18. Leslie O. Anderson

Leslie Anderson was born in Carlisle in 1892, while his father was employed there at D.L. Chamberlin’s general store. He grew up in the grocery business and joined his father as a partner in Anderson’s Market at age twenty-one in 1913, when they bought out Towle & Kent’s establishment. He spent a lifetime as a successful grocer on the Milldam.

Leslie attended Concord schools and Massachusetts State College, later serving in World War I as a member of the Neuro Psychiatric Unit of the U.S. Army Medical Corps. In 1920 he married Esther Howe Wheeler, thus uniting two prominent, civic-minded Concord families. Together with their three children, the Andersons lived for many years on the Wheeler Farm. In addition to being the proprietor of Anderson’s Market, Leslie belonged to a number of local organizations, among them the Rotary, the Elks, the American Legion, the Massachusetts Retail Grocers’ Association, and the Concord Chamber of Commerce. He was also active in Mill Dam affairs.

At Anderson’s, Leslie’s talent for merchandising and management were apparent. Combined with his father’s experience and conscientious manner of doing business, the Market had decades of success, in spite of competition from other Concord grocery stores. To a foundation of solid business practices, Lars and Leslie Anderson added top quality products, creative marketing, and a tradition of excellent customer service.