Cornelius Dekker was a watchmaker. He opened a jewelry store in The Netherlands in 1850. In 1876, his son Dirk Henry Dekker immigrated to Zeeland and opened a grocery store in front of his house at 37 E. Main Ave.
Affectionately known as “Dickie the Druggist,” Van Bree was a pharmacist, merchandiser and landlord. His first drug store was located in a two-story building near the southwest corner of Main Avenue and present-day S. Elm Street.