Cooper Building | Since 1922

The Cooper Building has a long and colorful history. Sold to Sicilian Salvatore “Sam” Calderone in 1915, it was home to the first supermarket in Mercer County. Although the existing building, with its fruit and vegetable cellars and upstairs family apartments, was remodeled in 1922, the original home of Calderone’s Super Market was a white wooden shop on the corner.

In the 1960s, Salvatore’s daughter sold the building to Gene Cooper—a young radio repairman and salesman looking to open his own store. Cooper TV & Appliance became a household name—anyone who grew up in Aledo during the 60s, 70s, and 80s probably bought their first album, 8-track or cassette at Cooper TV & Appliance. The business evolved with the times, expanding into record sales, stereos, camcorders, and VCRs. He retired in 1993 after running his business for 40 years.

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Salvatore Calderone was born in 1875 in Termini, Sicily. After a childhood spent raising sheep and harvesting olives, he and his young family immigrated through Ellis Island in 1911. Salvatore worked on the Wabash Railroad in Chicago before relocating to Galesburg and starting a fruit and vegetable truck. Just a few years later, he bought a building in Aledo to open the county’s first supermarket. He was known for marketing his potatoes, apples, and bananas on the first Ford truck in Mercer County. While rebuilding his store in 1922, he moved the old wooden structure into the street so that he could continue selling his produce. After his retirement in 1949, the building was home to a couple of businesses, but never sold until Calderone’s daughter chose Gene Cooper over a few older and wealthier bidders—Cooper’s youthful determination reminded her of her father’s journey to success.

Gene Cooper was born in 1926 in Little York, Illinois, and was involved with TV and radio services throughout his life. He began as a radio repairman, working in Joy for Noble’s Radio Shop in the late 1940s. As televisions became more common, he learned how to service them as well. His first sales venture was a partnership in the 50s, but in 1963 he decided to open his own store, offering both sales and service.

Cooper always had a thorough knowledge of electronics and an astonishing ability to remember details about his customers and their purchases. In addition to running Cooper TV and Appliance, Gene Cooper was very involved with the community. During his life, he was vice president and then president of WRMJ radio station, president of the Aledo Retail Association (Aledo Area Chamber of Commerce), and served 12 years as a Mercer Township Trustee.

Cooper’s daughter later reminisced about her childhood in Aledo, saying that she and her brother were “almost permanent fixtures uptown, buying penny candy at the dime store, a bottle of 10 cent orange pop at Zeke’s liquor store, and comic books at Stut’s. And we always ran to grab the latest surveys from WLS naming the top 50 songs each week!” She continued with praises for her father’s success, saying, “but mostly, it was about my dad—how he built this business, beginning as a radio repairman in the 50s, and then deciding to pursue his ambitious dream of owning his own business selling and repairing TVs and Appliances. He is a shining example of a self-made man.”