Eugene C. Eppley

Infobox Person
name = Eugene C. Eppley


caption =
birth_date = April 8, 1884
birth_place = Akron, Ohio
death_date = October 14, 1958
death_place = Omaha, Nebraska
other_names =
known_for = Businessman, philanthropist
occupation = Hotelier
nationality = American

Eugene C. Eppley, (April 8, 1884-October 14, 1958) also known as Gene, was a hotel magnate in Omaha, Nebraska. [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] Eppley is credited with having single-handedly built one of the most successful hotel empires, [ [http://media.www.unogateway.com/media/storage/paper968/news/2004/08/10/People/Theres.More.To.Uno.Buildings.Than.Just.A.Name-2548160.shtml "Important people"] , "The Gateway." University of Nebraska at Omaha. Retrieved 2/2/08.] by the 1950s the largest privately owned hotel chain in the United States. [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,866996,00.html "Closing the Gap"] , "Time magazine", June 4, 1956. Retrieved 2/3/08.]

Career

Eppley was born in Akron, Ohio and graduated from the Culver Academies in Indiana in 1901. [ [http://www.culver.plannedgifts.org/pdf/eppley_brochure.pdf Eugene C. Eppley Club] , Culver Academies. Retrieved 2/3/08.] At the age of 19, Eppley bought his first property, the McKinley Hotel in Canton, Ohio. At age 33, in 1917, he formed the Eppley Hotel Company. 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. [Denslow, W.R. "10,000 Famous Freemasons from A to J Part One." Kessinger Publishing, LLC. p 23.]

After purchasing the Hotel Fontenelle in Downtown Omaha in 1920, Eppley lived at his flagship until his death in 1958. [Dalstrom, H.A. (1969) "Eugene C. Eppley: His Life and Legacy." Johnsen Press.] Through those years he contributed much to the civic life of the city and its educational institutions.

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

Philanthropy

Eppley was a renowned philanthropist who gave primarily to educational, civic and medical research causes in the United States Midwest and especially in Omaha. He was active in Omaha's social club Ak-Sar-Ben, which supported local philanthropy, and was elected the King of the Court of Ak-Sar-Ben in 1932. [ [http://www.juniorleagueomaha.org/wfdata/files/kay_tukey_-_sustainer_in_the_community.pdf "Kay Tukey – September JLO This Month’s Sustainer of the Month"] , Junior League of Omaha. Retrieved 2/2/08.] His foundation was repeatedly the largest donor ever to several causes throughout the Midwestern United States.

In an unusual event, in 1955 Eppley through his hotel company donated food to the nuclear test experiment conducted with civilian witnesses, known as Operation Cue. His and other private efforts were meant to demonstrate the ability of companies to ship and distribute food for "survivors" of a nuclear blast. Many witnesses were involved with civil defense organizations. [ [http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0900/stories/0901_0131.html "Witnessing an Atomic Blast"] , NebraskaStudies.org. Retrieved 2/2/08.]

Eppley also personally commissioned paintings by artist Grant Wood. He commissioned the well-known "Fruits of Iowa" grouping in 1932 for murals for four of his hotels in Midwestern cities. Several of the paintings of this series are housed at Coe College in Iowa. [ [http://www.coe.edu/aboutcoe/news/jan_june2006.htm January-June 2006 News] , Coe College. Retrieved 2/3/08.] [ [http://www.tfaoi.com/cm/5cm/5cm188.pdf "The Corn Room"] . Retrieved 2/3/08.]

Honors and legacy

* Omaha named Eppley Airfield after him.
* Several buildings in Omaha and in other Midwestern cities were named in his honor because of his foundation's major donations.
* His philanthropy promoted education, children's welfare, civic advancement and medical research in the Midwest.

Publications about Eppley

* Dalstrom, H.A. (1969) "Eugene C. Eppley: his life and legacy." Lincoln, NE: Johnsen Publishing Company.
* Dalstrom, H.A. "Eugene C. Eppley: His Life and Legacy," "The Journal of American History. 57";2. September 1970. pp. 466-468.

ee also

* History of Omaha

References