George Cabell Outlaw, Sr.

• September 20th, 2021

But the then thirty-four-year-old Mobile attorney saw phenomenal opportunities in J. A. Morrison’s nontraditional idea for establishing a cafeteria that would employ waiters to carry customers’ trays. He advanced Morrison $800. With a handshake, the nation’s largest and most dynamic cafeteria chain was born, and George Cabell Outlaw’s highly influential business and devoted public career was begun.

George Cabell Outlaw, son of Tiberius Gracchus and Belle (Garner) Outlaw, was born in Mobile, Alabama, in 1886. After completing his secondary education at the University Military School in Mobile, he attended the University of Virginia and transferred to The University of Alabama Law School where he received his degree in 1917. After serving two years with the FBI during World War I, he opened a law practice in Mobile in 1919.

In October 1920, he married Mayme Ricks from Texas, a lady whose influence he was always to credit for his highly respected balanced and prudent judgment, generosity, mild temper, and gentleman’s bearing. In the spring of 1920, he also embarked on a business venture which shaped his career.

The Morrison’s Cafeteria opened on the corner of St. Emanuel and Conti Streets in downtown Mobile in September 1920. The cafeteria suddenly became the startling answer to the businessman’s meal problem – convenient service with low prices. Under Mr. Morrison’s expert guidance in food preparation and operations and Mr. Outlaw’s astute, professional guidance in business management, the cafeteria soon began serving three meals a day and became known as “the family cafeteria.”

With such a success beyond either Mr. Morrison’s or Mr. Outlaw’s immediate expectations, Mr. Outlaw examined other markets for a Morrison’s Cafeteria and found them in Pensacola, Florida, and Montgomery, Alabama. Morrison’s Cafeterias Consolidated was formed, with Mr. Morrison as President and Mr. Outlaw, as Secretary-Treasurer. By 1927, the new corporation had opened thriving cafeterias in three more cities-Jacksonville, Florida; Savannah, Georgia; and New Orleans, Louisiana. In seven short years, Mr. Outlaw’s faith in Mr. Morrison’s “outlandish” idea had been justified. Morrison’s Cafeteria was a fully incorporated, successful enterprise with cafeterias in six southern cities.

In 1928, Mr. Outlaw made a decision that paved a way for further expansion of Morrison’s Cafeterias Consolidated, Inc. Sale of public stock brought outside capital into the enterprise and enabled the corporation to continue to grow. Four more cafeterias were opened in Florida-in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, and West Palm Beach.

Even during the Great Depression, the bustling southern cafeteria chain proceeded unhindered, providing people in every financial class with savings in meal tabs. The cafeterias provided breakfast for a nickel, lunch for an average of thirty-five cents, and free ice cream and cake on Thursday “Family Nights.” Thousands of people in every cafeteria city were gaining “the Morrison habit.”

In 1933, Mr. Outlaw was recognized for his contribution to the nation’s restaurant business by being named a charter board member of the National Restaurant Association. In 1935, Mr. Outlaw terminated his law practice to concentrate fully on his business career with Morrison’s Cafeterias. For the next twenty years, he provided sagacious and imaginative direction to the development of the enterprise.

Early in the 1930s, Secretary-Treasurer Outlaw directed that cost control practices and procedures of all cafeterias be standardized. The centralization was so efficient and economical that each cafeteria could offer a greater variety of food at much lower prices. He also implemented the installation of central air conditioning units in all cafeterias-a progressive and unique decision that enhanced the company’s reputation for imaginative customer service.

During the 1940s, he continued as Secretary-Treasurer after Mr. J. A. Morrison, the creator of the Morrison dining concept, sold his interest in the company and retired in Florida.

When World War II created a manpower shortage, Mr. Outlaw adapted the company’s operations (applying financial restraint in incurring debts) to continue the tradition of customer service in all units. Consequently, in 1945, a new cafeteria would be opened in Lakeland, Florida. In 1947, ‘The Cafeteria of Tomorrow” created from an old, crowded facility in Tampa-dazzled the public with its innovative and imaginative, modern design and also brought recognition to Morrison’s at the National Convention of the National Restaurant Association. The citizens of Florida never had a chance to catch their breath. Other cafeterias were quickly opened in strategic tourist centers.

