was the second mercantile store in the growing community of Rigby. The part owner and manager of the new store was H. A. Schweitzer.

H. A. Schweitzer was born on a farm in Ohio in 1867. He spent his first 17 years on the farm and then moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. He began to work for a large dry goods business called the Alms and Doepke Company. He worked for them for many years until he decided to head west. He arrived in St. Anthony, Idaho of the 4^th of May, 1901. He worked for the Boston Store in St. Anthony for awhile and also sold jewelry for a Mr. Ashcraft.

In the spring of 1903 he went into partnership with B.C. Bowers who ran the Golden Rule Store in St. Anthony, Idaho. The partnership opened “The Golden Rule Store” in Rigby in May of 1903 and Mr. Schweitzer ran the store for the partnership. The use of the name “Golden Rule” on a store appears to have been a franchise name that anyone could use on their store if you paid a fee. The business prospered and in 1907 they added an addition to the building. By 1913 they had outgrown the addition so they added a second story to the building. This large two story building also served as a warehouse for their new branch store that they opened in Ririe, Idaho. The store was one of the busiest in the Rigby area for many years but had to close its doors in October of 1925. The store was located on the south side of main street and has since been torn down. A new building was built on the site and is now a Ben Franklin store.

As far as I have been able to determine the Rigby store was not one of the ones owned by the J.C. Penny Company which bought out and ran a large number of the Golden Rule stores in the west. I know the J.C. Penny Company opened a store in Rigby in 1924 which may have contributed to the demise of the Rigby Golden Rule store in 1925..

There were a number of different advertising items given out or sold by “The Golden Rule Store” of Rigby. They had crockery made with their name imprinted on it. I have also seen calender plates, reverse paintings on glass as well as tokens from the store. I have only seen one advertising item from The Golden Rule store in Ririe.

The token I have from the business says “The / Golden Rule / Store / Rigby, / Idaho”. It is octagonal, aluminum and measures 26 mm. The reverse is “Good For / cts 5 cts / In Merchandise” and is pictured with this article. According to John Mutch there are two of the 5c denominations known and one or possibly two of the 25c denomination known among collectors. They all are the same size, shape and all made of aluminum. There is one example in the Jefferson County Historical Museum in Rigby but I'm not sure what the denomination is. I'll try and find out and report on it next month.

John Mutch also noted that H.A. Schweitzer died in 1929 and is buried in Rigby.

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