Edenton Peanut Company Letters, PC.5110

Menu

Edenton Peanut Company Letters, PC.5110

Abstract

In the summer of 1943, James Wood, president of the Edenton Peanut Company, shipped five-pound bags of peanuts to every Chowan County servicemember serving in World War II that he could locate. This collection consists of thank you letters written to the company by soldiers who received the peanuts.

Descriptive Summary

Title
Edenton Peanut Company Letters
Call Number
PC.5110
Creator
Edenton Peanut Company (Edenton, N.C.)
Date
1943
Extent
0.200 cubic feet
Language
English
Repository
Outer Banks History Center

Series Quick Links

  1. Collection Contents

Restrictions on Access & Use

Access Restrictions

Available for research.

Use Restrictions

Copyright is retained by the authors of these materials, or their descendants, as stipulated by the United States copyright law (Title 17 US Code). Individual researchers are responsible for using these materials in conformance with copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying these materials.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], PC.5110, Edenton Peanut Company Letters, Outer Banks History Center, Manteo, NC, U.S.A.

Collection Overview

This collection consists of letters of thanks written in June and July 1942 by servicemembers who received bags of peanuts sent by James Wood. The letters contain brief descriptions of service life and social interactions between the soldiers, and many of them reference the fact that the recipients' fellow soldiers from the Northeast had never seen or eaten raw peanuts before. The letters also describe how many of the soldiers chose to prepare the peanuts: roasted, boiled, or raw. At least one of the letters was written by a female soldier, Mildred Owens.

Arrangement Note

Chronological.

Biographical/Historical

The Edenton Peanut Company was founded in Edenton, North Carolina, by members of the Wood and Shepherd families By the 1930s, Edenton was the largest peanut market in the state and the second largest in the world. During World War II, James Wood served as the president of the company. Wood, for whom the company's flagship product, Jimbo's Jumbos, was named, shipped five-pound bags of peanuts to every Chowan County servicemember he could locate who was serving in the war in the summer of 1943.

Contents of the Collection

Collection Contents
Edenton Peanut Company Letters, 1943
Box 1

Subject Headings

  • Soldiers--North Carolina--Correspondence
  • World War, 1939-1945--North Carolina--Chowan County
  • Peanuts--North Carolina
  • World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives
  • Edenton (N.C.)--History--World War, 1939-1945

    • Acquisitions Information

    Gift, Donated by Peter Rascoe, October 2011.

    Processing Information

  • Processed by Sarah Downing.