2 2 HISTORIC DOWNTOWN SALINA 2008 Advertising Supplement to the Salina Journal 3 Advertising Supplement to the Salina Journal HISTORIC DOWNTOWN SALINA 2008 3 1849-1886 H.D. Lee "My boy, an education costs money and you have none", the college head at Tunbridge told him. "Still, hesitated the man, impressed by the lad's spirit. "Well, come back tomorrow and I may have thought out a plan." No," inter- posed young Henry Lee. "It must be decided now. See this $1.50? It's all the money I have, and I don't intend to spend it. I must know now if I can come to this school. If not, I will search elsewhere." The Kansas City Star, April 8, 1917 H. D. Lee—Entrepreneur Cover Design • Jamie Jeffries 1849 . DECEMBER 9 . HENRY DAVID LEE IS BORN Layout & Design • Wendy Chrobak Henry David Lee is one of nine children born to Michael Lee, a Canadian tailor, and Mary Ann Cunningham in Randolph, Copy & Research • Susan Wylie Vermont. Michael Lee dies when H.D. is only four years old. Because the family is left without means of support, If you have a question or comments, please call (785) 823-6363 or 1-800-827-6363, ext. 221, mail to P. O. Box 740, Salina, KS, H.D.’s mother is forced to have her children “bound out” to 67402, or by e-mail at wchrobak@salinacom be raised by Vermont neighbors. Lee is sent to live with the Mosier family in Sharon, Vermont, where he remains until he Historic H.D. Lee documentation courtesy Lee® Jeans, “gains” his release at age 11. Salina Public Library, and Smoky Hill Museum. Salina Downtown, Partridge in a Pear Tree. Age 11 - With $1.50 to his name, Lee travels to Tunbridge, Lee® Jeans is a division of VF Corporation. (NYSE: VFC). Vermont, seeking an academy education at Alden Private Headquartered in Merriam, Kan., Lee manufactures and School. It takes some convincing, but Lee is granted a little markets brand denim, casual pants, shirts, fleece and knit room in the attic that is to be his for four years. He attends apparel. A brand committed to the community, Lee Jeans founded Lee National Denim Day®, one of the nation’s classes for three years and then teaches for one year. largest single-day fundraisers for breast cancer. VF Corpo- ration is a leader in branded lifestyle apparel including jeans Age 16 - The Alden headmaster offers Lee $75 a month to wear, outdoor products, image apparel and sportswear. continue teaching, but in pursuit of larger aspirations, Lee Its principal brands include Wrangler, Lee, Rid- takes a job as a night clerk at a hotel in Galion, Ohio. Because ers, Rustler, The North Face, Vans, Reef, Napapijri, Kipling, hotel clerks know the lay of the land, part of the job Nautica, John Varvatos, JanSport, Eastpak, Eagle Creek, is to drive teams of horses for traveling salesmen. Lee Lee Sport and Red Kap. VF Corporation’s press releases, develops a commission system, charging a set percentage annual report and other information can be accessed through from the salesmen he guides. the Company’s home page, www.vfc.com. Age 21 - After only two years in Galion, Lee frugally saves $1,200 and attracts the attention of Chris Crim, a very successful banker. Lee’s rags to riches story begins to unfold. Crim loans Lee $3,000 to begin a business selling knitting machines. The note is paid off well before maturity. Lee then secures a $50,000 loan from Crim for the purchase of his first business: Central Oil Company of Ohio, a wholesale distributor of kerosene. 1886 - H.D. LEE IS STRICKEN WITH PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS A pulmonary tuberculosis diagnosis and resulting failing health forces Lee to sell half of his oil company to John Rockefeller of Standard Oil Company. He stays on as manager for two years and then sells the other half to Rockefeller. 4 4 HISTORIC DOWNTOWN SALINA 2008 Advertising Supplement to the Salina Journal 1888 H.D. Lee House Located adjacent to the Salina business district is this large, beautifully restored Queen Ann style house. It was built in 1888 for the Flanders family who lived in the house only a few years. They sold the house to hardware magnet H.D. Lee who, after a few years sold the house to his nephew, Charles Lee. The enclosed area above the front porch was added a few years later. Tom and Cindy Roets, the current owners have been working to restore the house to its former glory. Currently the house is the site of one of Salina's most unusual gift stores, Partridge in a Pear Tree. The house has a Heritage Conservation Landmark and National Register Historic Place status. Lee Hardware Company Complex - 248 - 254 N. Santa Fe. Declining business caused Lee Hardware to move out of the building and the site was occupied by a wholesale paper company for many years. The paper company has gone out of business and the complex is vacant and its future is uncertain. 