You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. When he opened the first stand, on Ayers Street in Corpus Christi, he envisioned selling a burger big enough that it would take two hands to hold it. Verify and try again. A year later, the first of the familiar orange and white striped A-frames was built in Odessa, Texas. This attention to detail likely led to Whataburger receiving $50 in purchases on their first day.5. Oops, something didn't work. On April 10, 1967, Dobson needed to fly to Beaumont, Texas for business and wanted someone to come along with him. By the company's seventh decade, Whataburger had grown from a single burger stand in Corpus Christi to an 800-restaurant chain that spanned every state from Arizona to Florida. [2], Dobson moved to Texas, where he co-founded the first Whataburger with Paul Burton, who was looking to open a hamburger restaurant. Ben Cauley survived the crash and James Alexander was not on the plane. Dobson was a notorious bachelor, but he had always liked a beautiful young widow he met at the C.I.T. Credit Corporation in Batesville during his auto dealing years. During the early 1990s, profits declined as new items such as popcorn shrimp, salads, and steak sandwiches were added to the menu. He charged a pricy 25 cents since the burgers were better quality than the competitors burgers. Information and advice to help you cope with the death of someone important to you. Resend Activation Email. Contents 1 Early life 2 Whataburger 3 Death 4 References Early life Dobson revealed that in Fast Food magazine in 1957 that flying over a Whataburger in Bryan, Texas led to more customers buying burgers. Unless you are experienced as an estate executor, you probably should hire an attorney. Treating our customers right. Today, in 2019, it has been 69 years since the first Whataburger opened up. Instead, during the next 38 years, the Whataburger matriarch, who died of complications from cancer Thursday in a local hospital at age 80, played an integral part in growing the hamburger chain into the eighth largest in the nation. Our Story TGFF Dobson was involved in the early growth of the franchise from 1950 until his death in an airplane crash in 1967. On April 10, 1967, Dobson needed to fly to Beaumont, Texas for business and wanted someone to come along with him. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. Their family complete, the Dobsons embarked on the happy, golden age of Whataburger. Its hard to ignore a burger that makes you say What a Burger!. 1967. Following that, the adventurous Dobson traveled to Bahrain in the Persian Gulf to help build a refinery. Corpus Christi is going to miss Grace Dobson. Dobson agreed, and the Alice store opened a year later. The Andrews family refused and in March filed its suit, asking a judge to order Whataburger to abide by the 1993 agreement. A host of new menu items was unveiled, including the Whatameal, the A.1. Thick & Hearty Burger, cookies, biscuits, chicken strips and more. Five of the crew died while waiting, and the remaining seven . Tom officially took over Whataburger in 1993 and is still company chairman today. Early life [ edit] Theres no question that Whataburger, if managed properly in the public market, could deliver a significant return, he says. GREAT NEWS! Although he missed college, Harmon was determined to make his way in the world. 1 Colonization and Settlement (1500-1763), 2 Revolution and Early Republic (1754-1801), 4 Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877), 5 Emergence of Modern America (1877-1929), 4 Late Middle Ages-Renaissance-Reformation Europe (1300-1648), 3 Post-Classical History (600 CE-1492 CE), HS 1302 United States History since 1877, SP 3392 Language Variation and Dialectology of Spanish, Dom DiFurio and Oria McCaffrey, Whataburgers founding family sells controlling stake in iconic Texas chain,, College of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences. They are memories Sheka said he will treasure. Having lived in Texas for the 18 years of my life, I found it really interesting to finally know the full history of Whataburger. After handling freight to pay for his travel, nineteen-year-old Abel Head Pierce, a native of Little Compton, Rhode Island, landed at the Texas port of Indianola five months after leaving home. Dobson was involved in the early growth of the franchise from 1950 until his death in an airplane crash in 1967. Harmon Dobson was sixteen years old on Black Friday, but this first Black Friday was no shopping extravaganza: it marked the most devastating stock market crash in United States history. Being proud of everything we do. Harmon Archibald Dobson (October 8, 1913 April 11, 1967)[1] was an American entrepreneur best known as one of the founders of the fast food chain Whataburger. Harmon never lived to see his shack become a regional burger empire; he died in a plane crash in 1967. how privileged we are to have been in a partnership with you for this long.. Really great article. But thats a tough needle to thread for a company that has developed intense customer loyalty because of its down-home, noncorporate image. During this time he traveled to North Africa where he helped build a U.S. Navy base and worked on airplane hangars, radio towers, tanks, and whatever else the Navy needed. Today, more than seven-hundred of the distinctive orange and white WHATABURGER restaurants can be found in eleven states, and total more than $1billion is sales annually. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. Andrews, a longtime friend of Whataburger founder Harmon Dobsons, wasnt simply the companys first franchisee, he was its most successful, opening dozens of locations in Texas and helping the chain build its reputation. Cant tell much yet.6, August 11, 1950- Nice day today $97. In 1952, Dobson opened a location in Kingsville, Texas, this was the first store located outside of Corpus Christi. For the Andrews family, this shift in corporate culture first became apparent two years ago, when it told the company headquarters, which had moved from Corpus to San Antonio in 2009, that it wanted to open a new store in Laredo. By the end of 1936, he had a net worth of $35,000. In 1953 , Joe Andrews received the first Whataburger franchise, and business was booming. Whats Up With All the Kangaroos on the Loose in Texas? January 1, 1950- I think this will be an eventful year for me.1. ! The main reason for the move was for oil. [2] Harmon and his wife had two children, a daughter born in 1956 and a son born in 1957. Its a brand built on pride, care, and love. There was a problem getting your location. Its a place people count on in their communities. Known for: Co-founding Whataburger with . Following that, he worked at the New York Shipbuilding Company, which, at the time, was the worlds largest boat-builder for the U.S. Navy. Its a little like a public divorceneither side walks away looking good, says Michelle Hartmann, a Dallas attorney who specializes in private-company litigation. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. He had $2500 to invest in the right deal involving oil, and eventually, he became partners with Henry Mode on an oil lease in Loving County, Texas.2 Yet, this investment did not lead to success. . Whataburger had commissioned the "Flying W" company logo and had expanded to 40 locations in four states. And by the end of 1989, Whataburger was serving hot and fresh food at 440 different locations. In my personal opinion, I am glad he did not succeed in striking oil because I would not have been able to enjoy Whataburger. On June 23, 1950, the Texas Secretary of State office granted Dobson the trademark for Whataburger. Dobson then invested more time and more effort into developing the first Whatabuger.4, Eventually, on August 8, 1950, Dobson opened and sold his first Whataburger through the window of a little portable building. Dobson wanted to increase the price of a burgerfrom 25 to 30 cents. Geographical origins New specialty items included the Whataburger Patty Melt and the Honey BBQ Chicken Strip Sandwich. Harmons parents, Hugh and Ethel, raised cattle and fed the family fresh beef, milk, and home-grown vegetables. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. And while we now serve hot, fresh food at more than 890 Whataburgers across the country, that burger stand in Corpus Christi is never far from our hearts. The new CEO and president of Whataburger was Tom Dobson, the son of Harmon and Grace Dobson. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. The meat and vegetables were always fresh, never frozen. Before the Whataburger, the typical burger was a White Castle slider, a two-ounce beef patty on a 2-inch bun. It's surprising how much a musical selection can affect mourning. My name is Courtney Pena and I am from McAllen, Texas. Earlier this year, Andrewss company, now run by his daughter, Kathy Andrews Reese, sued the restaurant chain, claiming that Whataburger had reneged on a 22-year-old agreement between the two companies. One part of this strategy, the lawsuit contends, is to buy out franchisees with an eye toward taking the company public; gaining greater control over its franchise operations could provide greater value to future shareholders. Harmon Archibald Dobson [1] was an American entrepreneur best known as one of the founders of the fast food chain Whataburger. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. On April 11, 1967, Dobson and an associate died in an airplane crash, and Dobson's widow, Grace, took control of the business. They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel. It was the first Whataburger restaurant outside the state of Texas. Add to your scrapbook. Learning about Dobsons history was interesting as well, I didnt know that he had originally started out attempting to capitalize on the oil industry. The next year, we awarded more than $90 million in bonuses to our Family Members (what we call our employees) in thanks for their extraordinary service during the pandemic. In the early years, Graces oldest son, Tom, enjoyed helping Harmon make the root beer at Whataburger. Tom Dobson - NNDB Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. It is crazy that he died in a plane crash. However, Dobson was already looking to move on to bigger ventures. By 1965, it was estimated that Whataburger was selling 15,000 hamburgers a day. However, if one thinks about it, if it were not for this incident, Dobson would not have gone down the road that he did to finance Whataburger. Born:? Ford Heights plane crash: Small plane crashes near I-394 and Lincoln He wanted this burgers to be so delicious that it would make a person yell, What a burger! This inspired the naming of his company. There was an error deleting this problem. And You Thought Feral Hogs Were Bad. Leave them blank to get signed up. They really caught on early to the adage that pioneers get slaughtered and settlers get the land, he says.

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