Michael Sinatra, 32°, K.C.C.H.
1439 N.W. 97 Terrace, Coral Springs, FL 33071-5945
Ourgang@mediaone.net

Ill. J. C. Penney, 33°, always guided his personal life and business by the Golden Rule.

Born on September 16, 1875, on a small farm outside Hamilton, Missouri, Ill. J. C. Penney, 33°, was the most prolific retail merchandising genius the world has ever seen. Penney's father was a poor farmer and unsalaried Baptist minister, his mother, a devout woman born of a genteel Southern family. Raised with an abiding faith in God, the foundation of Penney's life was the Christian ethic of the Golden Rule, plus self-reliance, self-discipline, and a concept of personal honor.

Penney showed signs of becoming a merchant as early as age eight when his father informed him that from then on he would have to buy his own clothing. The boy's immediate need was a pair of shoes, and he had $2.50 saved from running errands, collecting and selling junk, and doing whatever occasional work was then available to a child. He invested his money in pigs, which he sold at a profit, launching his career as an entrepreneur.

After graduating from high school, Penney invested in a small butcher shop, which provided a substantial quantity of meat to a local hotel. In exchange for this contract, Penney was to give the head chef a bottle of bourbon every week or risk losing the account. Penney did so the first week but immediately regretted doing business in such a manner and refused to continue. The hotel withdrew its contract, and Penney's business failed.

Then, in 1898, he went to work for Johnson and Callahan, who operated two dry-goods stores, called Golden Rule Stores, in Colorado and Wyoming. Impressed with this ambitious young man, the two men offered him the opportunity to join them as a partner in opening a new store. The store Penney opened in Kemmerer, Wyoming, on April 14, 1902, was a humble wooden building located between a laundry and a boarding house off the main business district of the town. He and his family lived in the attic over the store, which was itself furnished with makeshift counters and shelves made from packing crates. Before opening, Penney studied the town, its people, and their needs. He stocked quality merchandise and clearly marked the price on every item with "one price charged to all," whatever the customer's social status, a practice uncommon in those days. Opposing credit on moral grounds, Penney proposed to open a "cash only" store. This was an unheard of approach to retailing as mining towns always had company-owned stores, which only operated on credit, a tactic whereby mining companies could keep their employees constantly in debt.

In 1907, Penney's partners dissolved their business arrangements and offered him their interests in the three stores. Penney seized the opportunity. Having complete ownership of the stores, he began to launch his own Golden Rule Stores. To Penny the Golden Rule name represented more than a marketing strategy. It represented his deeper philosophical and religious beliefs and became the credo of his business. He insisted on offering his customers quality merchandise at the lowest possible prices. Customer service, thrift, shrewd buying practices, and a growing cadre of talented store managers and associates formed the basis of the new organization.

In 1913, the company changed its name under Utah law to the J. C. Penney Company, and the Golden Rule Store name was phased out. That year, Penney and his associates officially set forth "The Penney Idea"-a declaration of ethics and purpose-as the company's mission statement and selected "Honor, Confidence, Service, and Cooperation" as the company's motto.

Drawing depicting opening day of the Golden Rule Store Photo: J. C. Penney Archives

At age 42, Penney became the J. C. Penney Company's first Chairman of the Board, releasing himself from the day-to-day responsibilities of managing the company. He now focused his attention on the company's future. Aware that many store managers and associates shared his modest background and limited education, Penney engaged the talents of several noted educators and established an Education Department within the company. In 1921, this department shipped out the first lessons of the company's celebrated Business Training Course, a free correspondence course offered to associates.

By 1920, the company was comprised of 197 stores; by 1929, there were more than 1,400 stores from coast to coast. A J. C. Penney store opened at a dizzying average rate of one every three days. During this time, Penney embarked on a regular schedule of store visits, company conventions, and speaking engagements. He was a public relations delight. As he visited stores, it was not uncommon for him to grab a broom and sweep up or help a customer, much to the store manager's embarrassment.

Penney's philanthropy arose from a combination of his Christian upbringing and a sincere desire to be of service to his fellow human beings. In 1911, he donated $10,000 to the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Salt Lake City.

Then, he established a 120,000-acre experimental farming community, named Penney Farm, for northern Florida farmers. Some 20,000 acres were subdivided into small plots where industrious, moral, but economically destitute farmers could farm and work until they could rebuild their lives. Next to Penney Farm, Ill. Penney established the Memorial Home Community, a 60-acre residential community for retired ministers, lay church workers, missionaries, their wives and families, all this at a personal cost to Penney of more than one million dollars.

In 1925, he established the J. C. Penney Foundation which aided such groups as adoption agencies, homeless shelters, youth clubs, vocational schools, libraries, family guidance centers, missionary projects, peace organizations and health clinics.

The stock market crash of 1929 ended many of Penney's dreams and philanthropic projects. The Christian Herald Magazine eventually took over Penney Farm, but there was no hope for the J. C. Penney Foundation. Still, during the 1930s and 1940s, Ill. Penney continued his involvement in a variety of charitable works and became involved in many civic organizations. To support youth interests in farming, he became a major benefactor of the National 4H Clubs. After rebuilding his fortune in the mid 1950s, Penney re-established the James C. Penney Foundation, which remains active today.

As a breeder of prized livestock, he often sold valuable stock, at prices well below market value, to common farmers whom he felt to be of good character. Once following an auction, he was asked about such a sale and, with a twinkle in his eye, replied, "Well, they didn't bring what they were worth, but they'll do good for the people that bought them."

As he approached his 90th birthday in 1965, Ill. Penney maintained a full schedule of appointments. He had a phenomenal memory, and, although he met thousands of people in his lifetime, there is no indication that he ever forgot a name or face.

On December 26, 1970, Ill. Penney fell and suffered a fractured hip. After weeks of recuperation, he died of a heart attack on February 12, 1971, at age 95. With the passing of this most charitable and honest man, the world mourned since we all lost a friend, humanitarian, and Brother. Ill. Penney was raised in Wasatch Lodge No. 1, Salt Lake City, Utah, on June 2, 1911, and he held a dual membership with United Services Lodge No. 1118 in New York. A Scottish Rite Mason, he was coroneted a 33° on October 16, 1945. In 1958, he was presented the Gold Distinguished Service Award by the General Grand Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, at Kansas City, Missouri.