Induction Year: 1989

Joseph S. Bruno

  • October 26th, 2021

The life of Joseph S. ‘Joe” Bruno (Chairman Emeritus of Bruno’s, Inc., and Chairman of Big B, Inc. of Birmingham, Alabama) could well have been the subject of one of Horatio Alger’s books about boys of character who succeeded through hard work and honesty in the face of all odds. In 1980, Joe Bruno was one of the recipients of the prestigious awards named for the author of these well-known stories – and none other has been more deserving of this honor.

The eldest of the eight children of Vincent and Maria Theresa Costa Bruno was born in Bir­mingham on October 3, 1912. His parents had come to America from Sicily in 1909 to pursue their dreams of a better life.

Like many others who fled to the United States in the early 20th century, Vincent Bruno found work in a steel mill in the Birmingham area and settled in a small house in a company town near the mill.

To supplement the family income, the Brunos raised vegetables and chickens and kept a goat to provide milk for cheese. Any food not used at the table was peddled to neighbors. Since Joe’s father worked long hours at the steel mill, the supervision of the household and its finances rested primarily with his mother, and each child learned to assume responsibilities compatible with his or her age.

When he was twelve years old, it became Joe Bruno’s responsibility to seek work outside the household because his father’s work at the steel mill had become sporadic.

Twelve-year-old Joe went to board with the Vincent Rosato family and to work in the Rosato grocery store. His wages – $5 a week at the time – went into the family “kitty”, as did the wages of his brother Sam, who, at age twelve, went to board and work with another grocer. Even though the youngster was up at 4:00 to go to market with Mr. Rosato before school and often worked after school until 9:00 p.m., he made good grades in school. And, as he became more and more fascinated with the grocery business, he attended summer school to accelerate his graduation. His dream was for his family to own a grocery store.

In the depth of the Great Depression, Joe Bruno’s dream came true. The nineteen-year-old took a chance and used his family’s savings – $600 – to purchase a 20′ by 40’ grocery store from a man too ill to continue running it. This Bruno’s Grocery Store, on the corner of Eighth Avenue North and Tenth Street in Birm­ingham, would have fit inside a modern meat cooler. He and his brother Sam quit their jobs and moved the family into the small living quarters adjacent to the store.

The whole family participated in various capacities in operating the store, but Joe Bruno was considered the head of the family business. He immediately began to initiate some of the revolu­tionary marketing techniques that eventually resulted in the creation of one of the fastest grow­ing, most profitable, and most innovative food and drug chains in the nation.

For example, on credit, he bought stock in far larger quantities and more varieties than his competitors in the neighborhood. On handbills (distributed by his four youngest brothers after school) he advertised “brand names at low prices.” Although he established a policy of no credit-a dramatic departure from small groceries of that time-the store thrived. The public seemed attracted by the abundance and variety of goods and the low prices. Buying in volume and selling at advertised low prices for quality goods became two key factors in the growth of the Bruno stores.

As Joe Bruno has said, “You can’t stand still, and you can never stop dreaming.” The ensuing years are testimony to the fact that he and his brothers followed this philosophy. By 1952, when there were four stores operated by the six Bruno brothers, Joe Bruno decided it was time to incorporate, rent a warehouse, and use the pooled volume to buy direct.

Eighth Avenue North and Tenth Street in Birm­ingham would have fit inside a modern meat cooler. He and his brother Sam quit their jobs and moved the family into the small living quarters adjacent to the store.

The whole family participated in various capacities in operating the store, but Joe Bruno was considered the head of the family business. He immediately began to initiate some of the revolutionary marketing techniques that eventually resulted in the creation of one of the fastest-growing, most profitable, and most innovative food and drug chains in the nation.

For example, on credit, he bought stock in far larger quantities and more varieties than his competitors in the neighborhood. On handbills (distributed by his four youngest brothers after school) he advertised “brand names at low prices.” Although he established a policy of no credit-a dramatic departure from small groceries of that time-the store thrived. The public seemed attracted by the abundance and variety of goods and the low prices. Buying in volume and selling at advertised low prices for quality goods became two key factors in the growth of the Bruno stores.

