THE STORY OF A MAIN STREET MERCHANT

[Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] hey have you forgotten that we have a date to babysit with your grandchildren well you'd better run along madge i'm expecting a call from tim spencer at the store besides i problems well no not exactly i guess i've been thinking about this wondering how i could answer it the big chief himself and a happy new year to you too mr penny dear mr maywood as we stand on the threshold of the year 1952 i'm sure that every manager in each of our more than 1600 stores shares with me a deep feeling of satisfaction as our organization enters the golden year of its existence the year's end of course means inventory time for us all but taking stock merchandise on hand but this particular year i'd like to think that each of us would prepare if only in his own mind another kind of inventory an inventory of achievement in terms of human values surely the beginning of our 50th year is a fitting time to re-evaluate the degree to which we have made the golden rule a reality in our dealings with each other and with the public a time to consider anew how the words on which our company was founded the words honor confidence service and cooperation have actually guided our lives and our achievements upon such an inventory we can base our approach to the future confident i believe that as part of the great community of merchants of our nation all of whom are serving it well and earnestly in the blessedness of freedom we can look to yesterday with pride and to tomorrow with abounding hope and trust that you will join me in thinking on these things i am sincerely yours jcpenney i understand well i know at least one manager who could write a book on the subject inventory for a golden year it's a fine idea match just in case you would like to refresh your memory on some items for that inventory i'll run along don't stay up too late darling [Music] so [Music] august 9 1926 [Music] hand me that [Music] what's that hmm so i'm a sentimentalist i got it at the church rummage sale on my way home from dr blair's 40 cents swedish what does it say there's no place like home i think anyway something like that and the last house it was in it stayed on one wall for 37 years and that's for me oh hey you saw dr blair and he said that if i can have a baby like stevie after all of the turmoil we went through moving 800 miles to get here then i can have another dozen without batting an eyelash now that we're all settled as he also said it'll be in march it'll be a girl that's a promise in fact steve is anything wrong i hate telegrams stephen maywood hebron indiana definite opening available clinton arkansas store salary is discussed must know at once ralph baker personnel department jcpenney company look man i know it counted on my going on in our law office right here and we'd agreed about not moving around but well i got to talking to this mr baker last week and he convinced me that this is well it's no ordinary setup you see being a lawyer is great match for the men who are right for it but i know no it's not what i really want to do i like selling and i can sell those summers i work part-time i found that out and merchandising is important madge as a service to the community even look this is the richest country in the world today and do you know why well you'll say manufacturing mass production most people do well that is part of the answer but only a part another part is distribution getting the manufactured goods into the hands of the people everywhere at a reasonable price and every merchant every man or woman who runs any kind of a store in this country today or even works in one is doing a vital and essential job why he's even more important than a head senator you got my vote already whom are you trying to sell yourself or me well after so much talk about my being a great lawyer someday i figured you might feel a little funny being married to a storekeeper oh i don't know it's another fella who started out as a store keeper did all right fellow named lincoln lincoln hey have a heart but seriously but seriously madge this this this penny outfit is really going places you know they've already got over 700 stores all over the country and each manager has real independence in his own store he even shares in the profits you mean you're going to be a manager well not exactly i uh start out as a clerk an associate they call it but then after four or five years i'll get transferred somewhere maybe even as an assistant manager somewhere somewhere else naturally then later i may get promoted to a bigger job i may even get my own store as manager again somewhere else well anyway at least you'll be getting more money even at the beginning not less well i told mr baker i'd have to talk it over with you uh i'll just tell him to forget the whole thing wait a minute i distinctly remember some words about for richer for poorer for better for worse and whichever this is steve if it's what you want well that's what we do sure magic sure huh there's no place like home says here match the moving and all you're