Howard Gentle
Howard Gentle (Sesquicentennial) |
Business man and civic leader
Notes:
• Son of Louis and Lizzie Gentle. - Ancestry.com
• Howard Lee Gentle & Rose Floyd obtained a marriage license October 27, 1933 in Madison County, AL. - MCRC
• Howard Gentle opened a furniture business in 1950. This was a time of growth and optimism in Huntsville. - Record
• Officer for Huntsville Sertoma Club. The club name was derived from the words "Service to Mankind," which indicates the purpose of Sertoma. The club concentrated its work on youth. "This club has concentrated its work on youth. Its main projects have been: establishment and operation of a 'Youth Employment Service.' This is an employment office with no fees involved. The Sertoma Club furnishes office space, equipment, telephone, etc., and hired a young girl to run the office, and the office hired teenagers out to various firms. - Sesquicentennial
• Officer for The Saleman's Club (past president). Among other service projects the club was instrumental in the placement of voting machines in the city and county. - Sesquicentennial
• Charter member of The West Huntsville Men's Club (founded in 1947). - Sesquicentennial
• "The Howard Gentle Furniture Company and office of the Howard Gentle Finance Company is located at No. 8, Northside Square.
Howard Gentle, the founder and owner of the furniture store first started business in 1935 with a small grocery store on the old Jordan Lane which is now Patton Road on Redstone Arsenal. In 1937 he opened a grist mill in West Huntsville where the present Butler Grill now stands. In 1938 this was converted into a grocery store. A new building was built in 1939 in West Huntsville and the grocery line was moved into this building. In 1943, Mr. Gentle made further advancement by opening a modern grocery at No. 8 North Side Square. He abandoned the grocery business in 1950 and converted this store into the present modern furniture store.
On March 3, 1955, Howard Gentle chartered Huntsville's only Alabama owned and operated finance company with the original issue of authorized capital being $200,000.00. On June 20 a stockholders meeting was held and a resolution was passed to increase the authorized capital from $200,000.00 to $500,000.00. This meeting was held to offset the tremendous demand for stock in this fast growing North Alabama owned corporation.
The personnel of the Howard Gentle Furniture Company are: Howard Gentle, owner; William A. West, manager; George D. (Bill) Aldrich, salesman; Howard Golden, delivery; William Massey (colored), delivery.
The Finance Company personnel consists of Howard Gentle, manager and major stockholder; Mrs. Jessie Lee Smith, bookkeeper; and Mrs. Sarah Klempa, bookkeeper.
Howard Gentle was born April 7, 1915, at Shelbyville, Tennessee. He came to Huntsville in 1917. Rose Floyd Gentle is his wife and they have one son, Howard Gentle, Jr. (15). They belong to the Church of Christ. Mr. Gentle belongs to the Sertoma, Huntsville Salesman, West Huntsville Men's Clubs and the Junior Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Gentle states, "Any success we have had in business is due to the people of Madison County." - Sesquicentennial
• This article claims Howard Gentle's Super Market was the first to use the term "super market". There is a photo of a news clipping when that store was auctioned. - Hauer
Related Links:
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• Record
• Sesquicentennial
| Born: | April 2, 1915, Shelbyville, TN |
| Died: | March 18, 1979, Huntsville, AL |
| Buried: | Maple Hill Cemetery, Huntsville, Alabama |
Notes:
• Son of Louis and Lizzie Gentle. - Ancestry.com
• Howard Lee Gentle & Rose Floyd obtained a marriage license October 27, 1933 in Madison County, AL. - MCRC
• Howard Gentle opened a furniture business in 1950. This was a time of growth and optimism in Huntsville. - Record
• Officer for Huntsville Sertoma Club. The club name was derived from the words "Service to Mankind," which indicates the purpose of Sertoma. The club concentrated its work on youth. "This club has concentrated its work on youth. Its main projects have been: establishment and operation of a 'Youth Employment Service.' This is an employment office with no fees involved. The Sertoma Club furnishes office space, equipment, telephone, etc., and hired a young girl to run the office, and the office hired teenagers out to various firms. - Sesquicentennial
• Officer for The Saleman's Club (past president). Among other service projects the club was instrumental in the placement of voting machines in the city and county. - Sesquicentennial
• Charter member of The West Huntsville Men's Club (founded in 1947). - Sesquicentennial
• "The Howard Gentle Furniture Company and office of the Howard Gentle Finance Company is located at No. 8, Northside Square.
Howard Gentle, the founder and owner of the furniture store first started business in 1935 with a small grocery store on the old Jordan Lane which is now Patton Road on Redstone Arsenal. In 1937 he opened a grist mill in West Huntsville where the present Butler Grill now stands. In 1938 this was converted into a grocery store. A new building was built in 1939 in West Huntsville and the grocery line was moved into this building. In 1943, Mr. Gentle made further advancement by opening a modern grocery at No. 8 North Side Square. He abandoned the grocery business in 1950 and converted this store into the present modern furniture store.
On March 3, 1955, Howard Gentle chartered Huntsville's only Alabama owned and operated finance company with the original issue of authorized capital being $200,000.00. On June 20 a stockholders meeting was held and a resolution was passed to increase the authorized capital from $200,000.00 to $500,000.00. This meeting was held to offset the tremendous demand for stock in this fast growing North Alabama owned corporation.
The personnel of the Howard Gentle Furniture Company are: Howard Gentle, owner; William A. West, manager; George D. (Bill) Aldrich, salesman; Howard Golden, delivery; William Massey (colored), delivery.
The Finance Company personnel consists of Howard Gentle, manager and major stockholder; Mrs. Jessie Lee Smith, bookkeeper; and Mrs. Sarah Klempa, bookkeeper.
Howard Gentle was born April 7, 1915, at Shelbyville, Tennessee. He came to Huntsville in 1917. Rose Floyd Gentle is his wife and they have one son, Howard Gentle, Jr. (15). They belong to the Church of Christ. Mr. Gentle belongs to the Sertoma, Huntsville Salesman, West Huntsville Men's Clubs and the Junior Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Gentle states, "Any success we have had in business is due to the people of Madison County." - Sesquicentennial
• This article claims Howard Gentle's Super Market was the first to use the term "super market". There is a photo of a news clipping when that store was auctioned. - Hauer
Related Links:
• Ancestry.com - Page owned by wjgosnell1 and can be viewed only with an Ancestry.com paid subscription. (Originally found at http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/22509547/person/1942607646.)
• Find A Grave - Page created by Leigh Ann.
• Hauer - Article titled "Grocery Shopping on the Old Courthouse Square" by Dr. Chris Hauer, Jr. in the Historic Huntsville Quarterly, Vol. XXIV, #4, Winter, 1998, Historic Huntsville Foundation, pages 20 and 24.
• MCRC - Madison County Records Center
• Record - A Dream Come True: The Story of Madison County and Incidentally of Alabama and the United States, Volume II, by James Record, 1978, page 291.
• Sesquicentennial - Commemorative Album, Celebrating our City's Sesquicentennial of Progress, Huntsville, Alabama, by James E. Taylor, General Chairman, 1955, pages v, 201, 208, 209, 266, 338, 339, 340, 352.
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• Record
• Sesquicentennial