ARMINGTON, MYERS & CO.

ARMINGTON, MYERS & CO. In 1867 Armington, Myers and Company was formed in Dubuque by H. W. Armington, Dorrence D. Meyers, and J. H. Tice. (1) The company used equipment that could cut tobacco quicker than by hand to produce fine cut chew and smoking tobacco. Chew tobacco was made easier to hold in the mouth with the addition of powdered white sugar and ground licorice. "Fragant" was the first brand produced to be followed by other brands like "Sunset," "Home Comfort," and "New Comer." Business was at first limited to areas that could be reached by stagecoach or the ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD. The company was the first of its kind in eastern Iowa. (2)

Armington sold his interest in June 1870 to Walter C. Cox and the company was renamed MYERS, TICE & CO. Offices and warehouses were located at 3 Iowa Street. The company annually used 350,000 pounds of tobacco for products sent throughout Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin Minnesota, California, and "the territories." Sales annually were $300,000. (3)

Tice retired from the company in 1895 and was succeeded by George W. Myers. The company was renamed MYERS, COX & COMPANY. Business was profitable and the plant was moved to a building at 4th and Iowa. This was used for manufacturing. There were also two large warehouses. Each came to hold a two-year supply of tobacco stored in barrels. The company employed fifty people with an additional eleven salesmen who traveled the Midwest. (4)

Between 1890 and 1910 there were ten cigar manufacturing companies in Dubuque. Myers-Cox, the only one to survive the creation of tobacco trusts which put many similar companies out of business, became the only large manufacturer of smoking tobacco independent of the trusts. (5) In 1913 the company incorporated in Iowa. (6)

In the 1920s, Myers-Cox replaced manufacturing with wholesaling and distributing tobacco and other products. (7)

n the early 1900's Myers-Cox started distributing some nationally branded cigars. Territory franchises were established and became an important piece of the distribution process. The LaFendrich and Charles Denby cigar labels were added to the Myers-Cox product line and sold to a company in Indiana for national distribution. Similarly, Fragrant chewing tobacco blend was sold to American Tobacco Company for national distribution. During and after World War I premade and prepackaged cigarettes were introduced nationally, and their popularity made tremendous gains. Myers-Cox saw this product as a great opportunity.

Along with adding prepackaged cigarettes to their product line Myers-Cox expanded into candy, gum, and tobacco accessories. Most of the candy product was manufactured in Midwest cities like Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis and Milwaukee. The product was shipped by rail to Dubuque and local drayage companies delivered it from the train stations to the company warehouse using dray wagons.

With the introduction of the Model T, Myers-Cox Company started local delivery within the city of Dubuque using Model T trucks in the 1920's. The sales reps started using small panel trucks to call on their customers. Each sales rep was located in their general territory and all merchandise was shipped to them once a week. The sales reps would deliver the product at the time of the sale. The frequency of sales calls varied from once every three weeks to once every six weeks.

W.B. Poinsett joined Myers-Cox in 1926 as sales manager. Poinsett and Thomas Stampfer, the owner of a large Dubuque department store, purchased the company is 1931. The company moved its headquarters and warehouse to Dodge and Main Streets in 1935. William Poinsett, W.B.'s son, joined Myers-Cox in 1939 and eventually took over management in the 1950's.

World War II brought a lot of challenges for the country and consequentially, Myers-Cox. All resale products were rationed, including gasoline and tires. The rationing made delivering product and making sales calls challenging. As men answered the call to serve the country, women joined the warehouse operation at Myers-Cox for the first time.

After World War II Myers-Cox greatly expanded its product line. Categories such as cigarettes, tobacco and confections all grew for Myers-Cox. Coca Cola and Canada Dry were some brands that were added to the product mix. In the early 1950's sundries, such as billfolds, sunglasses, gloves, and small electric appliances, were added to the Myers-Cox product line. Most of these items were sold through catalogs that were distributed twice a year.

Joseph A. Carew joined the Myers-Cox team in August of 1955. This started his fifty-three year long career with Myers-Cox.

In the 1960s the State of Iowa authorized the sale and use of cigarette vending machines. Myers-Cox saw an opportunity here and opened My-Cap Vendors Inc. which is now a full line vending company that vends cigarettes and tobacco, candy, snacks, beverages and food.

In 1964 W.E. Maron purchased Myers-Cox. Maron was the owner of Capital Tobacco of Charles City, Iowa. Capital Tobacco had a warehouse in Dubuque. After the Myers-Cox warehouse was flooded in the flood of 1965, they moved into the Capital warehouse on 32nd Street. The operations were consolidated and the company became known as what many people remember: Capital-Myers-Cox. The consolidation grew the product offering even more with the addition of Kraft and Heinz institutional foods and an expanded fountain division.