As Joe Bruno has said, “You can’t stand still, and you can never stop dreaming.” The ensuing years are testimony to the fact that he and his brothers followed this philosophy. By 1952, when there were four stores operated by the six Bruno brothers, Joe Bruno decided it was time to incorporate, rent a warehouse, and use the pooled volume to buy direct.

He is a past president and executive director of the Jefferson County Unit of the American Cancer Society and past chairman of the Board of the American Red Cross. He has been a member of the boards of the National Con­ference of Christians and Jews; of the Jefferson County Mental Health Association; United Way; the Community Food Bank; the Salvation Army; and St. Vincent’s Hospital. He has served on the Board of Trustees of Southern Benedictine College and Birmingham-Southern College; and has worked with the Miles College and United Negro College Funds.

Joe Bruno has always shared his good fortune to improve the quality of life for others. His philanthropic activities include the establish­ment of: the Joseph S. Bruno Foundation to fund non-profit primary schools; the Joseph S. and Theresa R. Bruno Cancer Center at St. Vincent’s Hospital; the Nutrition Sciences Building and (along with his brothers) the Bruno Neuros­cience Intensive Care Unit at UAB medical center.

For his varied accomplishments and services, Joe Bruno has been honored by numerous local, state, and national organizations.

He has been the recipient of the Greater Bir­mingham Service Award; the Alex de Tocqueville Society Award (United Way); honorary degrees from St. Bernard College and the University of Alabama at Birmingham; and the Exemplary Dedication to Higher Education Award from the Alabama Association of Col­leges and Universities. A Chair of Retailing in the Free Enterprise system has been established in his honor at Birmingham-Southern College. He has been inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor.

He has also received the Brotherhood Award from the National Conferences of Christians and Jews; the Horatio Alger Award; the “Man of the Year” award from the Order of the Sons of Italy; and the Knights Officer in the Order of Merit decoration from the Republic of Italy. He has been named a member of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta Federal Association U.S.A. (Knights of Malta).

Joe Bruno takes no credit for all he and the Bruno family have accomplished in this coun­try, where, he has said, “anyone willing to work and persevere … can make it.” Everything the Bruno family has, he continued, “comes from God …. He has blessed us all more than we deserve … and more than most … I have been the one who seems to have attracted all the atten­tion, but every one of them (the family) has contributed as much as I have.”

Source of biographical information: Joe: Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Bruno Food Stores, by Pat Dunbar, (published by Joseph S. Bruno, 1983).

William McWane

  • October 26th, 2021

William McWane, who retired in 975 as Chairman of the Board of McWane Cast Iron Pipe Company (now McWane, Inc.) of Birmingham, Alabama, was born in 1898 in Wytheville, Virginia. In 1904, when he was six, the family moved to Birmingham where his father became president of the Birmingham Steel and Iron Company.

This only son of James Ransom and Ella Mae McCartney McWane graduated from Powell High School in Bir­mingham and then earned a degree in engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

William McWane then followed in the footsteps of his grandfather and father by enter­ing the foundry industry.

His grandfather, Charles Phillip McWane, had initiated the family’s involvement in the foundry business when he formed the C. P. McWane Foundry in Wytheville, Virginia, to produce plows and other farm equipment. (As a boy, C. P. McWane had spent many days around the blacksmith shop where his father James had worked with Cyrus McCormick in visualizing and manufacturing the world’s first successful reaper.)

After gaining experience in the foundry in Wytheville, William’s father with Henry and Authur McWane entered business for themselves in Lynchburg, Virginia, where they established the Lynchburg Foundry.

Then, in 1904, James R. McWane moved his family to the booming young city of Birmingham where he served as president of Birmingham Steel and Iron Company for four years.

