WILLIAM T. GRANT 1876 - 1972HOWIT ALL BEGAN... “Looking back to the earliest days that I can remember, it seems to me that I always wanted a store,” wrote William T. Grant years ago. Born in 1876 to Parents of Scotch, Dutch, and French ancestry, Mr. Grant attended high school for two years and then took a job selling shoes in his home town of Malden, Massachusetts, He soon began moving up ie Under Sameer wid ended he gue department of a Boston department store when he was only 19. In 1906, his hopes came true—the store he had dreamed of came into being. Mr. Grant’s know-how, plus a unique ability to win the enthusiastic loyalty of those with whom he worked, made that first store an immediate success. For even before there were too many stores to come under the management of one man, Mr. Grant's faith in his employees led him to encourage them to take responsibility for their own departments in the store. This encouraging beginning led to a second store within two years, and ever since then, the Grant Family has continued to grow. Confident of the abilities of his management group, after 18 years as President of the Company, Mr. Grant relinquished this office and continued to guide his ever-expanding corporation as Chairman of the Board of Directors until June 27, 1966, his 90th birthday, when our Founder announced his decision to retire as Chairman and Director of the Company. In an unprecedented gesture of fondness, admiration and respect, Mr, Grant was unanimously elected Honorary Chairman of the Board for life. eyes Co eae cauid bela ween son project which would further the healthy growth of our nation, Mr. Grant in 1936 established The Grant Foundation, Inc., devoted to the advancement of mental health in children and young people. In 1951 Mr. Grant was elected to Distribution’s Hall of Fame by the Boston Conference on Distribution which pointed to his success story as “an example of how a small merchant can build a great chain enterprise through application of sound principles of merchandising.” As a result of his concern for the younger generation, he received the rst annual Jacob Marley Award for service to mankind from the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of New York in 1957. In 1947 Bates College in Maine presented him with the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws and in 1960 the University of Miami gave him the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. At a testimonial dinner held in his honor by close to 1000 store managers, home office and field organization executives, on the occasion of the Company's 50th Anniversary in 1956, Mr. Grant reiterated his childhood conviction about the thrill of retailing. He said, “I know of no other business which could give a man so much action, so much challenge, so much satisfaction and so rich a reward for good service to the community than this wonderful business of ours. I have enjoyed every minute of” And we too can marvel at the enormous benefits of this man’s dream which has radiated into the lives of so many people; at the economic good which has developed through his fierce competitive spirit, helping to make the marketplace a shopper's dream, and at his quiet, tnannounced benefactions which proved that business has heart as well'as chart,Mr. Grant invested his life savings of $1000 to open this, his first store. The year: 1906. The cit ‘Lynn, Massachusetis. Mr. Grant’s passing leaves me with a great sense of personal loss. His sage advice and counsel over the many years of our association were of inestimable value to me and to our Company. He loved all Grant people and was a great teacher. The principles he espoused account in great measure for the advances made in our Company's growth and development even in the years following his active participation in our Company’s management. He leaves us a splendid heritage. Upon it, we will continue to work together to build an even greater Grant Company! There is no greater tribute we could pay to our beloved founder or anything that would please him more. DS, p While 1 was privileged to know Mr. Grant personally but a shfrt time, I have profited by study of his many writings on Grant Company management philosophy. I gained deep insight into his high regard for the importance of people, and of the need for supervisors to constantly help personnel by working with them on common problems and opportunities. This philosophy was an obvious key to ‘Mr. Grant’s success, It is now, and will always be a precept of Grant Company management. geeMr, Grant is shown here after receiving an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Bates College in 1947. Miami University, in presenting Mr. Grant with an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in 1960, cited him as follows: “WILLIAM THOMAS GRANT: Imaginative merchant, philanthropist, enthusiast in art and archeology. His New England forebears, dating back to the first years of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, followed for nearly three centuries the traditional ways of hard-working farm people. Son of a flour miller, he himself never finished high school. But his native energy and inventiveness came to maturity at a time when his country was ripe for new methods to meet vastly expanding needs. His contribution was the concept of the store proprietor as being buyer for the public, permitting customers to make their own unguided selections. Pioneer of this nowadays familiar and important trade practice, he built a nationwide mercantile structure in 18 strenuous years, placed it in the hands of his colleagues, and began an equally strenuous retirement, Because he has devoted his later years and his means in fruitful social service, particularly the promotion of mental health among children, and because he has balanced his marketplace pursuits with a creative part in oil painting, photography and archeology, I present WILLIAM THOMAS GRANT for the Degree of Doctor of Humane Leiters.””“T deeply appreciate the help you have given me over the years in making my youthful dream of becoming a merchant come true...” a Vii fits Mr. Grant’s talks, often impromptu and always l remembered by many as a great source of inspir He “took the cake” at opening of our 500th store in 1953. Mr. Grant sparkled at celebrations such as this and particularly enjoyed being surrounded by “my wonderful girls.” The never-to-be-forgotten occasion of our Company's Golden “If you don’t love this business,” he'd tell Assistant J Anniversary in 1956. Managers, buyers, and executives “get out now. Nobody should work at anything unle: gathered to pay tribute to Mr. Grant. loves it.” |le loved to entertain, graciously assisted by his eautiful “Grant Girl.” He married his Secretary, he charming Beth Bradshaw, in 1930. On the boardwalk in Atlantic City in 1925. Zestful, jaunty, and a life-long optimist. Mr. Grant liked nothing better than to pop in at a store that’s our Founder! unannounced, He'd stroll about chatting with the girls, visit with the Manager (above, Herb Lapham of New Haven), and invariably include a stop for a Grant hot dog during his tour. are é ers, This relatively recent photograph of our Founder was snapped at a casual meeting in ruly Mr, Grant’s home, He is pictured with Chairman of the Board Edward Staley (center) and President Richard Mayer,