sure match you won't be worried about oh now look i just got a telegram personal it says here that your daughter wouldn't think of being born anywhere but clinton kansas well that's going to make it tough well her mother's going to be in clinton arkansas [Music] clinton here we come 1926. so you're reporting are you mr maywood at 11 20 in the morning well i hope we didn't get you up too early no mr harkness for your information mr mayweather the hours of this store are from eight to six when i started in my first store with mr penny himself i worked from seven in the morning till we were through if it was midnight seven days a week of course i know better than to expect anything like that from a young man these days i came here to work mr harkness and i intend to in my day mr maywood we really learned this business we learned selling we learned display we learned everything we could learn about how to better serve our customers how do we do it we worked mr maywood yes sir you uh why did you take this job why because you want my job that's why you came here telling your wife that you were sure you'd be a manager in practice in no time didn't you well i didn't say manager and i didn't say how soon but i did tell madge i hope for a better job somewhere in the company oh you did yes sir well it's a darn good thing you did you see these five different men who worked for me and every one of them went to a key job somewhere in the organization i won't have a man in my store who doesn't aim to better himself or who i don't think could do it about you i don't know uh law school huh sure you can uh wrestle a packing case open with those lily white hands of yours anytime you want to try them sir we can both find out well it just so happens that we have a whole new shipment out back that just came in this morning uh go on get to work yes sir and mr maywood the next time you report for a new job on the first day be on time i intend to sir oh mr harkness uh do you know the date i was supposed to report to this job certainly i know it's 16. well this is the 15th i just stopped in today to say hello i'll get to those packing cases [Music] a very moving ahead be just like oled heart just cut his trip short one day just so we can catch you being late well ed harkness may seem like a simon will agree to you madge but i'd rather be that man's assistant manager than anybody's in the company with that man you can learn if you live through it besides it shows he has confidence in me he actually broke down and has left me in complete charge for two whole weeks oh these look beautiful aren't you having any no thanks oh bad morning well let's just say that mother doesn't feel like any pancakes in the morning well that part will be over soon and you'll feel better than ever thank you dr maywood you know i still can't believe it believe what well now that this house is as fixed as i can fix it we have the garden all planted removed our church membership made a lot of new friends and i'm going to have another baby now if all of that isn't a sure sign that we're going to move again then i'm greta garbo not a chance not this time i can promise you that hmm speaking of being settled there is one more thing that i do need and that's bedspread these in today's ads look like goodbyes oh they are hey how'd you like that ad i drew up fine you know i'm surprised you can sell this quality for 198. oh well you see sometimes our buyers can pick 198. those spreads are 398. [Music] honestly your father well it's my fault all right i wrote the ad wrong but what are we going to do i don't know i don't know it's opening time now mr maywood we could just put them all in the stockroom tell people they're all gone you know better than that bill whatever you decide i'm sure mr harkness will back you up yeah probably right against a wall it looks like rain maybe many people won't come out and those that do have a right to get what they came after well what are we going to sell them for heaven help us and please let it rain yourself for 198 open up [Music] let me congratulate you mr maywood you've established a new store record for bed spread sold on a single day rain or shine i'm sorry mr harkness you've managed to lose more money on one item than any individual who ever worked in this store through callousness mr maywood pure and simple i know sir and believe me it'll never happen again as long as i'm in this store no i'm darn sure it won't because as of saturday we'll be doing without your valuable services why you you can't do that mr harkness what well maybe i'm not one of the founding fathers like you but i know something about this company too mr harkness and one of the things it stands for is loyalty we pick people carefully for their jobs and once we pick them we back them up and we don't fire them for just one mistake who said anything about firing anybody let me read you a telegram that just happened to come about a half an hour ago from the company personnel department in new york you want to hear it all right offering stephen maywood management gordon city missouri should report