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91_HR0197
LRB9106540KBkb
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives wish to congratulate the many Jewel Food
4 Stores within the State of Illinois, that this year celebrate
5 100 years of serving people; and
6 WHEREAS, Frank Ross and Frank Skiff incorporated the
7 Jewel Tea Company in 1899; with $700 start up money, the
8 small business sold tea and coffee door to door from the back
9 of horse-drawn wagons; by 1909 the business had expanded to
10 hundreds of routes across the country, with Jewel Route Men
11 visiting their customer's homes every two weeks and assessing
12 their needs; and
13 WHEREAS, Jewel Tea Company had 850 routes and sales of
14 over $8 million by 1915; the concept of "advancing the
15 premium" was introduced in 1919; customers were given sets of
16 Haviland China if they promised to keep shopping with the
17 Jewel Company; and
18 WHEREAS, The Green River Ordinance of 1932 prohibited
19 sales people from calling at homes and soliciting business
20 without an invitation; the company decided to experiment with
21 a pilot group of stores; Maurice Karker, Jewel President from
22 1924 to 1942, bought 77 stores that had been previously
23 operated by Loblaw in Chicago to begin the program; and
24 WHEREAS, The history of Jewel continued: in the late
25 1930s, Chicago area housewives were interviewed and asked
26 what they wanted from a food store and their comments were
27 written as the Jewel 10 Commandments, a list telling
28 customers what to expect from the company; and
29 WHEREAS, During World War II a restriction was placed on
30 canned goods, and Jewel set a new initiative by selling
31 frozen food, and thus starting a new industry; by the 1950's
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1 Jewel had become a major part of the Chicago area, opening 32
2 new stores and creating a new headquarters; in the 1960's
3 Jewel added "Red Carpet Service", "Miracle prices", in-store
4 bakeries, and the Chef's Kitchen; and
5 WHEREAS, By the 1970's the Pier 14 Seafood Shops were
6 becoming a part of the Jewel stores growing list of customer
7 services; the 1980's brought a new logo and the purchase of
8 Jewel and Osco by American Stores; a Jewel Food Store also
9 had a cameo appearance in "The Blues Brothers" when it was
10 partially destroyed during a car chase in the movie; and
11 WHEREAS, The Preferred Customer Program, the introduction
12 of President's Choice labeled food, and expanded recycling
13 efforts all became part of the Jewel story in the 1990's; and
14 WHEREAS, Jewel/Osco is the State of Illinois' largest
15 private sector employer; and
16 WHEREAS, In celebration of the 100th anniversary of
17 Jewel, "The Big Cart" was introduced in the Chicago St.
18 Patrick's Day parade and will be making appearances in other
19 parades throughout 1999; a special 100-page edition of the
20 Chicago Tribune with the history of Jewel was also published;
21 and
22 WHEREAS, This year Jewel/Osco employees will donate
23 100,000 hours of public service in the various communities
24 that Jewel calls home; Jewel is proud to be partnered with
25 the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the Museum of Science
26 and Industry, The Alevio Medical Center, United Way, and the
27 Illinois High School Athletic Association in showing their
28 commitment to the community; therefore, be it
29 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
30 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
31 we congratulate Jewel on their 100th anniversary; we wish the
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1 company and its many employees continued good wishes for the
2 future; and be it further
3 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
4 presented to The Jewel Company.