EDUCATORS ’ PERSPECTIVE
DeGolyer Library , SMU
J . C . Penney trains twin calves to drink from a bucket at Foremost Farm , 1955 . J . C . Penney poses with his prize Percheron draft horse stallion , 1938 . Penney began buying prize Percherons during the Great Depression , providing stud services for farmers .
DeGolyer Library , SMU respected among dairy farmers , beef cattle producers and horse breeders nationwide . Angus , Hereford , Guernsey and Percheron breeding associations frequently chronicled his activities , even soliciting articles personally written by Penney about his agricultural ventures and discoveries .”
Of course , Penney ’ s influence extended well beyond agriculture . Among the thousands of individuals who worked at JC Penney stores , two stand out . Sam Walton worked at a JC Penney store in Arkansas before founding Walmart , and Warren Buffett worked at the Penney store in Omaha , Nebraska . In 2013 , Buffett was asked what he thought of the JC Penney Corporation , which was experiencing serious financial difficulties . In his reply , Buffett reminisced about his own experience at Penney ’ s :
I ’ ve got this huge rooting interest for Penney ’ s . I mean , I worked there when I was 16 selling TownCraft shirts at $ 1.98 , $ 2,98 . I sold women ’ s , or I sold men ’ s clothing , I sold children ’ s and I loved it . And I ’ ve always , I ’ ve always loved the company .
Recently , Buffett ’ s friend Bill Gates showed up in Kemmerer , Wyoming . Like James Cash Penney before him , Gates ’ s plans for Kemmerer are bound to revolutionize an entire industry as he works to battle climate change with nuclear power .
Brian Grinder is a professor at Eastern Washington University and a member of Financial History ’ s editorial board . Dr . Dan Cooper is the president of Active Learning Technologies .
Sources
“ Buffett on JC Penney ’ s Future .” October 16 , 2023 . [ Video recording ]. MSNBC . https :// www . cnbc . com / video / 2013 / 10 / 16 / buffett -on-jc-penneys-future . html
Curry , Mary E . Creating an American Institution : The Merchandising Genius of J . C . Penney . Garland Pub . 1993 .
Kruger , David D . J . C . Penney : The Man , the Store , and American Agriculture . University of Oklahoma Press . 2017 .
Penney , James C . Fifty Years with the Golden Rule . Harper . 1950 .
Penney , James C . View from the Ninth Decade : Jottings from a Merchant ’ s Daybook . Thomas Nelson & Sons . 1960 .
Skalla , J . “ Penney Began Empire in Kemmerer .” Casper Star-Tribune . October 24 , 1967 .
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