Chattanooga Free Press of Publisher Roy McDonaldRoy Ketner McDonald, founder of the Chattanooga Free Press, was a man with the common touch, yet he was a very uncommon man. This newspaper is a continuing chapter of his lengthy and varied civic legacy.
The McDonalds were grocers. Roy McDonald’s father, Frank, had operated the Rolly Red Stores – little groceries on wheels – and later was involved in the White Stores in Knoxville. Roy, the first of six children, was trained by his father to calculate items of stock in his head. Sometimes Frank would purposely make a mistake, but young Roy was sharp and would catch him.
Born in 1901, Roy attended Central High, traveling by streetcar from home in St. Elmo. He had a paper route and gave conductors free copies to win their favor, a strategy he would find helpful throughout his life. At Central, he loved bookkeeping. After a year and a half at Georgia Tech, he was no longer challenged, and was needed to help in his father’s business. Teenager Roy came home to a future in the grocery game.
By 22, he had opened his own store – the Home Store – in the 400 block of Market Street. Many locations followed, mostly of the small neighborhood variety, just what was needed for people who walked to the store. In time, Roy and a raft of managers ran 71 Home Stores. He gave tons of food away to the needy.
A few years into the Great Depression, Roy and a friend thought they ought to start a “shopper” to advertise goods sold at Home Stores. Roy, who had come to be called “Mr. Roy,” a term of friendship, yet respect, began to tell others of the plan for a shopper.