Kemmons wilson picture frame company

Kemmons Wilson was born in Osceola, Arkansas in and before he was a year old his father had died, leaving only his mother to take care of him. She picked him up and the pair moved to Memphis, Tennessee. Wilson grew up there and went to school but dropped out at 17 to help support his family during the Great Depression when his mother lost her job.

And support it he did! A natural salesman, Wilson took to entrepreneurship like a fish to water. Through his career he sold popcorn, ice cream, cigars and more, later installing pinball machines, jukeboxes and vending machines in movie theaters and other establishments.

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And he did construction too! He always poured his profits back into his businesses and was so successful that before he was 40 years old he had become a millionaire, primarily from owning movie theaters and profitable real estate investments. In , while taking a vacation with his family he was disgusted by the lodging offerings available to travelers.

Aside from the typically poor conditions, he was particularly annoyed by the fact that motels would charge more if children were staying in a room with their parents. With that trip as a catalyst, Wilson decided to do something about it. He opened his first Holiday Inn hotel in Memphis in The name came from a friend who happened to be watching the popular Christmas movie starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, Holiday Inn.

Wilson immediately liked it and it stuck. He would also design the green and gold Holiday Inn sign, seeking to recreate the excitement of a movie theater marquee.