Eugene C. Eppley

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Eugene C. Eppley, (April 8, 1884-October 14, 1958) also known as Gene, was a hotel magnate from Omaha, Nebraska.[1] Eppley is credited with having single-handedly built one of the most successful hotel empires in the United States,[2] which was the largest privately-owned hotel chain in the country in the 1950s.[3]

Contents

[edit] Biography

Further information: Eppley Hotel Company
Further information: Eppley Foundation

Eppley was born in Akron, Ohio and graduated from the Culver Academies in 1901.[4] He bought his first property, the McKinley Hotel in Canton, Ohio, at the age of 19. Eppley formed the Eppley Hotel Company in 1915, and at its peak in the 1950s the Eppley Hotel Company owned 22 hotels in six states. Gene Eppley sold the company to Sheraton Hotels in 1956 for $30 million. Among many activities he was a director of Sheraton Hotels, Mid-Continent Airlines and the Mount Rushmore Foundation.[5]

Eppley was a renowned philanthropist who gave primarily to causes throughout the United States Midwest. Eppley donated food to an experiment related to Operation Cue.[6] He was active in Ak-Sar-Ben, and was elected the King of the Court of Ak-Sar-Ben in 1932.[7] His foundation was repeatedly the largest donor ever to several causes throughout the Midwestern United States. He personally commissioned several works by artist Grant Wood. The well-known "Fruits of Iowa" grouping was commissioned in 1932 as murals for his hotels. Currently several are housed at Coe College in Iowa.[8][9]

Eppley lived at his flagship, the Hotel Fontenelle in Downtown Omaha. He died there in 1958.[10]

"He fought hard and held his own... and success was prompted by the love of the game. He was acquisitive and altruistic, proud and modest, but beneath it all humble and compassionate. His life seemed a struggle to keep his soft side from showing. He taught and inspired and disciplined... but exacted more of himself than any other. He was an organizer, leader, teacher, fighter, talker and giver. All of his facets added up to a rather heroic figure."[11]

[edit] Books about Eppley

  • Dalstrom, H.A. (1969) Eugene C. Eppley: his life and legacy. Lincoln, NE: Johnsen Publishing Company.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Erwin, P.F. (1970) "Eugene C. Eppley: His Life and Legacy by Harl Adams Dalstrom - A Review," Journal of American History. 57(2), pp. 466-468
  2. ^ "Important people", The Gateway. University of Nebraska at Omaha. Retrieved 2/2/08.
  3. ^ "Closing the Gap", Time magazine. June 4, 1956. Retrieved 2/3/08.
  4. ^ Eugene C. Eppley Club, Culver Academies. Retrieved 2/3/08.
  5. ^ Denslow, W.R. 10,000 Famous Freemasons from A to J Part One. Kessinger Publishing, LLC. p 23.
  6. ^ "Witnessing an Atomic Blast", NebraskaStudies.org. Retrieved 2/2/08.
  7. ^ "Kay Tukey – September JLO This Month’s Sustainer of the Month", Junior League of Omaha. Retrieved 2/2/08.
  8. ^ January-June 2006 News, Coe College. Retrieved 2/3/08.
  9. ^ "The Corn Room". Retrieved 2/3/08.
  10. ^ Dalstrom, H.A. (1969) Eugene C. Eppley: His Life and Legacy. Johnsen Press.
  11. ^ Dalstrom, H.A. (1969) Eugene C. Eppley: his life and legacy. Lincoln, NE: Johnsen Publishing Company.