State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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91_HR0197

 
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 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.

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