Once more, the combination of Mr. Outlaw’s keen business judgment and good taste bore fruit. Working with the President, Mr. Outlaw counseled the organization of providing cost control through a network of wholly-owned subsidiary companies, which today supply Morrison, Inc. with nearly all its needs. This vertical integration made the firm one of the nation’s most self-sufficient.

By the 1950s, Mr. Outlaw had turned more of the authority in running the company over to younger men-two of whom were his sons, George Cabell, Jr., and Arthur. Though less active in management decisions, he maintained a counselor role in all business affairs. In 1952, he was instrumental in the formation of Morrison Food Services-a division that today is contracted to serve over 300 institutions, including hospitals and nursing homes, office facilities, industrial complexes, and school systems and universities.

Through the years, much of Mr. Outlaw’s energy was channeled into the development of the cafeteria/ food service that he was so instrumental in founding. But, he also worked ceaselessly in creating an economic atmosphere to lure industry and business to his native city. For a number of years, he served as President of the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce.

He was equally prominent in fostering the betterment of his fellow citizens by his participation in charitable and church activities.

When George Cabell Outlaw, Sr., died on July 16, 1964, after a brief illness, newspapers, and magazines extolled his virtues as a lawyer-businessman of great ability and foresight, the co-founder of an immensely successful business enterprise, and a man who served his community and fellowman.

Admiral Thomas J. Moorer

• September 20th, 2021

Thomas J. Moorer was born in Willing, Alabama (just outside Montgomery) on February 9, 1912, son of Richard Randolph and Hulda (Hinson) Moorer. As a youngster, he was such an excellent student that he skipped several grades and thus was graduated from Cloverdale High School in Montgomery at the age of fifteen.

Having always had a keen interest in the electrical sciences, he had dreamed of attending Georgia Tech to study electrical engineering. But with the onslaught of the Great Depression, he determined that his family would not be burdened with his college expenses. He sought and gained an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy.

Thomas J. Moorer graduated from Annapolis in 1933. Before the United States entered World War II, he had also completed Naval Aviation Training at Pensacola, Florida. By 1941, Lieutenant Moorer was stationed at Pearl Harbor and was there when the Japanese attacked on December 7.

Early in 1942, the young pilot flew seaplanes with supplies to the beleaguered American troops in the Philippines. Later that year (soon after the American Armed forces had been forced to surrender in the Philippines) Lt. Moorer and his copilot had to ditch their plane in the ocean near Australia, after being attacked by the Japanese. Although Lt. Moorer was wounded, he and his co-pilot survived. On the same day that they were picked up by a Philippine freighter, a torpedo hit the ship. The two Americans once more found themselves on the ocean, this time in a lifeboat with a group of terrified Philippine sailors. Using the Southern Cross as a navigational aid, the wounded lieutenant helped the crew guide the lifeboat to safety on the Australian coast.

Soon afterward, he was awarded the Purple Heart, only one among the many medals and decorations he earned during his naval career. He also holds the following: Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal w/ Oak Leaf Cluster; Navy Distinguished Service Medal w / Four Gold Stars; Army Distinguished Service Medal; Air Force Distinguished Service Medal; Silver Star; Legion of Merit; Distinguished Flying Cross; Presidential Unit Citation; American Defense Service Medal; European, African, Middle Eastern Campaign Medal; Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal; World War II Victory Medal; Navy Occupation Service Medal; China Service Medal; National Defense Service Medal w / Bronze Star; Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; Vietnam Service Medal; Philippine Defense Ribbon; Vietnam Campaign Medal w / Device; Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry; several foreign decorations.

By the end of World War II, the young officer’s valor and skills had enabled him to rise to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. In the ensuing years, his increasing capabilities brought him continuing promotions. In the late forties and early fifties, his expertise was utilized as a researcher in naval aviation and as an operations officer on an aircraft carrier. In 1953, he was chosen to attend the Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island, and then to serve for two years on the Navy’s Air Staff in Norfolk, Virginia. After two years as an Aide to the Secretary of the Navy, he was made Captain of the U.S.S. Salisbury. On July 1, 1957, Thomas J. Moorer was promoted to the rank of Admiral.

