Morrison history

With Charles G. Jones as president, the Arkansas Valley Townsite Company was developing various towns along the railroad and owned numerous lots in the 1902 addition.

In September 1903 the tracks were built through town.

In 1914, Illinois Refrigerator Company acquired equipment to manufacture stoves, establishing the Summit Stove Company.

By the 1920s, Morrison's business had flourished enough to allow him to open his own retail stores, offering counter service, in the early 1920s.

In 1923 oil fields that opened north of Morrison, also in Pawnee County, continued to provide jobs and business opportunities.

1925: Business begins retail counter service.

The Morris and Rich Toy Factory of Sterling, IL moved to Morrison in 1928, locating in part of the Illinois Refrigerator Company building.

In November 1929, a fire damaged two warehouses owned by Illinois Refrigerator Company, Rich Manufacturing Company, and Columbia School Equipment Company.

By April 1932, the refrigerator company was bankrupt.

In 1934, The City Ice and Fuel Company of Cleveland, OH, which operated under the name Ice Cooling Appliance Corporation (ICA), purchased the plant.

The Morrison interchange plan crossed Lee Cox’s ranch and, unable to sell it to be moved, the state would soon demolish his large, modern (built in 1945) “log cabin” ranch house.

General Electric started its Morrison plant in 1949, as a branch of the Schenectady, New York department.

Morrison Post Office 1950’s

In ensuing year, gas igniters, thermostats, and small d.c. motors were added. It became the Appliance Control Department in 1952 and was one of the first units to be established in a decentralization program.

In 1954, ICA was sold to American Air Filter Company, Inc. at Louisville, Kentucky, which had consolidated with Herman Nelson Corporation of Moline, Illinois.

1956: Ken Morrison is named chairman.

The company opened its first supermarket, "Victoria", in the Girlington district of Bradford in 1961.

In 1962, he bought an abandoned theater in Bradford and converted it into a supermarket.

In 1965, a branch plant was established at Bridgeport, CT; the department’s headquarters remained at Morrison.

Following a 35 year record of sales and profit growth since going public in 1967, Morrisons joins the FTSE 100 for the first time in April of this year.

The park was established in 1971 and opened for day use that same year.

Morrisons made its first acquisition in 1978 with Whelan Discount Stores that helped expand its business in Lancashire.

These included the ten-store chain of Whelans Discount supermarkets, purchased from JJB Sports head David Whelan in 1979.

In 1981, the company made a new expansion with the acquisition of the Mainstop grocery store group.

When the Town hired Carol O’Dowd [as Town Manager] in 1985, the state had already begun obtaining right-of-way for the new four-lane beltway, C-470, around the metro area.

The beginning of a letter from Bettie Swanson Ries to Sam Arnold, written August 4, 1986.

Morrison & Co was founded in 1988, and today manages multiple client mandates with total funds under management of A$15 billion.

Dick Scott served as the first director of both entities, and the Friends initially met at the unfinished museum, which remained their headquarters until about 1993.

In 1994, Morrison & Co launched Infratil, one of the world's first listed infrastructure funds and has subsequently added a number of Australasian sovereign wealth and pension fund clients.

By 1995, for the first time in 20 years, the company posted no new-store openings.

1996 performers gathered at Teresa’s Holiday Bar; Jerry Walker, Roz Brown, Bob Dougherty, Liz Masterson, Sean Blackburn.

Despite having turned over the managing director's position to John Dowd in 1997, Morrison's hands-on approach to his father's company remained an important factor in the firm's ability to compete in the crushing British supermarket climate.

At the same time, Morrison stepped up the pace of its store portfolio expansion, opening or buying ten more stores in 1998.

1999: Company celebrates 100th anniversary and 100th store opening.

By mid-2000, the company had completed a new round of store openings and acquisitions, bringing its total store holdings to close to 110 stores.

Morrisons joined FTSE 100 in April 2001 after 35 years of record sales and profits.

He included good drawings of two partial bones and a detailed sketch of the geology of the area now known as Red Rocks Park and Dinosaur Ridge. —Hunt, Lockley, & White, 2002

In March 2004, Morrisons acquired Safeway, a British supermarket chain which owned 479 stores, allowing Morrisons to have a larger presence in southern England.

In May 2005, it acquired Rathbone Bakery.

In November 2006, plans were submitted for the extension and redevelopment of the store to introduce the full Morrisons format.

On 13 March 2008, Sir Ken Morrison retired as chairman after 55 years at the company and was made Honorary President.

When the Co-operative Group completed its takeover of the Somerfield supermarket chain in March 2009, it was required to sell a number of stores by the Competition Commission.

In January 2010, Morrisons appointed Dalton Philips as its new Chief Executive.

In June 2011, it acquired Flower World thus becoming dominant in flower trading.

In February 2012, it acquired Winsford, a meat processing site in Cheshire.

The Peacocks section was rolled out into other stores before launching its own childrens-wear brand 'Nutmeg' into 85 stores on 21 March 2013.

In June 2014, Morrisons announced that there are plans put in place to cut 2,600 jobs as a result of changes to its management structure.

On 25 February 2015, Morrisons named former Tesco director David Potts as its new chief executive.

Following on from this in January 2016 Morrisons bosses announced that a further 7 stores would be closing to help optimise their existing assets and address areas of underperformance.

From March 2020, Morrisons will cut down 3,000 management roles and create 7,000 shop floor jobs as part of its restructuring plan.