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Growing an American
Tradition
Celebrating Mt. Olive Pickle Company's
people and history during the company's 80th anniversary
Timeline
The
Early Years, Pages 1-7
Building a Better Brand, Pages 8-16
Introduction
Mount Olive Pickle Company, Inc. was
formally organized on January 2, 1926 in the office of local
produce broker S.L. Warren. For the 13 shareholders present, the
meeting was an inauspicious convergence of business and civic
enterprise. They founded a pickle company to create a market for
local farmers, believing that its success would benefit the
local economy.
Little could those original
shareholders envision the fruits of their endeavor 80 years
later. Mt. Olive today carries the name of its hometown to more
than 45 states, making it the second best-selling brand of
pickles in the country.
And the company has lived up to its
original proposition: for eight decades Mt. Olive Pickle has
served as a mainstay in the economic well-being of the
community.
In our 80th anniversary year, we
celebrate a most remarkable story of American enterprise and
community spirit. And it all has to do with...pickles.
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From the Corner
of Cucumber and Vine:
A timeline of company
history, 1926-2006
The heritage of Mt. Olive Pickle
goes back to the Roaring '20s. These are some of the important
events in the history of the company, along with a few of the
exceptional people who helped make it happen.
More...
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Pages
1-7
The Early Years:
A small agricultural town in Eastern North Carolina's coastal
plain, Mount Olive owes its birth to the construction of the
Wilmington and Weldon Railroad in the 1840s...
A Modest Beginning:
Leading local businessmen saw the
promise in Mr. Baddour's idea and they decided to start a pickle
company of their own...
A Community Proposition:
Teddy Murray, daughter
of H.M. Cox Sr., remembers her father getting up after supper
and announcing that he had to
join the other shareholders back over at the pickle plant...
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Pages 8-16
Building a Better Brand:
Like most regional pickle companies of the day, Mt. Olive Pickle
in its early years packed a variety of brands...
The Pickle People at Mt. Olive:
Over time, Mt. Olive Pickle earned a reputation for its
commitment to its people...
The Corner of Cucumber & Vine:
The company might be business and civic-minded, but it is clear
that humor is also a part of the mix...
Staying Ahead of the Competition:
Growth through the 1990s became crucial to the company's
survival...
 
Growing an American Tradition was designed by Sage
Creative Group of Aiken, SC, and edited by Lynn Williams. Set
photography for this book was done by Brian Strickland. Many
other images are courtesy of Kraft Historical Files and Brown’s
Photography, both of Mount Olive, NC, and we are grateful for
the use of these photos. All rights reserved. No images from
this publication may be used without the express written
permission of Mt. Olive Pickle Company, Inc.
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