DESCENDANTS OF CONRAD KRESGE -THE STORY OF A SMALL TWIG This is the story of two families. One founded an empire that at one time was the second largest retail store chain in North America. The other a very small twig of that family tree. The first family became obscenely rich. The other has a few nickels to rub together but is rich in experiences and travels. We are all descendants of Conrad Kresge who came to America in the 1740 s. His great-great grandson Sebastian Sperle Kresge founded the S.S. Kresge Company in 1897. His stores proliferated throughout the 20th century eventually becoming Kmart in 1962. Its rise and fall told from that time until its predicted demise in 2018. Their story also parallels a unique time in American history starting near the beginning of the 20th century. Inventions like the automobile telephone airplane phonograph radio and motion pictures that would shape the coming century were in their infancy. Rural America was transforming to an urban and suburban country.