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About Cheney & Mathes Properties
Cheney & Mathes' heritage tells the story of entrepreneurship in the American South in the 20th century.
The Mathes name came to national recognition in the 1980s through a TV commercial which proclaimed: "Curtis Mathes -- the most expensive TV in America. And darn well worth it." To have any validity and consumer traction, that sort of claim had to be based on quality and value. It was, and the Curtis Mathes brand became synonymous with quality, value, and putting the customer first. The Mathes family commitment to craftsmanship, excellence, quality, and value, however, goes back a lot further than those TV commercials and it encompasses a lot more of life than hi-fidelity electronics.
The Mathes name first appeared in the business world in 1919, when Conner & Mathes manufactured and sold automobile and tractor parts, introducing to their market lights on tractors so that farmers could extend their work hours into the night.
By 1928, the Mathes Company had been formed to take advantage of the demand for air conditioning, the domestic technology that revolutionized living in the southern US and fueled its demographic and business explosion. The company acquired Hub Furniture in 1942 and began to manufacture wood air conditioning cabinets and furniture. By 1952, Mathes Air Conditioning had become recognized as the brand with the most reliable systems in Southwestern and Midwestern states of America. It had grown a widespread dealership structure with sales of $21,000,000. The family sold the business in 1955.
1957 brought the formation of the Curtis Mathes Corporation, which fused the family's two lines of business experience - manufacturing and retail - into meeting the emerging demand for televisions. The Curtis Mathes Company was known for producing the highest quality sets at the best value. It was also known for its innovation, its handsome wood cabinets, and the highest standards in customer service and warranties. At its height, the company operated seven plants and employed 5,000 workers. The 1980 TV campaign that made the company a household name introduced the franchise system, which grew to 650 members, generated $350 million in annual sales, and employed 1,500 people. It represented the largest franchise system of home electronics in the United States. At the time of its sale in 1988, it was the last remaining fully US-owned electronics company.
In the 1970s, the name of the Cheney family became linked with that of the Mathes when Melinda Cheney married Curtis Mathes Jr. Melinda Cheney herself came from a family of land owners and developers. The Cheney heritage carried with it not only a passion for land, but also the understanding that land development must benefit the community and proceed from the idea of service to the community. That philosophy found expression in the various projects the newly married couple embarked upon through their own real estate business vehicles -- Charter House, Hobart, and MCHM Corporation. Curtis Jr.'s earliest development work focused on an urban renewal project for property in the Farmers Market area south of downtown Dallas, an initiative underlining the goal of community building within the framework of real estate planning. The couple went on to complete a 2,000-unit housing development in Arlington. After Curtis Jr.'s death in 1983, Melinda Mathes built a mixed-use community with a nursing home and business center in Arlington, a venture in which her son John Mathes participated. In 2004, Melinda and John formed Cheney & Mathes Properties to launch the Arlington Highlands partnership and continue the family legacy.
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John Mathes - Melinda Mathes
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