Wednesday, July 12, 2006

No comments from the peanut gallery?


Well folks, I'm heading out to Suffolk today for work.

Didn't think many of my loyal readers would know much about Suffolk, so I did some quick research.

Here we go qith a very brief history...


Native Americans first lived off the bountiful land in Suffolk. Back in 1609, the Nansemond Indians drove out Captain John Smith, who was interested in the oyster beds in the Nansemond River. This river, the commerce it helped create, and the English settlers who recognized the opportunity they would have here, gave birth in 1742 to the Town of Suffolk, named after Governor William Gooch's home of Suffolk County, England. Burned by the British in 1779 and damaged by other fires throughout the next century, Suffolk survived to become a city in 1910. In 1974, it became the present City of Suffolk, consolidating with
the towns of Holland and Whaleyville, and the County of Nansemond. The end result was a new municipality encompassing a total of 430 square miles, making it the largest city in land area in Virginia and the 11th largest in the country. In 1912, an Italian immigrant named Amedeo Obici moved from Pennsylvania to Suffolk and opened Planters Nut and Chocolate Company. Today, Suffolk remains a major peanut processing center and transportation hub.



Isn't that fun? Oysters and peanuts. And yes, Planters is still there today and is a big part of the annual Suffolk Peanut Festival. And yes, they do have a Peanut Festival Queen. Queen of the Nuts - okay, not really - but wouldn't that be a fun title...

Yea for peanuts!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

do they do tours at the factory? do they give out free samples? I'd like some chocolate covered nuts please.