Person:Earl Anderson (9)

About Earl Anderson

W. Earl Anderson was born 14 October 1907 in Tennessee and grew up in Davenport, Scott County, Iowa. Earl's father was a chef and Earl got his first experience working as a cabin boy on a Mississippi paddle steamer. He ran away from home in Davenport, Iowa and came west working in restaurants in Phoenix, Arizona and Blythe, California before finally landing in Huntington Beach, California during the oil boom. He got a job as a fry cook earning $52 a week, but soon the terrible hours made him consider another way to make a living, and he got a job as a chef steward working on yachts travelling in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as going up 1,000 miles up the Amazon River. After a while, he found the job difficult with much time away from his first wife, whom he married in 1928 and had stayed behind in California, so he returned home.

His first job in the grocery industry was making salads for Cliff Jolly's, a two market chain with the only delicatessen in Long Beach. When Jolly was killed in an automobile accident, the rest of the business went under and Fitzsimmon's Stores took over the markets out of receivership. Fitzsimmon's was later to become Thriftimart, a 60-plus store chain [in 1960] one of the leading supermarket companies in Southern California.

Earl Anderson worked his way up to the position of Deli Buyer at Southern California supermarket chain, Thriftimart, was created in 1930 by a group of former A&P managers headed by Roger Laverty, Sr. Earl was placed in charge of Thriftimart's deli operation and 16,000 sq. ft. deli kitchen, which produced its bulk cheese, pizzas and several other varieties of packaged foods, frozen items and salads. In 1964, it supplied these products to all of Thriftimart's then 71-stores sales of $4.5 million in sales.

Earl's first wife, whom he had married in 1928, passed away in abt. 1941 after thirteen years of marriage and he married his second wife Jane, who proved to be very popular in the industry as she was an accomplished golfer. When Thriftimart was looking for a name for their new private label salad, sliced meat and cheese line, they chose "Jane Anderson" as their label, obviously after Earl's wife.

According to an food industry veteran, Earl and his second wife Jane moved out near Palm Desert after retirement. They both died in an untimely fire that started in their home, likely due to smoke inhalation, sometime before 1995.

1.   Valley News
   4 October 1964.

   Joseph Hughes is scheduled to talk at Food Industry meeting Thursday. 'My Fair Deli' Production Scheduled Food executives of the Los Angeles area will be guest of honor on Thursday night at th« annual Food Industry meeting of the California Newspapers' Advertising Executives Association. The meeting will be held at the Rodger Young Auditorium Coral Room, 936 W. Washington Blvd. beginning at 6 p.m. Joseph P. Hughes, president of the Hughes Markets chain, will be the speaker of the evening and he will tell of "the history and future of the Hughes Market organization." Also scheduled is the production of "My Fair Deli," a parody on the stag* and motion picture play "My Fair Lady." "My Fair Dell," has been widely acclaimed wherever it has played and tells the story of the delicatessen business in song and dance. It will be introduced by Earl Anderson of Thriftimart Inc. and president of the Deli Council of California.

2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 California. Department of Public Health. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Death Index, 1940-1997.

   Name: William Earl Anderson
   Social Security #: 549011849
   Gender: Male
   Birth Date: 14 Oct 1907
   Birth Place: Tennessee
   Death Date: 24 Jul 1978
   Death Place: San Bernardino

3.   Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index: Death Master File, database. (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service).

   Name: William Anderson
   SSN: 549-01-1849
   Last Residence:
   92399 Yucaipa, San Bernardino, California, USA
   BORN: 14 Oct 1907
   Last Benefit: 92399, Yucaipa, San Bernardino, California, United States of America
   Died: Jul 1978
   State (Year) SSN issued: California (Before 1951)

4.   San Bernardino County Sun (Newspaper)
   25 July 1978.

   ANDERSON In Rediands, Calif , July 24, 1978. William Earl Anderson, 70. native Tennessee, seven-vear resident Yucaipa No services Private burial, Mountain View Cemetery, Altadene Emmerson-Bartletl Rediands Chapel in charge of arrangements.