november 12th salary 150 wire acceptance well how about it kid you want it i want it store of my own wait'll i tell madge gordon city 1929 to 1935. [Music] match will you bring cathy and come on the boys are in the car we're coming we've got a case of stage fright on our hands ever since she saw the program or she's afraid maybe we'd better hear her speech that you wrote after all all right let's hear it ready cassie uh-huh still want to do your practicing again uh-huh all right go and you stand right here pretend like this is the stage and daddy and i sit over here and be your audience come on daddy now darling there isn't going to be a chair on the stage my father's profession everybody knows my father has been manager of penny store for the past seven years he likes his job but i don't very much he sells stuff but not candy i wish he sold candy also he doesn't have a red truck like mr kaler at the paint store i like red trucks my father is on the school board and the chamber of commerce and besides lots of nights who works mommy said she would have done better to marry a railroad engineer i like engines my mother says every time we move to a new town she has a baby and if my daddy's store does enough business he might even get a better store so i hope all my friends will buy pennies they'll get more for their money and help my daddy at the same time and maybe i'll get it and maybe i'll get a baby brother i thank you is it all right daddy all right it's perfect come on something tells me i ought to stay home and start packing let's go and so to clarksville [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh ed i thought you went right home after the banquet i go home when i get ready i'm retiring not dying what are you doing here you're not taking over for me until tomorrow i always did report too early habit i picked up back in clinton i guess uh how's the new baby fine mad trying to just uh collecting a few personal things sure i ought to thank all of you for that dinner tonight i suppose so thanks you ought to know that i have no use for sentimental nonsense whole club spending money for a watch i already got a watch oh well give me that all that slabber nobody said anything that wasn't true ed no what about you ed harkness taught me everything i know about merchandising maybe i did you know darn well you did maybe i haven't said so steve but i'm i'm glad they picked you to take over for me here tell the truth i've been rooting for you ever since that day back in clinton time you told me off you don't forget do you no you know this um it's the fine stores to you oh could be better the right man could double this store's business in a few years oh i think you're aiming a little higher there for clarksville ed why am i look what's happened to the whole penny organization in the last few years it kept going ahead even in the depression i tell you steve we're on a threshold the country the town even the store and how far we go depends on how hard we want to get there aiming high maybe i am since when did you start aiming low maybe i just raised my sights well me for the lake those 12-pound trout catch a few for me ed yeah yeah steve yes don't ever forget one final test of a good manager is how will you train other men for leadership see to it that you fill up that wall i'll do what i can edit [Music] clarksville alumni 1936 [Music] 1948 [Music] so [Applause] [Music] hot rod maywood comes to justice 1948. [Music] and i i still can't understand what happened to the boy mr millywood i've looked again mr maywood there's no one on the balcony well thanks peter you run along we'll handle this right good night good night you see after he'd picked out practically a whole outfit of clothes for himself he said he wanted to slip in a dress for his mother for her birthday tomorrow hallie you should have taken him to the right department well i normally would have but it was after closing time and he seemed well embarrassed so i brought the things to him he liked them particularly the dress and he asked me to go and get another so i did and when i came back still no luck tim i looked everywhere again for the boy he can't be in the store oh i'm terribly sorry mr maywood certainly a woman of my experience should have known better hallie your record has been so good for so long i've begun to think you couldn't possibly make a mistake this just goes to prove you're human like the rest of us let me worry about it tim you make the deposit with you and stop at the police station ask sergeant garrett to call me here everybody out we may as well go along [Music] [Music] oh jeff looks like you got locked in yeah i i guess i did i i was trying to find the back door well shall we talk upstairs oh you better bring that take that easy son you see all the doors are locked jeff now we'll talk upstairs bring the bag [Music] [Music] uh i'll take that now what is all this what are you waiting for go ahead call the cops i wasn't in here by accident and you know it here tell them now they got mark shield's son too that's what they've been waiting for all of them have they jeff