SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 30

(By Senators Stollings, Plymale and Kirkendoll)

[Introduced February 10, 2016]

Requesting Division of Highways to name a new bridge, bridge design number 11166 (with latitude and longitude values of 38.05515, -81.82709), crossing the Little Coal River in Boone County the “Lester W. and Ida C. Ellis Memorial Bridge”.

Whereas, Lester W. Ellis was born May 5, 1904, in Sioux City, Iowa, the oldest child of parents who had immigrated to the United States through Ellis Island from Lebanon; and

Whereas, In 1924, the family moved to Kanawha County, West Virginia, and Lester W. Ellis’s parents peddled merchandise in the Cabin Creek area and operated a grocery store; and worked in the Clothier, West Virginia, area selling items from the trunk of their vehicle; and

Whereas, Due to his determination and work ethic, Lester W. Ellis learned the trade from his father and became an extremely successful businessman; and

Whereas, At a dance somewhere in the South Charleston area in 1930, Lester W. Ellis met Ida Cantees of Williamson, West Virginia; and

Whereas, The couple married June 11, 1933, made a home in Madison and peddled wares in Madison and the Clothier area; and

Whereas, In the late 1930s, Lester W. and Ida C. Ellis, along with Lester’s brother, opened the People’s Department Store, a dry goods store on Main Street in Madison.  A few years later, they built on Main Street in Madison another store called The New and Greater Ellis Department Store with their motto being “Growing Bigger– Serving Better”; and

Whereas, Both stores thrived for many years, serving the people of Madison and surrounding areas; and

Whereas, Lester W. Ellis, along with other local business and professional men, chartered the Madison Lions Club in 1943.  The club did charitable and civic work that benefited the entire county; and

Whereas, Lester W. Ellis was vice president of the Madison Home Furniture Company which Lester and his brothers opened in a vacated building on Main Street in Madison; and

Whereas, In the early 1960s Lester W. Ellis and other prominent businessmen founded HECK’S, which became a multistate discount store business which operated in West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Virginia.  The first of many HECK’S stores opened in 1962 on Washington Street in Charleston, West Virginia.  Lester W. Ellis served as Vice President of HECK’S.  The “E” in HECK’S represented the Ellis brothers, Lester and Tom; and

Whereas, Ida C. Ellis, a civic-minded citizen and leader in Madison who worked right along with her husband in early business endeavors, later became a stay-at-home mother and homemaker who participated in many civic activities; and

Whereas, Ida C. Ellis was a dedicated member in the Madison Junior Woman’s Club, Wildwood Garden Club, Order of the Eastern Star and the Parent Teacher Association, in which she held various offices; and

Whereas, The couple’s love of community and service to the people of the community helped Madison, West Virginia, become a thriving town; and

Whereas, It is fitting that a memorial be dedicated to recognize the many contributions Lester W. and Ida C. Ellis made to the community of Madison, West Virginia, their generosity to others, strong family ties, and their legacy of family members who continue to carry on the good name and work they started; and

Whereas, A new bridge is being built on property previously belonging to the Ellis family; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to name a new bridge, bridge design number 11166 (with latitude and longitude values of 38.05515, -81.82709), crossing the Little Coal River in Boone County the “Lester W. and Ida C. Ellis Memorial Bridge”; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to have made and be placed signs identifying the bridge as the “Lester W. and Ida C. Ellis Memorial Bridge”; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the Commissioner of the Division of Highways.