Admiral Moorer’s s responsibilities steadily increased. From 1962 to 1964, he was Commander of the Seventh Fleet; and from 1964 to 1965, Commander of the Pacific Fleet. Between 1965 and 1967, when he was Commander of the Atlantic Fleet, he was also Commander of all U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force Military personnel in the Atlantic. During this period he also served as the Supreme Allied Commander in the Atlantic for NATO.

In 1967, Admiral Moorer was appointed Chief of Naval Operations, a position he held until 1970. In that year, he was named to the prestigious position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Admiral Moorer served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff until 1974 when he retired. He could have “rested on his laurels” as a naval officer and devoted full time to the hobbies he still enjoys playing golf, gardening, and fishing. Instead, he put aside his naval uniform and immediately put on the suit of a corporate executive to utilize in the civilian world the knowledge and skills he had acquired during his years in the Navy.

Since his retirement, Admiral Moorer has been Vice-Chairman of the Board of Blount, Inc., the Montgomery-based firm which built the Super Bowl and which currently holds extensive contracts in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. He has served as a member of the Boards of Directors of Fairchild Industries, Texaco Inc., and the United Services Insurance Company.

He has been Chairman of the Boards of both the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, Inc. and of the Association of Naval Aviation. He has served as a member of the advisory boards of the Citadel of South Carolina, the Valley Forge Military Academy of Pennsylvania, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

In addition to the innumerable military awards and decorations, Admiral Moorer has received many other honors in recognition of his accomplishments. He has been named a member of both the Alabama Military Hall of Honor and the Alabama Academy of Honor. He has been awarded honorary doctoral degrees by The University of Alabama, Auburn University, Samford University, and Troy State University.

Today, Admiral and Mrs. Moorer (the former Carrie Foy of Eufaula, whom he married in 1935) reside in McLean, Virginia. They have four children-Thomas, Ellen, Richard, and Robert-and six grandchildren.

Perhaps, part of his remarkable achievements in both the military and civilian worlds could be attributed to the fact that he has followed the advice he gives to young people. To paraphrase his words . . . Remember that the world doesn’t owe you a living. Choose the type of work you enjoy; acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to do the job well; work hard; support your subordinates and help them achieve their goals, and they will work hard to assist you in achieving your objectives.

John Key McKinley

• September 20th, 2021

John Key McKinley, now Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Texaco Inc., has long exhibited qualities that seemed to forecast his rise to such a distinguished position.

He was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on March 24, 1920, the son of Virgil Parks and Mary Emma (Key) McKinley. His father was a professor in the School of Education at The University of Alabama and his mother was a pioneer in providing kindergarten education in the University city. From his parents, he learned early the fascination of exploring the world of ideas and of working with people.

As a youngster in the Tuscaloosa public schools, he was known for his scholastic achievement and his enthusiastic participation in extracurricular activities. After graduating from Tuscaloosa High School in 1937, he entered The University of Alabama where he continued to excel as a scholar and leader. The extent of his scholastic achievement is apparent in his being named a member of both the chemical and engineering professional honor societies, and his wide participation and leadership in campus activities are evident in his being one of twenty-three in his class to be elected to Who’s Who.

John McKinley graduated from The University of Alabama with a B.S. degree in chemical engineering in 1940 and an M.S. degree in organic chemistry in 1941.

Immediately after receiving his M.S., Mr. McKinley joined Texaco on May 29, 1941, as a chemical engineer engaged in grease research at the Port Arthur refinery in Texas. Shortly the Army Artillery. For four and one-half years he wore thereafter, on August 15, 1941, he was called to active service as a reserve officer, with the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Army uniform, serving for three years in Newfoundland, England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, rising to the rank of Major. He received the Bronze Star and various campaign medals in the European theater and was discharged from active service on December 25, 1945.