that's right my old man's a convict nobody in this town's ever let me forget it 12 years he got on three counts of grand theft well now they get his son for stealing two go on phone him what are you waiting for hello operator let me have the police station hello sergeant garrick this is steve maywood a sergeant did uh tim spencer get there yet oh he is well uh tell him to forget the whole thing it's all okay thanks good night what's the idea jeff you just mentioned a moment ago something about your father or maybe you got the whole thing turned around maybe it's you that won't let us forget about it you see jeff in a town of this size when one of our own people goes as far off base as your father did it isn't just he that's failed it's the whole town that's failed too we missed with you we'd like not to miss with you two town doesn't have to worry about me all i want to do is get away with stolen clothes leaving your mother needing all the help she can get mother can take care of herself all i'm interested in is me oh i believe hallie said you mentioned a birthday tomorrow what if i did [Applause] see what are you doing that comes to 12.43 the tax i haven't got it but we don't run charge accounts here we're on the basis of a loan from me to you purely personal i think we can handle it that is until you come in tomorrow who says i'm coming in tomorrow jeff do you still have that machine shop you you put up out at your place yeah you know that new car mine has never been adjusted right i think it's either the ignition or the carburetor a funny thing i still remember what roy crane told me at the high school best dude he ever had in auto shop for smelling out bugs in a motor was a kid named jeff shields well how about it you mean you mean you let me have your car now that's right and jeff if you could really get that shop of yours rolling what this town needs is is first class mechanics why right off hand i can think of a dozen customers for you to start out with that is if you can see your way clear staying around i don't know what to say don't say anything start remembering you're you and not a reflection of anybody else get that chip off there and start using that shoulder turning wrenches i'll turn them mr mayweath well i've got to get going oh here [Music] oh i just happen to think i give you these how am i going to get home you can borrow my car that is well it's a little souped up listen when i was your age i was driving a stutz bearcat so don't worry about me [Music] um [Music] [Applause] [Music] and where do you think you're going sonny boy mr maywood oh officer we finally caught up with the owner of this little job man 10 days we've been looking you see also i can explain that i said i could explain the whole i should hope you can't because this is all the charges outstanding against your car here no buffer no taillight license expired past four stop fights doing 70 to 20 miles out explain i figure since you're a prominent citizen it shouldn't take anymore in about 30 days but we'll let the judge decide that your license please [Music] hello oh yes yes tim you did well uh how close are we oh that's too bad well i guess it just wasn't our year to make it that's all you think so you sure we can still try all right a meeting at quarter of nine you light the fires and i'll see if i can add some fuel yeah goodnight and it does mean we'll have to go way over our regular quota for the day sure it does it means we'll have to do 1400 more than the biggest december 31st the store ever had but we've been pushing for months to to make this the year that our store would be double a and that extra 1400 will do it we can accomplish what mr maywood's been working for for 15 years well what do you all say can we do it we can do it great idea what have we got one of the best sales women in the company for hallie could put this over all by herself i don't know the whole week's been off and what about all the christmas returns well the shoe department can do it if anybody can uh every double sailor triple that's all we need that's right well what do you say mr maywood well i i told tim last night i didn't think it could be done but well you changed my mind tim's right i have waited a long time for our store to become a double a that may not mean much to people outside our company but i think you all know what it means within it to do that much business in a town of this size proves that we've done a service in the community that we've earned our growth actually to become a double a is only a symbol that's true after all it's symbols that we live by the right milestone can be mighty important in a life or a business now my personal quota for the day is 200 and i intend to triple it anybody think they can top that i can mr maywood larry it's a deal i'll sweep out the storeroom if i lose okay tim open up let's see if clarksville can make history good morning would you okay this please certainly thank you for tim how does this total look so far well everybody's trying but traffic's still thin so far we're even behind normal now good morning mr mayor hello steve