Businessman. He received recognition a the founder of the Albertsons chain of grocery stores. He was one of four sons born to Rhoda and Earl Albertson. Before he was three, the family moved to Caldwell, Idaho, in 1909, where he was raised. After graduating from Caldwell High School in 1925, Albertson studied business for two years at the College of Idaho in Caldwell. While in college in 1927, he began his career in the grocery industry as a clerk at a local Safeway store. In 1930, he married his college classmate Kathryn McCurry, of Boise, Idaho. They had one daughter, Barbara. He spent ten years working his way up at Safeway, but he knew that he would open his own store, which he did in July of 1939. With $5,000 of his own money and a $7,500 loan from his wife's aunt, Albertsons Store 101, at 16th and State Streets in Boise, Idaho, opened with new services that customers had not seen in a grocery store before. He introduced things to shoppers like a scratch bakery, an automatic doughnut machine and one of the first magazine racks in the country. He also sold big, double dip ice cream cones, fresh popcorn and roasted nuts, which all became a hit with shoppers. He opened his second and third Albertsons stores in Nampa and Caldwell, Idaho in 1940. During the years of World War II, when food was being rationed, he filled the empty shelves with health and beauty products, general household goods and other non-food items. His reputation for generosity and community involvement grew during those war years. His stores promoted war bonds and sponsored scrap drives that collected aluminum, steel, fats, and paper for recycling. It was only the beginning of a chain that, sixty years later, would have over 600 Albertsons stores, bringing his visionary idea for a grocery store to millions of customers throughout the country.
Businessman. He received recognition a the founder of the Albertsons chain of grocery stores. He was one of four sons born to Rhoda and Earl Albertson. Before he was three, the family moved to Caldwell, Idaho, in 1909, where he was raised. After graduating from Caldwell High School in 1925, Albertson studied business for two years at the College of Idaho in Caldwell. While in college in 1927, he began his career in the grocery industry as a clerk at a local Safeway store. In 1930, he married his college classmate Kathryn McCurry, of Boise, Idaho. They had one daughter, Barbara. He spent ten years working his way up at Safeway, but he knew that he would open his own store, which he did in July of 1939. With $5,000 of his own money and a $7,500 loan from his wife's aunt, Albertsons Store 101, at 16th and State Streets in Boise, Idaho, opened with new services that customers had not seen in a grocery store before. He introduced things to shoppers like a scratch bakery, an automatic doughnut machine and one of the first magazine racks in the country. He also sold big, double dip ice cream cones, fresh popcorn and roasted nuts, which all became a hit with shoppers. He opened his second and third Albertsons stores in Nampa and Caldwell, Idaho in 1940. During the years of World War II, when food was being rationed, he filled the empty shelves with health and beauty products, general household goods and other non-food items. His reputation for generosity and community involvement grew during those war years. His stores promoted war bonds and sponsored scrap drives that collected aluminum, steel, fats, and paper for recycling. It was only the beginning of a chain that, sixty years later, would have over 600 Albertsons stores, bringing his visionary idea for a grocery store to millions of customers throughout the country.
Bio by: Shock
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