Returning to civilian life and Texaco employment, Mr. McKinley worked in Texaco’s research, processing, and development activities at Port Arthur. He was married there on July 19, 1946, to the former Helen Grace Heare. They have two sons, John Key McKinley, Jr., and Mark Charles McKinley.

At Port Arthur, Mr. McKinley was assigned again to grease research and then to cracking research, becoming Supervisor of that function in 1954. In 1956 he was transferred to the Company’s Central Research Laboratory at Beacon, N.Y., as Assistant to Management, and in 1957 became Assistant Director of Research. In 1960 he was named Manager of Commercial Development Processes. Later that year, Mr. McKinley transferred to Texaco’s New York City offices as General Manager-Worldwide Petrochemicals.

Always taking advantage of every opportunity to improve, Mr. McKinley attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University, graduating in 1962. He was elected Vice President in charge of the Petrochemical Department in 1967 and was named Vice President in charge of Supply and Distribution in 1970. In January 1971, he was elected Senior Vice President for Worldwide Refining, Petrochemicals, and Supply and Distribution. Mr. McKinley was elected President of Texaco Inc. and a Director of the company in April 1971.

He received honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from The University of Alabama in 1972 and from Troy State University in 1974.

In January 1980, Mr. McKinley was selected by the Board of Directors to be Chief Executive Officer on November 1, 1980, and was named Chief Operating Officer of the Company effective immediately. In June 1980, the Board of Directors elected Mr. McKinley to serve as Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer effective November 1, 1980. Mr. McKinley was elected Chairman of the Executive Committee effective July 1, 1980.

During his rise in the corporate structure of Texaco Inc., Mr. McKinley has always adhered to this business philosophy: “Business consists primarily of bringing together people, ideas, and capital to provide the necessary goods and services required by our society. An understanding of this basic fact is what makes it possible for those in charge of organizations to create a proper meld of these three elements, in appropriate proportion, to accomplish the stated goals and objectives.

“By and large, I believe that business and industry exist at the pleasure of the public. As long as the public perceives that the organization’s policies, programs, products, and services are in the public interest, that organization will be supported in the marketplace.”

Holding a number of patents in chemical and petroleum processing, Mr. McKinley, is a registered Professional Engineer and a member of a number of technical and professional organizations, including Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Xi, and The University of Alabama ( Capstone) Engineering Society. Mr. McKinley is a director of the American Petroleum Institute and a member of its Executive Committee and its Management Committee. He also is a member of the National Petroleum Council.

Mr. McKinley is a director of Burlington Industries, Inc., Merck and Company, Inc., and both Manufacturers Hanover Corporation and its principal subsidiary, Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and Andrew Wellington Cordier Fellow of the School of International Affairs of Columbia University, a Sesquicentennial Honorary Professor at The University of Alabama, a trustee of the Council of the Americas, a director of the Americas Society and The Business Council of New York State, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, The Conference Board, and the Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. He has been awarded the George Washington Honor Medal by the Freedoms Foundation.

Always a believer in both individual and corporate support of an art form, Mr. McKinley and Texaco Inc. have long been patrons of the Metropolitan Opera. On May 15, 1980, Mr. McKinley was elected a Managing Director of the Metropolitan Opera Association. At the same time, he was named national chairman of the Metropolitan Opera Centennial Fund. His other civic activities over the years have ranged from service on the advisory council of Reading Is Fundamental, Inc., to membership on the committee to determine the future of the new Westchester County (N.Y.) Medical Center Hospital. He is a former member of the Board of Governors of the Hugh O’Brian Youth Foundation.

In March 1981, Mr. McKinley was elected to the Board of Overseers of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, to the Board of Managers of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and the Board of Managers of Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases and the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research.

Mr. McKinley’s hobbies include personally testing new developments m automotive engines, petroleum fuels, and electronic devices. His favorite sports are yachting, hunting, and golf. With his wide accomplishments and interests, John K. McKinley continues to be a man for all seasons.

