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Hy-Vee Food Stores
The Early Years in Lamoni, Iowa

In 1917, the R.L.D.S. church acquired the Lamoni mill which had been in operation since around the year 1880. The Church then purchased the Lamoni Store House or The Storehouse in June of 1917. It is believed that David VREDENBURG was one of the five men who purchased the store. The store was incorporated as the General Supply Company on June 27, 1922 with David VREDENBURG as its president. Charles HYDE was a member of the board of directors.

In September of 1922, the General Supply Company bought the HINDRIKS Hardware building, which was located next door. The wall dividing the two buildings was torn down. A department store was built on the two plots.

Charles HYDE and his family moved to Lamoni in August of 1924. Having learned the meat-cutting trade in Kansas City, Missouri, Charles began work in the meat department of General Supply Company's store around the first of September, 1924. He purchased his own meat market in Cameron, Missouri. By 1927, the HYDES had saved enough money to purchase half-interest in a store located in Kellerton, Iowa. David VREDENBURG, who was the president of the General Supply Company, owned the other half-interest.

A few weeks before the stock market crash of October 29, 1929, HYDE and VREDENBURG bought their first store together in Beaconsfield, Iowa. Cecil NOFTSGER, who had headed the meat department in the Lamoni store, took over the management of the Beaconsfield store.

David bought the Lamoni Mill, Coal and Ice Company, once part of the General Supply Company, in May of 1931. With the economic turmoil of the Great Depression, the General Supply Company was dissolved in March of 1932. Adopting the name "Supply Store" and, later "Service Store," David and Charles continued to expand by adding stores to their chain. They bought the former DENIO & JONES' Kash & Karry Store of Lamoni in July of 1932 and renamed it VREDENBURG'S Grocery.

David improved coal storage facilities at the Lamoni Mill. He installed an electric cooling system in the Lamoni store and added a fresh meat counter. Meat was supplied from a farm located west of Lamoni and a slaughtering plant was established with a cooler and a preparation room. A newly purchased Ford panel delivery truck, dubbed "The Hearse," was the first delivery vehicle owned by the company. In September, the Lamoni store was renamed "HYDE and VREDENBURG."

In January of 1935, HYDE and VREDENBURG acquired a store in Osceola, Iowa. In 1936, they purchased the Wayne McFARLAND farm outside of Lamoni for their meat plant. Meanwhile, the Lamoni Mill began manufacturing its own line of poultry feed under the trade name "Happy Chick."

Charles and David rented office space in the Lamoni bank building and hired their first bookkeeper, Cora (LEVERSON) ROBERTS.

As the business grew, Charles and David purchased the south lumberyard grounds in Lamoni in 1937. Here they constructed the first company warehouse. The 120-foot building allowed for the relocation of their offices from the bank building, parking space for an expanding fleet of trucks, and storage space. The meat packing plant served as a centralized meat-cutting and distribution center for the other store in the chain.

The company established the HYDE and VREDENBURG Bakery, also known as S&S Bakery in Lamoni in December of 1938. Initially, the bakery had a capacity of 3,000 loaves of bread on a daily basis. It was expanded in 1939 with the addition of a wrapping room on the east end. By October of 1939, the bakery included eighteen kinds of pastries, sweet rolls, and doughnuts. It offered custom orders for birthday and wedding cakes and catering services.

On August 29, 1937, the employees gathered in the Lamoni City Park for the first HYDE and VREDENBURG summer picnic. The second annual picnic was held in the Lamoni Coliseum with 196 in attendance.

The company established the Lamoni Packing Company on October 15, 1939. A new slaughterhouse was built and opened early in 1941. Also, in 1941, the warehouse facility was expanded with the purchase of the TEALE Implement building. With the installation of a 12 x 80-foot cold storage room, three carloads of fruits and vegetables were kept at a constant 45-degree temperature. Three banana rooms were added in December.

A fire destroyed the Lamoni Mill on January 25, 1940. The east elevator of the Farmers Cooperative Seed and Grain Company was purchased to replace the old mill. The elevator was refitted with equipment and a basement was added to store two carloads of grain.

In honor of his wife Kate, who had died in May of 1940, David VREDENBURG purchased and donated the GRENAWALT Hardware building on Main Street to the city of Lamoni in April of 1941. The building was to serve as the Lamoni Public Library and the Boy Scouts on the second floor.

The company incorporated as Lamoni Industries in January of 1942.

During the War Years, Charles HYDE worked on the USO committee, with the American Red Cross, and served on the Decatur County draft board.

William Lea "Buddy" KELLEY, a former HYDE and VREDENBURG employee, was the first wartime casualty from Lamoni when he was killed in Louisiana at his training base.

The Lamoni Bakery closed on May 16, 1944, suffering from a shortage of staffing and wartime price controls. Also, in 1944, Chariton laid a main rail line. With the majority of the company's products being shipped by rail, access to a railroad was a major consideration. After eleven months of committee discussions and consideration, the board of directors voted on October 9th of 1945 to purchase the Chariton Wholesale building. The Lamoni Mill was sold in November of 1945. The former bakery building was sold to the R.L.D.S. Church in November and the warehouse was sold to Lea Kelley in December.

Corporate officer Ralph BAKER remained in Lamoni to manage the fresh produce distribution center until 1949. Then Ralph and the operation moved to Chariton. Lamoni Packing was sold on December 7, 1948.

The company purchased the Leon, Iowa, store in October of 1955. By this time, they owned stores in Grand River, Lineville, and Kellerton. In 1952, the stores were renamed "Hy-Vee," a combination of HYDE and VREDENBURG'S surnames.

The Lamoni store, which opened in August of 1932, has the longest continuous presence as a Hy-Vee Store in the chain.

Charles HYDE and his second wife Mabel resided in Lamoni for the remainder of their lives. Charles served as Lamoni's mayor from 1947 to 1949. A short time before his death in 1970, he resided in a Leon nursing home.

Charles HYDE (1883-1970) and David VREDENBURG (1884-1949) were both interred at Rose Hill Cemetery, located west of Lamoni. The Lamoni Chronicle noted on October 18, 1945, "Lamoni is happy to have played its part in the success of this concern and is very sorry to see the move made, however we are sure the men of this firm know what opportunities are ahead and we will be ever hopeful of their continued success in the new venture."

Hy-Vee's slogan "Where there's a helpful smile in every aisle" was adopted for the grocery store's first television commercial made in 1963.

In 2011, Hy-Vee, Inc. employed over 60,000 people, making it the largest employer in the State of Iowa. The annual sales was over $7.3 billion and ranked 48th on Forbes Magazine's annual list of the largest privately-owned companies in the United States. There are over 234 supermarkets located in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Corporate headquarters are located in West Des Moines, Iowa. Hy-Vee is employee owned.

SOURCES:
http://www.hy-vee.com/Company/History/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_Town
stores.org/category/hy-vee

Compiled and submitted by Sharon R. Becker, August of 2013; updated July of 2015

  • Hyde & Vredenburg, Inc., The Lamoni Chronicle, March 14, 1940, Lamoni IA

  • Hyde & Vredenburg, Inc., The Herald-Patriot, November 04, 1948, Chariton IA

  • Robert D. Bixby