A memento of that company still stands high above Birmingham on Red Mountain – the giant statue of Vulcan, which was originally cast for the St. Louis World’s Fair. Young William McWane watched as his father personally super­vised the casting of this world-renowned symbol of the Birmingham steel industry-Vulcan, the god of the forge. His father was also one of the largest contributors to the Vulcan Fund established by the Commercial Club. But, it is reported, the venture almost cost William’s father his career because he was not paid for his services in casting the statue.

William’s father James joined the American Cast Iron Pipe Company (ACIPCO) in 1908. He serv­ed as president of ACIPCO from 1915 to 1921, when he resigned to establish in 1922, the McWane Cast Iron and Pipe Company. Four years later, the company expanded with the crea­tion of Pacific States Cast Iron Pipe Company in Provo, Utah. The companies produced pipe, fittings, valves, and fire hydrants distributed nationwide.

In 1933, when James R. McWane died sudden­ly, thirty-five-year-old William McWane in­herited the responsibility of running a company that, like many others at the time, was deeply in debt because of the Great Depression.

As President, William Mc Wane set out to en­sure that the company would survive the Depres­sion and become debt-free. His goals were achieved by the late 1930′ s and the company had begun to achieve greater prosperity by the early 1940’s.

In 1945, William McWane became Chairman of the Board of McWane Cast Iron and Pipe Company, in which capacity he served until 1975.

During these years, the company began to ex­pand. DeBardeleben Coal Company was one of the companies acquired. As Empire Coke Com­pany, it is still an operating division of Mc Wane, Inc.

In 1975, ”Mr. Bill” (as many people who work­ed at the McWane and Pacific States cast iron companies called him) relinquished his title as Chairman of the Board to his son, James R. McWane, who had served as president since 1971. William McWane then served until his death in 1978 as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the family company which had been renamed McWane, Inc.

William McWane represents the third of the five generations of the McWane family to assume leadership as masters of the forge and foundry. Today, his son, James Ransom (the fourth generation) is chairman of the board of McWane, Inc., which has expanded into a thriv­ing multi-division corporation with operations in seven states and Canada. William McWane’s grandson, C. Phillip McWane, continues the family tradition as Director and Vice President of McWane, Inc.

William McWane’s contributions to Birmingham and the surrounding area were many. But, being a very private man, he often did not take credit for his industrial, business, and civic activities. He seemed to eschew publicity, preferring to remain in the background.

His picture did appear in the Birmingham News in 1945 when he was elected a director of the Birmingham Trust and Savings Company, and the caption under the picture cited him as a man “prominently identified with industrial, business, and civic activities.”

And, in order to promote the creation of the Birmingham Symphony orchestra, he let it be known that he was one of its early benefactors and supporters.

He was also a sponsor and benefactor of the Speies Clinic which was dedicated to the study of nutrition; and he was one of the directors of the Eye Foundation-both projects providing many benefits to the citizens of the state.

Like his father, William Mc Wane was a devotee of the game of golf. He was involved not only in playing for the fun of playing but also as a member of the United States Golf Associa­tion and of its rules committee for a number of years.

Quietly, William McWane exerted a beneficial influence on the economic, civic, and cultural life of the city where he lived for seventy-four years.

Sources of biographical information: “The Birmingham District: An Industrial History and Guide,” Birmingham Historical Socie­ty, 1981; Birmingham News, November 14, 1945; Leah Rawls Atkins, The Valley and the Hills: An IIustrated History of Bir­mingham and Jefferson County, sponsored by Birmingham­Jefferson County Historical Society.

Frank A. Plummer

  • October 26th, 2021

Frank A. Plummer spent only thirty-four of his seventy-five years of life in Alabama, but he left an indelible mark on the state’s economic future. He was the man who helped change the face of banking in Alabama through for­mation of the first registered multi-bank holding company in the state-First Alabama Bancshares, lnc.-officially sanctioned in 1971 by the Federal Reserve Board of Washington.

The company began with three banks-First National of Montgomery, First National of Huntsville, and Exchange Security of Birming­ham. Under Frank Plummer’s guidance as Chairman of the Board and CEO from 1971 until his retirement on December 31, 1983, the company grew from a three bank holding company with assets of $576 million to a $3 billion organization with 24 banks and 5 non-banking subsidiaries.