Arthur Henry Lee

• September 20th, 2021

Arthur H. Lee and his twin brother Alfred, Anniston – born sons of John B. and Mary N. (Licksold) Lee, began operation of Lee Brothers Foundry in January 1919 with $500 of borrowed money and one helper. When they sold the corporation to Phelps Dodge in 1963 for five and a quarter-million dollars, they had 750 employees, distribution warehouses in ten states, and annual sales of over ten million dollars.

The story of the growth and development of the company reflects the character of Arthur H. Lee.

Mr. Lee and his brother learned early to respect hard work and the people who worked for them. Arthur did the molding, core making, and pouring off during the day, and the office work at night; Alfred operated the furnace, melted brass, and made patterns. They did jobbing work or rough castings for local customers. Since their ambition was to make the best castings possible and to have satisfied customers, Arthur Lee read extensively about the composition of brass and learned how different percentages of the components of the alloy could be used for different end products.

In these early days, the brothers put as much money as possible back into the business to improve it. They increased the floor space in the original building from 1200 to 3600 square feet. About 1923, when they realized that only a finished, not a rough, product was necessary for the company’s continued success, the brothers (unable to afford a $7500 finishing machine that would turn out 400 three-inch brass plugs a day) made a finishing machine from two old lathes. With this machine, total cost about $150, they began finishing about 1,100 brass plugs a day for the soil pipe shops in Anniston. They added two more heads later and had a machine (total cost now $450) that would finish more than 3,500 plugs per day-they learned they could probably make better machines than they could buy.

In the late twenties and early thirties, Arthur and Alfred Lee learned other valuable lessons. In 1927, the brothers agreed to pay installments of $300 per month for $7500 worth of patterns and machines for manufacturing brass fittings. They learned that they had not thought far enough ahead to the set-up and marketing costs before starting to manufacture fittings. They opened their first warehouse in New York City in 1932, but when the banks closed in 1933, they were practically bankrupt and owed the bank about $15,000. When the banks reopened, they tried to reduce their notes as quickly as possible. In doing so in a surprisingly short time, they were able to discount their bills for the first time.

In 1947, the Lee Brothers, then employing 250 people, formed Lee Brothers Foundry Company, Inc., valued at $350,000. By plowing back or through investing all the earnings and profits, they had expanded the plant to 63,000 square feet and used all land space available in the original location.

In June 1950, they bought 102 acres of land across the mountain from Anniston and started plans for a new plant of steel buildings to provide 140,000 square feet of floor space. Their employees designed and built the new plant, including all roads. On a Thursday in August 1951, the 360 employees closed down the old plant at 3:30 p.m. They dismantled, steam cleaned, and painted all equipment (including a ninety-ton sand storage hopper and elevator) and moved it six miles to the new buildings where they installed it. By the following Monday, the new plant opened at fifty percent production on its first day of operation. In a religious ceremony, the new plant was dedicated to the good of the employees and the glory of God.

Always concerned about his employees, Arthur Lee saw a need for them to be able to save money on a timely basis and secure loans at reasonable interest rates. In 1953, he started the Brassies Credit Union which today has 1200 members and assets of over $2.3 million.

In the 1950s, Lee Brothers Company, Inc. continued to grow and expand. The brothers began selling to contract customers and using leased trucks to deliver their products and return with raw materials. They built more warehouses for the distribution of their goods. By 1963, when the corporation was sold-warehouses were operating in Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Moline, New York City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.

As Lee Brothers Foundry prospered, so did others, for Arthur Lee was a man who believed in sharing. With the support of Edna Stoesser, to whom he was married from 1920 until her death in 1951, and of Cecile Thompson, to whom he was married from 1973 until his death, through the years, he was an active participant in community and church affairs.

He served a two-year term as President of the Anniston Chamber of Commerce, a one-year term on the City Council. He was a founder, director, and trustee of the Anniston’s Boy’s Club and a founder of The Anniston Rescue Squad. He was a member of the Anniston Airport Board for several years and a member of the Anniston Rotary Club for twenty-eight years.

Mr. Lee served for fifty years on the Administrative Board, Finance Committee, and Music Committee for the First United Methodist Church of Anniston. He was a talented vocalist who sang in the choir and was a soloist many times during these years.

