Muscogee County GaArchives Photo Person.....Huston, Tom 
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Christine Thacker http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00033.html#0008100 May 13, 2007, 7:22 pm

Source:             Sesquicentennial Supplement III, Ledger-Enquirer
Name:               Tom Huston
Photo can be seen at:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/muscogee/photos/huston12837gph.jpg
Image file size: 137.6 Kb

    Tom Fed Peanuts to All, His Profits to Georgia
                      By Minnie Bullock Huston 
                        Guest Columnist
                                                   With a handful of peanuts, 
                                                   Tom was a prophet of profits
                                                   that benefited Columbus
                                                        and Georgia.

  The many stories that have grown up about Tom have made him a legendary 
character. But, the proof of his reality is his greatest accomplishment; The 
Tom Huston Peanut Company, a living memorial to his inventive genius.
  In retrospect his personality becomes as elusive as his abstract photography. 
But, so is the source of his creative talent.
  Born in a then remote Alabama county and reared in an equalIy rural Texas 
area, he had few educational advantages and no opportunities to help him on his 
way. But, his intense motivation propelled him to his triumphs. Hard work, 
total dedication, imagination, inventiveness brought the five cent peanut bag 
into being and turned the lowly Spanish peanut into little gold nuggets.
  To quote his brother: "Tom was an inventor all his life. He was always full 
of ideas even when we were together on a sandy, stumpy hillside farm in East 
Texas. Tom invented so many fool contraptions that the neighbors laughed. Tom 
had grit enough until he could chuckle quietly at the jokesters. He worked at 
his fool notions at night when the rest of the family slept and in the day, 
when other folks were fishing or loafing."
  The phenomenal early success of the Peanut Company gives the impression that 
it was done quickly, or easily, or even accidentally. The truth is, there were 
at least twenty years of grinding preparation. He fought poverty and 
discouragement and overcame insurmountable odds.
  His invention of a small peanut sheller, and then an industrial one kept 
peanuts in his thoughts. Long acquainted with the Spanish variety, he turned to 
experimenting with processing it as a confection. The public acceptance of his 
product was his first taste of success. 
  The nickel peanut package was an old idea presented in a new and original 
form. The bag was unique, the label attractive. It is still being used with 
only a slight variation. The display Jar placed next to the cash, register was 
a stroke of brilliant salesmanship. There it stood - filled with fresh roasted 
peanuts ready to tempt the customer to lay down his nickel. Point of Sale 
Advertising was always Tom's practice. He considered it the most effective way 
to lure the customer.
  "Catchy Slogans" on a display card were his favorite advertisements. Slogan 
contests with cash prizes caught the public's interest, but, Tom himself, wrote 
the most and the best. While they may seem corny today, they were clever and 
effective in 1925. "They make hunger a joy;" "Take no risk, - They are fresh 
and crisp," "A Meal in a Minute," were among the many.
  The excellence of the product and the sales and promotional ideas, as naive 
as they seemed, now brought great success to the fledgling company. For the 
glassine package with the distinctive label was being copied by many 
confectionary companies. Tom's vigorous legal action to stop infringements on 
his ideas established, without a doubt, the uniqueness and validity of his 
patent. Court after court decided in his favor until the copies vanished. The 
precious package was saved for the present and the future.
  Tom's idea of making every district salesman an owner of his business brought 
prosperity to the Company and to the men who risk their capital. They bought a 
truck and a Suppy of Tom's products and started out to put them on every 
counter in their district. Most succeeded and built their small starts into big 
business. The Peanut Company and its owner-Salesmen  grew and prospered 
together.
  Tom was the master salesman. His little company with its rapid growth and 
mushrooming expansion caught the fancy of the press. Newspapers, big and small, 
were telling the story of the farm boy who made good with peanuts.
  On October 24, 1929, The Ledger published the company's financial statement. 
Net earnings were $292,662.80. Cash Dividends of $75,000 were declared and 
paid. The company had a surplus of $217,284.92. In 1925, the Gross Sales were 
$25,139.48.
  Four years later, in 1929, Gross Sales were $2,500,000. A competitor offered 
$4,000,000 for the business but was refused.
  Tom was the darling of the farmers who now had a ready market for their 
peanuts. The company was teaching them better farming methods to get more yield 
and better quality crops. With a handful of peanuts, Tom was a prophet of 
profits that benefited Columbus and Georgia.
  Tom and peanuts went to Wall Street when the stock was listed on the Curb 
Market, now the American Exchange. Time Magazine of August 25, 1930 carried 
Tom's picture with the story, "The Farm Boy Who Became Peanut King." It then 
quoted the financial figures of the year and closed with the statement: "These 
figures give verity to the Tom Huston slogans" "They Make Hunger a 
Joy," "Millions gone nutty over Tom's Toasted Peanuts." 
  Perhaps Tom began to believe what he read about himself. Success is a heady 
wine. He felt confident he  could accomplish another miracle. He ventured his 
hardearned peanut stock in a new and untried enterprise frozen foods. Like many 
others in the dreary days of the Depression, he was caught in the banking 
crisis. The value of his hard earned stock melted away. He lost his beloVed 
company. Many years later, when the company was sold to General Mills in 1965 
for $50,000,000, Columbus was jubilant. It was the feast of money and Tom was 
Lazarus.
  Tom's later endeavors brought a satisfying measure  of success. When he 
retired from business in 1957, he turned his attention to art and horticulture.
  His abstract photography proved the versatility of his talents. His use of 
the camera produced effects both pleasing and puzzling. His photography shows 
traveled the country. Universities, colleges and museums hung them with pride. 
He received recognition for his innovative approach to an everyday craft. His 
pictures were works of art. He painted with a camera instead of a brush.
His horticulture efforts produced roses of superb quality. Their beauty was a 
joy to the whole community.But, his intense nature drove him into a hybridizing 
project, to produce a hardy rose for Florida. This project was left unfinished 
when he became terminally ill.
  His patented peach, "Early Amber," was colorful and delicious but a 
disappointment commercially.
  Tom was a seeker but not a finder. He was forever reaching for a nebulous 
goal that constantly eluded him.
   He was a sower of seeds who never stayed around for the harvest. His 
restless mind, the tool of his talents, never found a resting place. It was his 
glory and his defeat. But, the seeds he planted in Columbus have  flourished 
into a business that is a benefactor and a blessing to the entire community.


Special Sesquicentennial Supplement III
Ledger- Enquirer, Sunday, April 30, 1978, pg S-29.


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