In 1968 the Vice President and General Manager, Joseph A. Carew, acquired the controlling interest in the company from W.E. Maron.

Shortly after Joe Carew purchased the controlling interest in the company, Myers-Cox acquired a warehouse adjacent to the Kirchhoff Company. The acquisition of this warehouse added another 6,000 square feet of space and provided for continued product line expansion. Greg Carew, Joe's son, joined the company in 1976. His youth and ambition brought a wave of technological upgrades that included the addition of computers in the office. This addition enabled more detailed information to be available to Myers-Cox customers and allowed for more accurate inventory and more streamlined ordering processes.

In 1983 Myers-Cox acquired the 35,000 square foot warehouse of Stanley Home Products which was only a few blocks from the 32nd Street headquarters. This acquisition allowed Myers-Cox to include both retail and commercial frozen products to their product line and allowed the company to add a line of retail groceries to service convenience stores.

As the product lines increased, the facilities expanded and transportation improved. The company began to grow its distribution territory. The Waukon territory was acquired in 1986, a Waterloo distributor was acquired in 1988, and a Clinton distributor was acquired in 1989.

In addition to being an important part of technological upgrades and operational efficiency, Greg Carew held key leadership positions with the company for twenty-eight years until he suffered a stroke in 2004. His guidance helped propel the company to much of what it is today.

Today Myers-Cox is located in Peosta, Iowa from where it distributes to a variety of businesses within a 150 mile radius of Dubuque, including customers in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. These businesses include convenience stores, bars and grills, restaurants, grocery stores, office buildings, doctor's offices, banks, schools, concession stands, and city parks.

The product line consists of many of the same categories that it has for years and has been expanded to include a ware-washing and laundry program, cleaning chemicals, janitorial supplies, paper products, plastic products, coffee and coffee programs, foodservice products and others.

Joseph A. Carew was at the helm of the company for almost sixty years. Joe passed away in 2008 at the age of eighty nine.

Throughout the years Carew family members have always been involved in the company, working in every department. Shortly after Joe's passing, Rob Apel joined the company as the President and Chief Operating Officer. Rob brought with him years of experience in business, finance, marketing and management and was hired to help stabilize the company and to help the company grow while maintaining the tradition of service.

The second generation of the Carew family remains an integral part of the company. Greg's wife, Mary Carew, is currently the Chief Financial Officer. Chris Dempsey, Greg and Mary's son-in-law, joined the business in 2009. Chris' addition brings the third generation of the family into the business and continues the valuable tradition of family involvement in the Myers-Cox Company.

Since 2009 Myers-Cox has upgraded its computer and order entry systems. The company has deployed new mobile handheld computers for all of its sales reps and has built a website that allows customers the ability to order online, helps the company maintain communication with current customers, and attracts new customers.

Myers-Cox Company has served generation after generation. Myers-Cox employees are considered family and many have been with the company for two or three decades. Some employees are second and third generation. Like the loyalty of the employees, the loyalty of the company's customers is unmatched.

Over the years, product variety has expanded, transportation methods have improved, and the location of Myers-Cox has changed. The goal of the company has remained consistent: Myers-Cox takes care of its customers. Myers-Cox understands what it takes for a small business to succeed. It has succeeded as a family owned business for generations and will continue that tradition by using its expertise to help its customers grow their own businesses for generations.

The 1867 Dubuque City Directory and the 1868 Guide, Gazetteer and Directory of the Dubuque & Soux (sic) City Railroad stated that this business was located at 63 Main.

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Source:

1. "Myers-Cox Company Records, 1869-1963," ArchiveGrid, Online: http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/collection/data/63675086

2. Oldt, Franklin T. The History of Dubuque County, Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1880, p. 660. Online: http://books.google.com/books?id=u9xDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA660&lpg=PA660&dq=ARMINGTON,+MYERS+AND+COMPANY+%28DUBUQUE%29&source=bl&ots=0CpzHKDR7v&sig=DXoNCvzhy1Nn7eFikroEEIZHSJI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VvOjUoGjEITLrgHomoGACg&ved=0CEQQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=ARMINGTON%2C%20MYERS%20AND%20COMPANY%20%28DUBUQUE%29&f=false

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Kruse, Len. "Making Cigars---1867-1925," My Old Dubuque, Dubuque, Iowa: Center for Dubuque History, 2000, p. 246

6. "Myers-Cox Company Records..."

7. Ibid.