In 1966, Mr. Lee purchased the former Camp Zinn for Boy Scouts, developed it into a church camping facility, and gave it, along with certain funds for its operation, to the First United Methodist Church of Anniston for non-denominational use. The camp, since named Camp Lee in his honor, was also willed other funds and Mr. Lee’s adjoining farm property and home.

Arthur Lee’s contributions to his community and church were recognized by numerous awards. In 1963, he received the “Aristocrat Award” for his many years of service to the city’s airways development. In 1969, he was named “Anniston’s Man of the Year.” In 1970, he was chosen for membership in the United Methodist Church Hall of Fame in Philanthropy, an award given annually to persons who have given outstanding contributions of service or funds to health and welfare agencies related to the church. In 1971, he was given the Religious Award by the Anniston Kiwanis Club for service rendered to God, Community, and Country. In 1974, he was named Honorary Life Member of the Music Committee of his church for his loyal contributions of time, talent, and means to the music ministry.

An excerpt from an editorial in The Anniston Star at the time of Arthur Henry Lee’s death perhaps summarizes best his meaningful life: “Lee Brothers [Foundry] prospered and grew and so did others. Arthur Lee shared the work . . . [but] the public knows only partly [how] he shared the benefits. When it came to public need, Mr. Lee was not only among the first to subscribe, but he also could-and did – twist arms effectively for the support he felt was essential. Not so well known, however, was his private generosity, the uncounted times he quietly extended help for young people who wanted to go to school, for someone desperate for a friendly hand in time of need. For all the powers he might have wielded, all the honors that came his way, he walked quietly among us, a good and selfless man whose monuments stand all around us.”

Tine Wayne Davis, Sr.

• September 20th, 2021

Tine W. Davis told the 1978 graduating class at a Florida University that he recommended four “Be’s to Success” – “Be a dreamer … It’s fun; be a believer in yourself … It’s fun; be a planner . . . It’s fun; be a worker . . . It’s fun.”

Throughout his life, he followed this philosophy as he worked hard to help develop two-family grocery stores in Miami, Florida, into Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.-a a network of over one thousand modern food centers in twelve states.

Tine W. Davis was born on January 8, 1914, in Gamaliel, Arkansas, to William Milton and Fannie Ethel (Chase) Davis. In that same year, the family moved to Burley, Idaho. There his father successfully operated a typical small-town department store (all merchandise, including groceries, sold on a “charge and deliver” basis) until another store opened on a “cash and carry” basis down the street. Young Tine’s father soon realized the new merchant had the “cash” while he had the “carry.”

Quick to see the advantages of the new merchandising technique, Mr. W. M. Davis moved with his wife, daughter (Vera), and four sons (A.D., James E., M. Austin, and Tine W.) to Miami, Florida. In 1925, he borrowed money to purchase a grocery store in Lemon City, a suburb of Miami. The entire family pitched in to make the store a success. A second store was opened. The family’s dogged persistence finally made it to success and brought about the birth of the Winn and Lovett supermarket chain.

After graduating from Miami Edison Senior High School in 1933, Tine Davis attended the University of Idaho for a year. When his father died in 1934, the young man returned to Florida where he attended the University of Florida for a year before beginning to work full-time in the family business. In 1936, he married D. Eunice Chandler of Ozark, Alabama. They became the parents of three children: Diane, Tiona (Toni), and Tine Wayne, Jr.

By 1940, Tine Davis had become a director of Winn and Lovett. His career was interrupted in 1942 when he was called to serve his country for three years as a Civilian Flight Instructor in the Army Air Corps. Mr. Davis always had a passion for flying and had earned his commercial pilot’s license in the 1930s.

After World War II, Mr. Davis again became a driving force in the grocery business. By 1950, he had moved from the Miami Division of Winn and Lovett to Louisville, Kentucky, where he became Division Manager. In 1954, he started work on the Montgomery, Alabama, Division, to centralize service of existing Winn and Lovett stores in Alabama and Florida and to acquire new stores to support a warehouse in Montgomery.

