ARCHIVES: Sam Walton Visits Peru Walmart 1989

Thirty years ago Sam Walton made a trip to the Walmart in Peru and longtime employee Shirley Miller, now retired, regrets she didn't meet him that time. However, she did meet him later while she was still an employee.

"I was off the day Sam visited the Peru store," said Miller, an Oglesby resident who worked for the company for 33 years. "Sam traveled to different stores in a red pickup truck. ... Everyone always had a good word for him."

Walton founded Walmart in 1962. The Peru Walmart opened April 1, 1986 in the building now occupied by Hobby Lobby and Dollar Tree. The store relocated to its current, larger location north of Interstate 80 off of Route 251 on Aug. 13, 2007.