Frank A. Plummer, the youngest child of Charles and Nettie Dwight Plummer, was born on June 18, 1912, in the small town of Richland, New York, near the Canadian border. As Frank Plummer related in an address to the Newcomen Society in 1983, his father (an entrepreneur in the best tradition of the Newcomen Society) died when the young boy was in elementary school. His mother, a young widow with tremendous responsibilities, delegated the moral and social areas of his training to his sister and the areas, such as baseball, basketball, trapping, and shooting to his brother.

While attending school, young Frank also worked in a grocery store which his father had acquired-bagging groceries and running to the local bank for change. Said Frank Plummer in 1983, “It didn’t take long for even a nine-year­old boy to discover that the local banker did less work than any man in town. My career. was selected.”

Though Frank Plummer often joked about his choice of career being associated with little work, his life belies his statement.

After graduation from high school, he worked his way through Syracuse University where he earned an undergraduate degree in finance and a master’s degree in political science.

The young man began his banking career in 1936 with Marine Midland Bank in Cortland, NY, in a clerk’s position – listed one step above the maintenance engineer (janitor) in the bank’s annual report. In Cortland, Frank Plummer met his beloved wife Elizabeth (Betsy) Higgins. In later years, Frank Plummer, with his puckish sense of humor, said that Betsy could always refute any claim he made to “starting at the bottom” in his banking career.

In 1940, he answered his country’s call by joining the infantry. Serving in the Pacific area of combat, he attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. After the war, he was appointed Executive Vice President and Director of the Marine Bank & Trust Company of Tampa, FL.

In 1953, the Plummers moved to Montgomery, AL, where he became the Executive Vice President and Director of The First National Bank of Montgomery (which became the First Alabama Bank of Montgomery).

During the next five years, he became known for his high ethical standards and for his forward-thinking and entrepreneurial acumen. This “New York Yankee” found ready acceptance in the Deep South because he was the epitome of a gentleman-a gentle and courtly, kind, gracious man who worked diligently for the good of his profession and the community.

In 1958, Frank Plummer became the President of Birmingham Trust National Bank and was promoted to Chairman and Director in 1961. In 1964, he returned to Montgomery as President of the First National Bank of Montgomery. He was named Chairman of the Board and President in 1969.

In the early 1970′ s, Frank Plummer (represent­ing First National of Montgomery) began negotiation with First National of Huntsville and Exchange Security of Birmingham with the ob­jective of establishing a wider pool of resources for economic growth in the state. The legislation prohibited branch banking which would permit banks to marshal their financial resources when money was tight.

The first application for a registered holding company, filed with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, was turned down. However, opposition to the new concept in banking was subsequently overcome, and First Alabama Bancshares, Inc. received official sanction from the Federal Reserve Board in Washington on June 13, 1971. The holding company became a key to progress in Alabama, opening the door to greener pastures for the people of the state through ac­cess to money and job opportunities.

Frank Plummer has been called a “banker’s banker.” A graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking, Rutgers University, he also served as an instructor and member of the Board of Regents there and as a faculty member of the Southwestern School of Banking at Southern Methodist University.

He was a director of the Birmingham Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and a director and member of the Executive Commit­tee of the Association of Registered Bank Holding Companies.

Frank Plummer did not fit the stereotype of a banker. He had his own style. In all seasons, he wore an English Hornberg tipped at a rakish angle over his brow and dressed impeccably like a sophisticated man-of-the-world. “Mr. P,” as many employees called him, added a personal touch to the employer-employee relationship. He knew most employees by name and always ex­pressed interest in them and their work.

Debonair Frank Plummer was also known as a “workhorse” in the local and state civic arena.

For example, he served as Director and President of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce; Director of the Alabama State Chamber of Commerce; and a director of the Alabama Power Company and of the Maytag Company of Newton, Iowa. He worked as Chairman of the Advisory Board and Director of the Montgom­ery Salvation Army and chairman of the Men of Montgomery.

