Charles Ross "C.R." Anthony - Memorial Park Cemetery - OKC, OK
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Max and 99
N 35° 36.351 W 097° 29.449
14S E 636697 N 3941281
Founder of the "Anthony's" department store chain, and Oklahoma Hall of Famer
Waymark Code: WMFPZT
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 11/15/2012
Views: 18
The final resting place of Charles Rose "C.R." Anthony is at the center of Memorial Park Cemetery, just north of the central fountain and tower. His is a flat marker, close to the southeast corner of section 4B.
According to wikipedia:
C.R. Anthony Co., stores branded as Anthony's, was a chain of department stores founded in 1922 in Cushing, Oklahoma by C.R Anthony. Anthony's was acquired by Stage Stores Inc. in 1997 and most stores were rebranded Stage.
Charles Ross Anthony, better known as C.R. Anthony, was born near Trenton, Gibson County, Tennessee on August 10, 1885 and moved to Oklahoma as a young man. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from Oklahoma in 1956 and a Rotary member. He was named to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.
The Dixie Store
C.R. Anthony opened his first retail establishment, The Dixie Store, in September 1922 in a 25-foot storefront in Cushing, Oklahoma.
The Dixie Store prospered during the Great Depression.
Anthonys
By 1947 C.R. Anthony changed the name of his 75 store chain to Anthonys.
By 1950 there were Anthonys in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Nebraska, Kansas, and Arkansas.[2]
By 1964 there were 300 stores, mostly west of the Mississippi River.
$100 million in sales in 1973. $200 million in sales in 1978.
C.R. Anthony retires
C.R. Anthony retired from the company in 1972 and his son Guy Anthony became president of the company. In 1980, Guy Anthony retired and his son, Bob Anthony, became president of the company.
In 1985 Anthony's introduced its own credit card.
At its peak Anthony's had 300 stores in 20 states with $411 million in sales.
Anthony's was once the largest privately-owned firm headquartered in Oklahoma.
Investor group
Bob Anthony remained president of Anthony's until 1987 when the company's shareholders voted to sell it to an investor group sponsored by Citicorp Venture Capital.
C.R. Anthony Company (Nasdaq: CRAU)
Bankruptcy
Anthonys filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1991 after bank lenders refused to fund seasonal line of credit after technical default on a loan. At the time it operated 182 stores in the United States. It emerged from bankruptcy in 1992.
Sold to Stage Stores Inc.
In 1997 Stage Stores Incorporated acquired C.R. Anthony's. It rebranded most of the stores with the Stage name and closed the remaining. At the time of the merger Anthony's operated 226 stores in 14 states and opened 13 more before the buyout was complete.
Description:
Founder of the Anthony's chain store and Delegate to the Democratic National Convention
Date of birth: 08/10/1884
Date of death: 06/16/1976
Area of notoriety: Other
Marker Type: Headstone
Setting: Outdoor
Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Sunrise to Sunset
Fee required?: No
Web site: [Web Link]
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