“When that great trial lawyer
Clarence Darrow described a corporation as ‘a legal entity, with no
soul to feel,’ he proved conclusively that he had never heard of
Murphy’s. The G.C. Murphy Company has a soul. You—our veterans. May
your spirit spread.”
—Jim Mack, chairman
and president, G.C. Murphy Co.,
speech to G.C. Murphy
Veterans' Club, 1965
Welcome to a website
dedicated to the legacy of the G.C. Murphy Company and its employees,
who served customers from the Canadian border to the Rio Grande with
pride and distinction for four generations.
Here you’ll find a brief history of the
company, a list of cities and towns where it operated, and information
about the new book (on sale now!) that tells a new
generation about Murphy’s, the important role it played in the lives of
millions of Americans, and the stories of the people who made it great.
Maybe you just knew it as the “five and 10” ... or Morgan & Lindsey’s ... or Murphy’s Mart.
If you lived in Texas, perhaps you
shopped at one of the department stores that Murphy’s operated under
the names of Cobbs, Bruners and Terry Farris.
Or maybe you or some member of your
family got their first job at a Murphy’s. But chances are, if you lived
in the eastern United States during the 20th century, chances are that
there was a G.C. Murphy Company store near you!
Buy the Book!
To buy the new book For the Love of Murphy’s, please visit your local bookstore.
The book should be available from Barnes & Noble, Borders and other retailers. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $34.95.
If the book is not in stock, any bookstore may order it via ISBN number 978-0-271-03370-9.
If your bookstore is unwilling to order it for you, then please order directly from Penn State University Press. Call 1-800-326-9180 and ask for the special promotional discount “JT08.” The promotional price is $23.80 plus shipping, handling and Pennsylvania sales tax (if applicable).
For more information, check out our frequently asked questions.
American Profile magazine, a weekly supplement delivered with many newspapers, recently recalled the story of how Murphy’s made the “Wooly Willy” toy a nationwide sensation. (Posted Sept. 24. 2009)
The former G.C. Murphy Co. store in Punxsutawney, Pa.—the town best known for hosting the world’s largest Groundhog Day celebrations—as been transformed into a regional education center for Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The IUP Fairman Centre includes three classrooms, a 112-seat auditorium, and twelve apartments housing up to twenty-three students. Located at 101 Mahoning St., the building was home to the G.C. Murphy Co. from 1934 through 1985. (Posted Sept. 17. 2009)
Aubrey Johnson, former vice president of merchandising for the G.C. Murphy Co., died Aug. 19, 2009, at age 87, according to the Fredericksburg, Va., Free Lance-Star. Johnson, a dive-bomber pilot during World War II, spent more than 42 years with the Company. (Posted Aug. 19. 2009)
PCN’s “PA Books”will feature For the Love of Murphy’s on April 26. Check local listings for times and availability. (Posted April 2, 2009)
An article in the September 2008 issue of Harvard Business Review which supposedly described the “biggest business failures of all time” blamed G.C. Murphy Co. employees for the bankruptcies and subsequent failure of Ames Department Stores Inc. Tom Hudak, former chairman of the board of Murphy’s, one-time board member of Ames, and member of the board of G.C. Murphy Co. Foundation, has set the record straight. (Posted April 2, 2009)
The last remaining Woolworth five-and-10 stores in the United Kingdom have closed, a victim of the worldwide economic downtown. The stores were originally part of the American F.W. Woolworth Co. but had long since been spun off into an independent company. The last Woolworth five-and-10 stores in the United States closed in 1997. (Posted Jan. 6, 2009)
The city of Wheeling, W.Va., has issued $715,000 in bonds to purchase the former G.C. Murphy Co. store and several neighboring properties, reports the Wheeling Intelligencer. (Posted Jan. 6, 2009)
Older
News Items | Book Errata and Corrections
|