Firmly committed to education, he served as a member of the advisory boards of Auburn University at Montgomery; the University of Alabama Medical Center; and Jackson Hospital Foundation. He was also a member of The Board of Visitors of Berry College and of The Board of Governors of the Alabama Association of Independent Colleges. He was a director of the Southern Research Foundation and of Alabama Bankers Association Educational Foundation.

For his many accomplishments and contributions, Frank Plummer was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Huntingdon College, Montgomery, in 1972.

Frank Plummer died in Montgomery on Oc­tober 3, 1987, with his beloved wife Betsy and old friends standing by his side.

Banking had been his life and what he had done to develop banking was what he had enjoyed most. But Frank Plummer also loved people.

This successful, sophisticated executive was one who would stand at the door of the bank to welcome customers with apples at Christmastime.

Perhaps, these are some of the reasons that those who were privileged to know him will cherish the memory.

Sources of biographical information: An address by Frank A. Plummer to the Newcomen Society of the United States, in Bir­mingham, September 15, 1983 (published in April 1984); Alison L. Large, “Frank Plummer dies; pioneered state multi-bank holding firms, “The Birmingham News, October 5, 1987, p. 2A; The Latest Word, First Alabama Bank’s Monthly Publication, · October 31, 1987; “Notable Banker dies at age 75,” Birmingham Post Herald, October 5, 1987, p. C6; Starr Smith, “A banker’s banker: Debonair Frank Plummer, “The Montgomery Independent, October 15, 1987, p.7.

Robert Herndon Radcliff, Jr.

  • October 26th, 2021

As an astute business executive and an active leader in civic affairs, Robert Hern­don Radcliff, Jr., has been instrumental in the devel­opment of Mobile, Ala­bama, into a modem port city. In 1987, he retired as Chairman of the Board of Midstream Fuel Company -only one of the several marine businesses in which the Radcliffs have been leaders since 1917.

Robert Herndon Rad­cliff, Jr., the son of Robert Herndon and Lucy Shields Leatherbury Radcliff, was born on November 14, 1917 – the same year that his father formed Radcliff Gravel Company and began producing the raw materials (sand and gravel) from the Alabama River and operating a retail construction material business.

Young Robert attended the Mobile public schools and graduated from Murphy High School in 1936. After attending Virginia Military Institute for a year, he returned home to help his father in rebuilding the family business, which like so many others, had suffered bankruptcy in 1932.

Robert Radcliff, Jr., has since said that he thought his father “a terrible taskmaster at times, but I was soon to know that what he taught me was terribly important.”

In June 1940, Robert Radcliff, Jr., married Dorothy Eugenia Greer. (they subsequently had four children: Eugenia Greer, Lucy Leatherbury, Robert Herndon, and Barton Greer Radcliff.)

In 1941, Robert Radcliff, Sr. died, still owing the bank a great deal of money. Twenty-three-year-old Robert Jr. was faced with the dilemma of paying off the debt and keeping the company solvent.

At the advice of his uncle, Ernest Ladd, Sr., he sought a partner with financial strength. He found support from his uncle, Frank L. Leather­bury, who became a 51 % partner until such time as the company was in sound position and the bank loan satisfied. For Frank Leatherbury’s support and generosity, Robert Radcliff has said, “I shall ever be grateful.”

In 1946, Radcliff Gravel Company became one of four companies that merged to form Southern Industries. This first holding company or con­glomerate in Mobile was the ”brainchild” of Edward A. Roberts, former chair­man of Waterman Steam­ship Company. The in­dividual companies­Radcliff Gravel, McPhillips Mfg. (a seafood business), Biloxi Grit (pro­ducers of shell for the poultry business), and Ewin Engineering Co.-were allowed much leeway in their operations. Southern Industries became one of the largest Corporations in Mobile; it was sold to Dravo Corporation in 1977.

In 1947, Robert Radcliff, Jr., was made a direc­tor of Southern Industries. He became president in 1954 and president and CEO in 1964 after the founder Ed Roberts died.

