Founder of Bridgford Foods Dies : Obituary: Hugh H. Bridgford opened a butcher shop during the Depression that became Anaheim-based maker of frozen and refrigerated edibles.
Hugh H. Bridgford, who used his last $65 during the Depression to open a butcher shop that eventually grew into a nationwide maker of frozen and refrigerated food products, died of a heart attack last week. He was 83.
Bridgford, who handed over the operations of his Anaheim-based company to two of his sons nearly three decades ago, had remained active as a member of the Bridgford Foods Corp. board of directors and as chairman of its executive committee. Since 1976, he lived in Hinsdale, Ill., near Chicago, where he ran the company’s dry sausage factory.
Just last month, on the company’s 60th anniversary, he spoke to Bridgford stockholders at the annual meeting in Fullerton about the history of the company and its potential for continued growth.
The founder of the company had played a major role in developing a line of nearly 100 food products, including sliced pepperoni, salami sticks, cinnamon rolls, and microwave hamburgers and sandwiches. Bridgford Foods has manufacturing plants in California, Illinois, New Jersey and Texas and distributes products via more than 35,000 stores, restaurants and delis.
“He was an innovative man and seemed to come up with ideas people liked,” said his son Allan Bridgford, 57, the president of Bridgford Foods. “He was really an idea man. He was always searching for new product development.”
The elder Bridgford also had a folksy, unpretentious style that was reflected in the way he ran the business. To this day, the company is still conservatively run by Allan Bridgford and his brother H. William Bridgford, 60, the chairman. It still holds its own on supermarket shelves against much larger competitors, such as Pillsbury and Oscar Meyer. In 1991, company profits grew 15% to $4.5 million, and sales rose 10.2% to $92.9 million.
“He was very down-to-earth and people-oriented,” Allan Bridgford said of his father. “He was always available and always took interest in his workers.”
Hugh Bridgford started his own one-man butcher shop in San Diego in 1932. Although the nation was in the midst of the Depression and he had just been laid off, Bridgford used his final $65 paycheck to start the business. He made a go of it, establishing a customer base of restaurants and hotels throughout San Diego by supplying them with choice steaks and prime rib.
During World War II, when rationing made certain food products scarce, Bridgford started a line of frozen corned-beef hash and baked beans that could be preserved for long periods of time. In 1943, he moved the company operations to an Anaheim warehouse.
Gradually, the company grew, expanding to offer an array of other products, such as frozen bread dough and cold cuts. Some products took off; others didn’t. Among the company’s flops were holiday hams covered with candied cherries, which spoiled within their wrappers, in the 1950s.
Bridgford took the company public in 1958, but the family controls about 61% of its ownership.
H. William Bridgford was promoted to president in 1965. Six years later, Allan Bridgford succeeded his brother, who became chairman. About a dozen other family members now work for the company in positions ranging from data processing manager to plant supervisor.
Hugh Bridgford was born in Santa Ana on Aug. 27, 1908. Although he had a high school diploma, he was trained as a butcher and made it his trade after graduation.
In addition to the two sons, Bridgford is survived by his sisters Neva Heacock, Pearl Adams and Ethel Templin; 11 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
A private ceremony will be held this week at Santa Ana Cemetery, where the senior Bridgford’s wife, Ardes, and another son, Richard, are buried.
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations may be made to the California Masonic Home for Children, 1650 Old Bodillo, Covina, Calif. 91724.
Hugh H. Bridgford
An at-a-glance look at the life of Hugh H. Bridgford:
Born: Aug. 27, 1908, Santa Ana
Died: April 10, 1992
Member: San Diego and Anaheim Rotary Clubs; Fullerton Royal Arch Masons
1932: Starts a San Diego butcher shop
1943: Buys Anaheim manufacturing plant, launches line of frozen beef hash and baked beans
1958: Company becomes publicly traded
1962: Begins line of frozen, ready-to-bake breads
1965: Son H. William Bridgford becomes president
1971: Son Allan Bridgford becomes president; son H. William Bridgford promoted to chairman; Hugh Bridgford continues as chairman of executive committee, serves on board of directors and helps launch new plants and products
1992: Company, which now has six manufacturing plants that make nearly 100 food products, celebrates 60th anniversary