5 Advertising Supplement to the Salina Journal HISTORIC DOWNTOWN SALINA 2008 5 1892-1899 H.D. Lee Mercantile 1892 - While the invigorating climate and therapeutic waters of nearby Excelsior Springs, MO nursed Lee back to better health, the retail merchants in Central and Western Kansas embrace Ad H.D. Lee Mercantile Company. The demand for a merchant supplier west of the Mississippi is so high that in only three from the years, the company must double its originally spacious four- Salina story building. Evening 1894 - In five years, the business builds such a volume that the capital stock increases from $100,000 to $250,000. Coffee roast- Journal in ing, spice grinding, tea, cereal, and fruit packing departments December "elevated the institution to the level of the best that operated west of Chicago", according to October 30, 1919 reviews of H.D. 1903 Lee Enterprises in the Salina Daily Union. H.D. Lee Mercantile Company quickly become known for its commitment to fine foods, sending buyers as far as the tea markets in Japan. Popu- lar Lee lines include Lee Mother's Style, Summer Girl, Sailor Boy and Cadet. 1895 - The state of Kansas issues a 50-year charter to H.D. Lee Mercantile Company for general mercantile business. 1899 - Recognizing a necessity to handle larger shipments of perishable goods, Lee establishes Kansas Ice & Cold Storage Company. The mercantile business also paves the path for the H.D. Lee Flour Mill, which is created to make profitable use of the large amounts of grain received in trade. "I said to the boys that we were going to miss an opportunity if we didn't come. But I really did not appraise the full size of the field. It's bigger, better than we expected, a field susceptible of great and rapid development in almost any line." –H.D. Lee in reference to starting a business in Salina, KS The Kansas City Star, April 8, 1917 6 6 HISTORIC DOWNTOWN SALINA 2008 Advertising Supplement to the Salina Journal 1920 Buddy Lee 1920 - Sales manager Chester Cola deliveryman, Reynolds, later Lee's board railroad worker and president, came up with gas station attendant. the idea of using a doll to Starting in 1949, Buddy "model" miniature versions Lee was produced as of the company's clothes for a 13-inch hard plas- store displays. The 12½- tic doll, along with a Engineer Play Suit Tradesman Athlete inch composition dolls first female version, Betty appeared in the windows of Lee. 1998 - Ad agency Fallon "Actress" co-starring Sarah Dayton's flagship store on McElligott brought back the Michelle Gellar, "Animal Nicollet Mall in Minneapo- 1962 - The Buddy Lee dolls doll, along with the 1940s Lee Guy" co-starring Jack Hanna, lis, then were used at stores were discontinued because tagline "Can't Bust 'Em," to "Blues Guy" co-starring nationwide. they were no longer profit- promote the Lee Dungarees Bobby Womack, "Sergeant" Lee encouraged stores to sell able. By then, Buddy Lee line, aimed at 17- to 22-year- and "Fans". the dolls after the displays had become the second-high- old males. The main cam- The comedic ads touted the were taken down, and later est-selling doll in the United paign was preceded by guer- unmoving Buddy Lee as a provided the dolls for retail States. rilla marketing techniques, "Man of Action." The doll sale, including versions including movie trailer-style was usually presented as a dressed as a cowboy, Coca- teaser spots, unbranded heroic figure who survived posters of the doll, and a all manner of certain doom, 6-minute documentary, prompting his human co- "The Buddy Lee Story," stars to marvel at the durabil- which was aired in seg- ity of his jeans. ments during late-night cable television. The 2000 - Three nemeses for 1998 TV spots — "Car," Buddy Lee, "Twister" and "Para- Curry, Roy and Super Greg, chute" — were directed were introduced through by Spike Jonze while websites and appeared in Phil Morrison helmed three TV spots directed by Engineer Specialty Uniforms Railroad Industrial the 1999 TV spots: Fredrik Bond. 7 Advertising Supplement to the Salina Journal HISTORIC DOWNTOWN SALINA 2008 7 Buddy Lee 1920 2001 - Lee Dungarees ads adopted a heroic folk theme song for the doll and the tagline "Be Like Buddy Lee." Besides "Apartment," "Street" and "Suburbia" directed by Ulf Jo- hansson & Mats Lindberg from Traktor and "Barbershop" directed by Craig Gillespie, this series also included a special unbranded ad — directed by Fallon art director Harvey Marco and aired on behalf of the Ameri- can Red Cross after the September 11, 2001 attacks — in which the doll sports a rolled- up sleeve, bandage and "I Gave" sticker to promote blood donation.