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Show 4F Lakeside Review, Wednesday, October 30, 1985 R.C. Willey began business from back of ARLENE HAMBLIN Review 4 correspondent SYRACUSE An entrepreneur, says Webster, is one who organizes a business undertaking, assuming the risk for the sake of the profit. Words synonymous are manager, contractor, producer and businessman. All of these words apply in describing the founder of the R.C. Willey Furniture, TV and Appliance Store. Rufus Call Willey was bom Jan. 12, 1900 in Syracuse, Utah, the town which would later be identified with the Willey name. Now if you ask a person whether he is familiar with Syracuse, he will likely answer one of two ways: I know where R.C. Willeys is, or Ive been through there going to Antelope Island. The business grew from the' back of a small red pickup truck to the present facility which boasts over 100,000 square feet. Willey, or R.C. as he was called by his friends, was experienced in the electrical field, having worked for some time for Utah Power and Light. Armed with this knowledge, he was able to supplement his income by doing electrical wiring jobs throughout the area. Selling came easy to Willey, whose friendly, honest, outgoing manner made him a natural. Realizing his ability for salesmanship, he would drive his pickup truck to Salt Lake City and buy appliances, load the back of his truck and go selling the merchandise and doing " S i f . - dk 'ft' "U-- "He started...out of the back of that old pickup truck...He wouldn't come home until the truck was empty." Helen Willey Barber In 1950, a local contractor was hired to build a 20- - by display room, which meant no more selling and was a major step forward in Willeys merchandising. The business continued to prog30-fo- ot door-to-do- or ress. Soon Willeys double garage no longer accommodated his truck and automobile, but out of necessity for more storage room it was used for warehousing appliances. In 1952, sixty-tw- o ranges, refrig- erators and washers went up in smoke. A fire had completely destroyed the double garage. But Willeys positive attitude would see him through this setback. He immediately started construction on a larger cinder-bloc- k warehouse, big enough for all his shown here in his original cramped, 20- - by 30- foot showroom, made the most of what little floorspace he R.C. Willey, appliances and the pickup and automobile, but soon the vehicles were outside again to make room had. Willey prided himself on the service he offered his cus- tomers, and was known for honesty and integrity. In addition, R.C. Willey opened Increased sales during the 60s his family, but by everyone the R.C. Willey Company. For some time. Child had been mandated more storage space as had a dealing with the adwould who salesman exceptional using his garage as a display well as more display area and be long remembered for his honroom for living room furniture ditional sales and office personand taking orders for kitchen sets nel. esty, integrity and generosity. The year 1963 saw the installafrom a sample set he used for a Against the advice of many, tion of eight private phone lines desk. Helen Willey, who had learned which was quite a contrast to the more was that inevitable It only that success took hard work and eight-part- y line Willey began determination and a certain display room would be added, with. y 1958 in another of and July amount of risk, made the deciaddition was completSucceeding years have brought sion to keep the business. about additional improvements ed. In 1958, Lowell Hansen and Just 13 months later another including the acquisition of LaMar Sessions formed their own addition was completed, this time 125,000 feet of warehouse space expansion. at the Freeport Center, greatly excompany, S and H Service, and it was a 70- - by contracted to do the service work the this time inventory in- panded departments in the SyraBy cuse Store. on all major appliances sold by cluded carpeting. ly by who had for a bulging inventory. The next two years saw Willey and Helen doing some extensive traveling at appliance manufacturers expense. They saw Hawaii, Mexico, Bermuda and many vacation spots in the U.S. Due to illness in the spring of 1953, the business was turned electrical repairs. over to Willeys His wife, now Helen Willey William H. Child and LaMar Ses-- " Barber, says, He started the sions, who had worked closely in business out of the back of that building the business for the past old pickup truck in 1932. He seven years. R.C. Willey died on Sept. 3, wouldnt come home until the truck was empty. 1954. His passing was felt not on- door-to-do- or 40-b- store in an additional, multi-levfor cuswith an escalator Murray tomer convenience. el We are still striving to make ' our business...not just another furniture store, but the most exciting store in America, said Bill Child. 60-fo- ot son-in-la- 70-fo- ot Its our goal to be the best when it comes to price, quality, selection and service, and to maintain the same friendly country image that we had over 50 years ago. j has expanded many times over many years and continues to make im- R.C. Willey provements to meet customers needs both its Syracuse and Murray stores. in ' R.C. Willey began his operation in the back of a pickup truck, but soon had Freeport Center: no white elephant r enough capital behind him to build this modest showroom. . 544-034- Review correspondent CLEARFIELD Freeport Center Largest Distribution Center in United States reads the sign as you enter Clearfields city within a city. Spread over 700 acres are manufacturers and distributors of everything from cotton balls to bowling balls. Many of the more than 70 ma- jor tenants business names are common household words such as Del Monte Corporation, Hercules, Inc. and Rossignol Ski Co. Most people know about Freeport and usually have some type of connection with it, said Ste phen L. Barrett, director of economic development. Many people usually have a family member or friend working there or have worked there themselves, he said. With an estimated 4,500 employees and estimated annual payroll of $80 million, Freeport is a major contributor to the city and county economy. Were the largest taxpayer in Davis County," said Barrett. Freeport also creates a lot of s such as sales taxes, and has a solid impact on restaurants and housing, said Barrett. The majority of Freeports employees live within a radius, he added. Instead of being a white elephant, Freeport has turned into a thriving enterprise, said Barrett, reflecting on the sites history. First built as the Clearfield Naval Supply Depot, the site was purchased and built for $37 million complete with 84 wood and concrete buildings housing 191 acres of storage space. The depot was built in the 1940s to serve as support during World War II as a major naval distribution point, according to spin-off- 10-mi- le , (FORMERLY) THE VIDEO SHOP sell Schumaker of Oakland, Calif, bought 6.5 million feet of storage space for $5.7 million, thus begin- ning Freeports road to fullfilling its claim as the manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution hub of the West. Barrett said that one of the major factors attributed to getting Freeport going was the Freeport Law, which was added to Utahs constitution on July 1, 1965. This law was passed making no inventory taxes assessed on any inventory stored within the state, Barrett. a key factor still bringing in new In 1963, the government sold businesses today. the property as surplus at an aucWhen Freeport was purchased, tion, said Barrett. Purchaser Rus- - it was virtually empty, said Barrett. But between 1963 and 1967, over 6 million square feet of space spread over 600 acres were filled with about 97 percent distribution businesses. In 1971, Freeport Associates, with owners Robert OBlock and Gordon Olch, purchased the center and added an addition 1.3 million feet along with 135 acres for expansion. During his nine years at Freeport, Barrett has seen the change from distribution to more than 65 percent manufacturing busi- YOUR VIDEO SPECIALTY STORE LIMIT ONE PER CUSTOMER nesses. Of utmost importance is education, said Barrett. He said businesses really look at the state's vocational education programs when they consider coming here. Barrett says Utah is doing a pretty good job in vocational training. We have to continually work with education, he said. photo by Robert Regan The Freeport Center, Clearfields was originally a U.S. Navy supply city-wit- h- depot. It is now an expanding manufactur-in-a-citing and merchandising facility. y, 2 IN KAYSVILLE Anything from cotton balls to bowling balls made or distributed there CHERILYN KAWA t Barrett markets Utahs pluses through direct mail advertising and by sponsoring events with the state and with local chambers of commerce. ) A ) |