blog




  • Essay / Orville Redenbacher Inspiration - 631

    Orville Redenbacher is one of the most inspiring people of the 20th century for many reasons. Orville is a local Indiana icon. Orville Redenbacher was born in the small farming town of Brazil Indiana. One of the most inspiring things about Orville's success story is how he grew his business from selling popcorn kernels out of the back of his car to becoming a household name. several million dollars. Orville was born on a farm in Brazil, Indiana, in 1907; Growing up, Orville was active in the local 4H chapter. At the age of 12, Orville followed his passion for popcorn and began selling popcorn that he grew himself. It became his business that financed his education. Orville Redenbacher not only earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture at Purdue, but he was also a member of the Purdue track and field team. He then worked as an extension agent for the Vigo County Farm Bureau in Terre Haute, Indiana. Orville also ran a successful fertilizer business which made him wealthy. It wasn't until about sixteen years after his college days that Orville Redenbacher's name appeared on supermarket shelves in 1944. In 1965, Orville Redenbacher and his business partner Charles Bowman worked hard to perfect their perfect hybrid of popcorn. In 1951, they purchased a George F. Chester and Son seed corn plant near the town of Valparaiso, Indiana. They named the company “Chester Hybrids.” When asked about making the plant, Orville said, “We dried it continuously day and night. We had no efficient way to do it, so we built this new popcorn factory” (Orville Redenbacher). Orville and his partner tried tens of thousands of different varieties of popcorn before settling on a hybrid they named "RedBow." Orville's first source of inspiration was his perseverance, hard work and dedication. His strong point...... middle of paper...... it was in 1992, he created SmartPop® which is 94% fat-free. It was very popular with healthy eaters and people on diets. Sadly, on September 19, 1995, Orville suffered a heart attack and died in Coronado, California. ConAgra Foods released a statement regarding Orville's death: "Orville's lifelong passion for bringing family and friends together over the best popcorn will never be forgotten" (About Our Story). His death was a blow to his family and supporters who watched him grow his business. The third thing that inspired him about Orville Redenbacher was his loyalty to his customers. Orville once said, "Every once in a while someone mails me a single kernel of popcorn that hasn't popped, I take out a new kernel, stick it on a piece of paper and give it to them." returns. » (Orville Redenbacher). Orville's legacy will never be forgotten.