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103-109 E. Ludington Ave. It is the direct descendant of the Big Store, at 102 S. Gaylord, then Main St. the mill store of the Pere Marquette Lumber Company. As the city moved eastward, the mill store closed, and this store was opened as the centerpiece of the new downtown. It was owned in 1900 by Loppenthein, Rath, and Cartier, and this expanded to the Busy Big Store. In the 1920s and 30s it was owned by Rye and Washatka. Part of the building was the post office, it was from this location that rural mail delivery was started, and the only post offfice burglary was staged. Upstairs, The Record was a printing business and the home of a poineer newspaper. After the Busy Big went out of business, Montgomery Ward occupied the whole building.
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