In 1972, after the directors of Southern In­dustries turned down an offer to buy Bauer Dredging (a world-wide dredging company), Robert Radcliff received permission from the directors to personally buy that company. When he bought the dredging company, he resigned from Southern Industries. He and his son Hern­don (who was in the marine business) entered into the new venture with enthusiasm. But, after Herndon’s untimely death in 1973 in a polo game, Robert Radcliff lost interest in pursuing the business. He sold Bauer Dredging to Bean Company of New Orleans in 1974.

Robert Radcliff’s desire to return to business emerged once more with the organization of Radcliff Marine Services Company. The new company obtained a five-year contract to tow oil for the Marion Corporation of Theodore, AL. From this venture stemmed Tenn Tom Towing Co., Midstream Fuel Service, and Pepco, a land side wholesale and retail fuel supplier. Radcliff Marine Service also had contracts to tow crude oil along the Gulf Coast and completed a $6 million sub contract on I-10 across Mobile Bay.

Robert Radcliff, Jr., served as president and CEO of these companies (which consolidated as Midstream Fuel Company) until his retirement in 1984. He remained as chairman of the board and director until 1987.

In July 1987, he joined his son Greer in form­ing Radcliff Marine and Fuel Company. Although Robert Radcliff owns one-half of the company, he has left the successful operation to his son and is enjoying his retirement which pro­vides time for fishing, hunting, and playing tennis-pleasures he hadn’t had time to pursue very much before.

In addition to his part in development of the marine business, Robert Radcliff, Jr., has played a leading role in all areas of community activity.

In the past, he has served as a director of Southern Co., Atlanta, Georgia; Alabama Power Company, Birmingham; Merchants Na­tional Bank of Mobile; Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; Blount Inc. of Montgomery; L&N Railroad, Louisville, Kentucky; CSX Railroad, Richmond, Virginia; Seaboard Coastline Railroad, Jacksonville, Florida; Colonial Sugar Co., Title Insurance Co., and Ryan Walsh Stevedoring Co. in Mobile; Grand Hotel Cor­poration in Point Clear, Alabama.

He is currently a director of the Bank of Mobile and Bedsole Medical Supply, as well as a director of M. W. Smith Lumber Co. and E. A. Roberts Estate.

He has been a member and director of the Alabama State Chamber of Commerce; the Mobile Chamber of Commerce; the Warrior Tombigbee Development Association; the Coosa Alabama Improvement Association; and the American Manufacturers Association.

He has been a member of the Executive Com­mittee of the Boy Scouts of America; a member and vice president of the Rotary Club; a Fellow of Mobile College; and a director of UMS Preparatory School, the Mobile Arts and Sports Association, and the Senior Bowl. He was a Founding member of Mobile United and of America’s Junior Miss Pageant.

In 1967, after serving as Chairman of the United Fund, he became the 19th citizen to be honored by the Civitan Club as “Mobilian of the Year” -for his leadership in many facets of com­munity life. He was attending a national Associa­tion of Manufacturers Convention in New York when he received a telephone call about this honor. His responses reflect the tenor of this outstanding business executive and civic leader. “That’s just wonderful;” “I really appreciate this;” and “How did this come about?”

Robert Radcliff, Jr. states simply about his business career that “the Radcliffs have loved the marine business, the rivers, the barges, dredges, tows, and tugs for three generations.” The com­panies with which he ha? been associated over the years “have dredged sand and gravel from the Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers, shell from the Gulf Coast waters from Texas to Tallahassee, Florida.” They have “pushed coal, rock, and crude on the Tenn Tom River system from as far as Caving Rock, Illinois, to ports on the Gulf Coast.”

And he is pleased that his grandson, Robert Herndon Radcliff, IV, employed by Radcliff Marine and Fuel, Inc., is carrying to the fourth generation the Radcliff love of the exciting marine business.

Robert Radcliff, Jr. seems to take no credit for his contributions to his native city – but Mobile, and Alabama – will remember him.

X