In 1955, when Winn and Lovett’s name was changed to Winn-Dixie, Mr. Davis was appointed Regional Director of the Louisville and Montgomery Divisions. He moved his family to Montgomery where a warehouse had been completed. During the following eight years, Mr. Davis directed the building or acquisition of eight or more stores per year to support the centralized warehouse. By 1963, the Montgomery Division was servicing 145 stores in a tri-state area.

Because of his pioneering efforts to expand markets, Mr. Davis was made Regional Director of the Montgomery, Louisville, and Louisiana Divisions of Winn-Dixie in 1963. In 1968, he became Director of the new Atlanta Division. He directed the four divisions until 1970 when he removed the Atlanta Division from his direct leadership to cut down on his traveling time.

With Winn-Dixie’s first entrance into the Western market in 1976, Mr. Davis’ expertise was again called upon. He was assigned the responsibilities of Regional Director of the newly acquired stores in Fort Worth, Texas, and surrounding areas. Because of these added responsibilities, by 1979 Mr. Davis relinquished direct supervision of both the Atlanta and the Louisville Divisions, but still considered them a part of his responsibility. Mr. Davis was a man who believed that “the only limitations that will ultimately hold you back in life will be those you place on yourself.”

Throughout his life, like most men of great achievement, he devoted much of his spare time to worthy causes. He was a founder and then a member of the board of trustees of the Alabama Sheriffs’ Boys’ and Girls’ Ranches. Because of his extensive fund-raising efforts for these homes for orphaned children, Mr. Davis earned the nickname, “Mr. Boys’ Ranch.”

He also played an active role in championing support for educational institutions in Alabama and Florida. He served as a member of the University of Alabama’s College of Commerce Board of Visitors and of. the Board of Trustees of Troy State University. He was a former General Chairman of the Capital Fund Raising Program for Marion Institute. Mr. Davis was also a director on the boards of at least six companies in Alabama and Florida, and a loyal member of the First Presbyterian Church in Montgomery.

In recognition of his business acumen and humanitarian efforts, the Alabama legislature passed a Joint Resolution in 1976. Mr. Davis was awarded four honorary degrees: a Doctorate of Laws by Troy State University; a Doctorate of Aviation Management by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida; a Doctorate of Humane Letters by Bethune Cookman College, Daytona Beach, Florida; and a Doctorate of Humanities by Rust College, Holly Springs, Mississippi. He received honorary life memberships in the Florida Sheriffs’ Association and the Kiwanis Club of Louisville, Kentucky. He was the recipient of the Alabama Farm Bureau Federation’s Agricultural Award and the Champion of Independent Education in Florida Award. He was awarded the “Significant Sig Medal” by his fraternity at the University of Idaho.

Tine Davis died on August 6, 1980. His influence will be felt in the nation for many years to come. He will be remembered as the man with the jovial disposition and hearty laugh who was instrumental in developing a national supermarket chain and in improving the quality of the lives of those in the states where he worked.

Glen Porter Brock, Sr.

• September 20th, 2021

The destiny and dreams of Glen Porter Brock, Sr. – presently the Honorary Chairman of Illinois Central Gulf Railroad – have long been intertwined with those of the railroad industry.

Son of Loren Ellsworth and Mable L. (Porter) Brock, he was born near Alden, Iowa, in 1896; but from the age of six, he lived in Palestine, Illinois, always within earshot of a train whistle. His father was a locomotive engineer and his brother a brakeman with the Illinois Central Railroad. Through them, the youngster experienced the excitement of the railroad industry, and he too longed to be a part of it. While still in school, sixteen-year-old Glen Brock began working as a caller clerk on the Illinois Central Railroad. This minor position intensified a dream that had been growing over the years he wanted to manage a railroad.

