Watch Illinois Kmart Stores Go From Boom to Bust in Video

There was a time that only a few remember when nearly every Illinois town had a Kmart store. That era has ended, but a nostalgic video shows how the chain went from boom to bust in the Land of Lincoln.

This was the empty Kmart store in Quincy, Illinois only a few years ago

Kmart played a very important role in my life. It was my first job when I was 16 when I was a stockman. The following year I would begin this crazy radio journey, but it was in a local Kmart that my first official job happened. There was something different about those Kmart stores back in the day that you won't find in modern day Walmart stores. I can't put my finger on it, but the vibe was different. It maintained a very 1960's/1970's feeling in the stores even into the 80's and 90's and maybe that is why Kmart eventually failed. Still, for many of us that remember when you couldn't go into a town in Illinois without seeing one of their stores, Kmart remains a very pleasant memory that is sadly fading into the distant past now.