my life phone this big going zone down here today that's right sounded to me like it was important for the town as well as for you so i'm here to help i need a tie a tie yeah you think the mayor of our town's gonna get away with just buying a tie oh i think i'll wait on you myself now i bought those four shirts three sweaters and six pairs of socks wait a minute all right this way mr mayor you know mayor you still shouldn't leave without a new top coat steve i came in here to buy a tie now have a heart all right this suit is positively the last all right mr maywood excuse me mr mayor it's picking up words got all over town we can still make it if it just doesn't rain [Music] i think this yarn should match it mrs maywood um thanks for bringing it hilda yeah yes just try that's good my that's pretty but i sure wouldn't want such a saying in my house my car wants to move enough is it this doesn't this mean there's no place like home oh no mrs maywood no no address errata it means to to travel is to learn to travel oh no and all of these years i still oh hilda don't tell mr maywood no okay i want i read this for you i did it i did it i called the mothers club the legion auxiliary and uh seven cub scout mothers they're here or will be i even sold myself on some shopping well don't stop at yarn buy buy a dress or something here are your things mrs maywood oh thanks larry let's see now two pair of shoes three dresses a coat uh curtains for your daughter and uh jeans for your grandchildren ninety three dollars and twelve cents you uh bought this all from larry everyone else was busy [Music] yeah we're running nearly a thousand behind as i figured mr maywood well if we don't make it nobody can say the whole town didn't help us try hey where's my book how can i sell stuff without a book dad i thought you were in florida oh nonsense i'm here and i'm raring to go give me a book come on give me a book you're not serious course i'm serious i could always outsell you or any man or woman that ever worked for me i how are we making out steve you gonna hit the quarter well until you came in i had my doubts but now i'm sure we're in all right where do i work general hey hey how about women's shoes always was my best line shoes it is women's shoes it is here you are i can fill six of these for 5 30. yes sir what on that wow foreign [Music] so [Applause] [Music] [Applause] how does it look will they make it we'll know in a minute say these three suits i sold to myself sure ought to help i sold myself nine pairs of shoes oh what a salesman there we are mr maywood how far short are we mr neighbors so near and yet so far 484 dollars well i'm sorry boys you will i had a hunch that's what you'd say mr kelly oh thanks a million well mr kelly at the hotel hasn't been buying sheets and blankets from me for 20 years for nothing i knew what he'd say if he got back in time he bought four dozen blankets at 12.90 a piece [Applause] you're not only the best salesman i ever trained but you're a darn beautiful woman and i love you it was wonderful hallie thanks mr kelly how'd you do in your 600 quota mr maywood i made it larry with a hundred to spare well mine was only 75 and i made 340. here [Laughter] and don't worry i'll use it too [Laughter] i i'm sure you all know how i feel this couldn't have happened today except for well just about the best staff any manager ever had part of it was knowing your jobs planned your merchandise but another part was knowing your time and knowing your customers having your customers know you know you well enough so that they really cared whether we made the quota that's a tribute to you and to the penny organization as a whole anyway i'm grateful i pride [Music] now have a fine new year's and come back all rested up then we can relax getting the white goods event underway well they're the final figures sir thank you tim well i'd say you did all right son phew what a day what a day oh i'll wait and let you out mr harkness and happy new year to you sir happy new year to you tim man just calling for me ed can i drive you home home on new year's eve huh i'm just getting started and i i'd like to thank you for everything [Music] took you long enough to make double a i'd have done it three years ago i believe you would pretty fancy is all i can say pretty fancy well so long see oh wow happy new year happy new year to you ed [Music] hello darling oh steve i just heard the news it's wonderful well i i had a lot of help darling including a wife who tried to bankrupt me in one day come on [Music] steve wait [Music] i was just remembering another store in a town called clinton how many years ago oh never mind you can keep counting if you want to i've stopped in case i haven't said it steve i'm i'm glad for you i'm glad about everything even if i didn't have a famous lawyer for a husband [Music] you know maybe it was ed who didn't aim high enough what well why shouldn't a store like this be a triple a oh steve well after all a young man's got to look ahead it's new year's eve remember and at least until midnight you're my husband not the stores [Music] you