History
1940
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| The Corydon, Iowa, Supply Store in 1946. |
At the start of the decade, a new type of store was opened at Centerville, Iowa, where company president Dwight Vredenburg also served as store manager. This store offered customers the newly invented shopping cart, self-service and a frozen food case. At the end of the decade, again in Centerville, Hy-Vee opened its first supermarket outside of town. It was the first store in a brand new building and with its own parking lot. To celebrate this event, the store held a grand opening, a tradition that continues today with each new Hy-Vee store opening.
In 1941 Hyde & Vredenburg had sales of $2 million. That same year the company made its first corporate donation, to the Boy Scouts of Lamoni, a philanthropic practice which has grown significantly over the years. Giving back to the communities in which Hy-Vee operates is one of the important principles of the company.
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| The Bethany, Missouri, Supply Store in the 1940s. |
At the end of World War II in 1945, the Chariton Wholesale Grocery was purchased and the corporate offices moved to Chariton, Iowa, the company closing its Lamoni subsidiaries over the years from 1944 to 1948.
By 1948 Hyde & Vredenburg, Inc. had a transportation division of 22 tractor-trailer trucks. That year, the new warehouse facility in Chariton, now called the Chariton Distribution Center, opened.
Co-founders Charles Hyde and David Vredenburg retired in 1949; David Vredenburg died later that year. At the end of 1949, there were 29 stores.