After graduating from Palestine public schools and Central Business College in Indianapolis, Indiana, the young man served in the Infantry at Columbus Barracks, Ohio, from June 1918 until the Armistice was signed November 11, 1918, when his unit was disbanded. The day he was discharged, young Glen Brock took the train from Urbana, Illinois. Still in uniform, with only $98 in his pocket, he enrolled in classes at the University of Illinois to help prepare himself to pursue his dream. During his college years, he disciplined himself to get by on only five hours of sleep each night so that he could gain time for both study and the jobs he held to pay his college expenses. He graduated in 1922 with a B.S. degree in Railway Administration.

Soon after graduation, Mr. Brock married his childhood sweetheart, Esther Goodwin. In December 1922, the newlyweds moved to Mobile, Alabama, where Mr. Brock had accepted a position as a cost accountant with the Gulf, Mobile, and Northern Railroad. Thus began a long and productive association with GM&N.

Mr. Brock became known for his hard work and innovative ideas. For example, in 1935, by which time he was serving as General Manager, he began a hostess service on passenger trains. Because he believed that the hostesses should represent the railroad’s commitment to friendly and dedicated service, each hostess was required to be a college graduate and be medically trained. The program was such a success that it was widely imitated throughout the railroad industry.

In 1940, when the Gulf, Mobile, and Northern merged with Mobile and Ohio Railroad to form the Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio, Mr. Brock was elected Vice President and General Manager of the combined system. His record of innovation continued. In 1946, he helped create a “highway post office” system. Service from the traditional mail car on each train had been limited to towns along the railroad. Under the new system, the new GM&O Railroad refitted a fleet of buses to post office specifications and charged the Postal Service a mileage rate for the “highway post offices.” The first successful route between Mobile and Union, Mississippi, was soon extended from Mobile through Meridian, Mississippi, St. Louis, Missouri, and as far north as Chicago. Also, under Mr. Brock’s guidance, in 1948, the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio became the first-class A Railroad to completely convert to diesel engines. Mr. Brock’s capabilities continued to be recognized by GM&O. From 1952-1957, he served as its Executive Vice President and General Manager. In 1957, he was elected President of the railway. In 1972, when GM&O merged with Illinois Central to become The Illinois Central Gulf Railroad, Mr. Brock became Chairman of the Board of Directors and served in that position until he retired in 1977 when he was named Honorary Chairman-the culmination of 66 years of service, in fifty-two jobs, in the railroad industry.

Mr. Brock has also utilized his expertise in directorial positions with GM&O Land Company, the New Orleans Great Northern Railroad Company, and Gulf Transport Company. He has been an alternate director for the Kansas City Terminal Railroad Company and a member of the National Freight Traffic Association. He has been a director for Protective Life Insurance Company of Birmingham, and the Mobile-based Home Savings and Loan Association, American National Bank and Trust Company, and Merchants National Bank.

No group has benefitted more from his humanitarian beliefs than the people of Alabama. A complete list of Mr. Brock’s civic and charitable activities and awards would fill several pages. He has served as committee chairman, vice president, and president of the Mobile Rotary Club. He has held major positions on the Mobile Chamber of Commerce and committee status with the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. In 1959, Governor John Patterson appointed him to the Alabama State Docks Advisory Board on which he served until 1963.

Mr. Brock’s interest in social improvement is reflected in his record of service to charitable organizations. He was the 1953 General Chairman for the Community Chest Campaign and later served as Campaign Chairman and President and Chairman of the Board for the United Fund of Mobile. Mr. Brock has also been involved as a member of the advisory boards and committees for the Mobile County and Providence Hospitals, the Mobile Mental Health Center, and the Mobile Association for the Blind. Because of his many years of dedicated service, he was named Mobilian of the Year in 1961.

The people of Mr. Brock’s home state of Illinois have also been aware of his outstanding business and civic record. He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1959 and was later chosen to be a trustee of that institution. The National Alumni Association of his Alma Mater, The University of Illinois, presented him with the “Illini Achievement Award” in 1969. Four years ago, Glen P. Brock was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor by the State Legislature.

Mr. and Mrs. Brock has two sons, Paul Warrington and Glen Porter, Jr., and seven grandchildren. They reside in Mobile, where Mr. Brock, even though retired, still maintains an “open-door policy” at his office for the employees of Illinois Central Gulf and the citizens of Alabama.