Fred Leeson

Biography of Fred G. Meyer, a pioneering Pacific Northwest entrepreneur who developed the one-stop shopping center that combine groceries with clothing, drugs, variety and many other departments. From his start in Portland, Oregon, Meyer expanded into several Pacific Northwest states. During a working career of 70 years, the self-taught Meyer evolved from door-to-door coffee sales to his one-stop centers ranging up to 200,000 square feet. His MY-TE-FINE house brand on food and other items became a part of the Pacific Northwest lexicon. Though parsimonious throughout his life, Meyer left a sizable estate that became the largest charitable trust in Oregon history. Meyer generally limited his public appearances to store grand openings, where his smiling face a bow ties became well-recognized. In private, Meyer was brilliantly smart, aggressive, single-minded, domineering and often abrasive, yet sometimes unexpectedly compassionate. This biography draws on lengthy oral history interviews given by Meyer's closest working associates to the Oregon Historical Society in the years after Meyer's death. Their reminiscences create a picture of a tireless, creative entrepreneur who lived for nothing but expanding his business and creating economic opportunities for others.