Richard K. Ransom, Founder of Hickory Farms, Dies at 96

In 1951, finding specialty meats and cheeses could take some doing if
you lived in small-town America and had no neighborhood deli. For
Richard K. Ransom, this was an opportunity.

In his early 30s, recently returned from fighting in the Pacific, Mr.
Ransom was tired of driving a vegetable truck around rural Ohio for his
parents wholesale produce business. So he started selling hand-cut
cheeses at flower shows and boat shows. Soon he added summer sausage,
then expanded to county fairs around the Midwest. He named his company
Hickory Farms.

By the time he sold it in 1980, Hickory Farms was a $164-million-a-year
specialty food business, with outlets in every state but Mississippi.

Mr. Ransom died on April 11 in Toledo at 96, his son, Robert, said. He
had Alzheimers disease, the son said.

Hickory Farms grew explosively in the early years, thanks to what was
then a novelty: free samples.

€œIt is almost impossible to enter a Hickory Farms store without tasting
something,€� Forbes magazine observed in a 1983 business profile,
describing the ranks of smiling, apron-clad women positioned at store
doorways and in the aisles with trays of food.

The women did not bother asking customers if they wanted a taste €” they
just cut off bite-size pieces and held them out to people, Robert Ransom
recalled. Shoppers felt obligated to take and eat what they were
offered, and after tasting meats and cheeses every few steps around the
store, they felt obligated to buy something.

€œIt seems so simple now,€� Robert Ransom said.

The elder Mr. Ransom also wrote an instruction manual for sales
personnel, explaining how to cut blocks or wheels of cheese in a way
that ensured that shoppers would always get a little more than they
asked for.

€œIf you magnify that over thousands of customers in 600 stores every day
of the year, its an enormous amount of money,€� the son said.

Mr. Ransom sold Hickory Farms for $41 million in 1980 to the General
Host Corporation of Connecticut. Analysts thought the price was steep
and attributed it to Hickory Farms shrewd marketing. The company has
since changed hands more than once and has shifted to catalog sales.

After selling Hickory Farms, Mr. Ransom formed a family business that
invested in commercial real estate in the Toledo area. He served on
corporate and nonprofit boards and founded what is now the Adopt America
Network, which works to find permanent adoptive families for children in
foster care.

Mr. Ransom was born on Sept. 13, 1919, to Beatrice and Chick Ransom, the
owners of a business that bought vegetables from farmers in northern
Ohio and southern Michigan and delivered them by truck to grocers.

His wife, Elizabeth Meinert Ransom, died in 2009. In addition to his
son, he is survived by three daughters, Carol Batdorf, Lynn Connolly and
Janet Sarieh; nine grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

"Travis McGee" > wrote in message
...
> Richard K. Ransom, Founder of Hickory Farms, Dies at 96
>
> In 1951, finding specialty meats and cheeses could take some doing if you
> lived in small-town America and had no neighborhood deli. For Richard K.
> Ransom, this was an opportunity.

<snipped but read>

I remember loving going into their store at the mall. We got my dad a
summer sausage there as a gift at least once a year because he loved them.
But then they seemed to go away except for mail order and Christmas displays
in some stores. A few stores carry a small selection of their items year
round. And you can still get the stuff online but they have far less
selection than they used to. I guess there are just too many other readily
available options.

On 4/18/2016 5:06 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>
> "Travis McGee" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Richard K. Ransom, Founder of Hickory Farms, Dies at 96
>>
>> In 1951, finding specialty meats and cheeses could take some doing if
>> you lived in small-town America and had no neighborhood deli. For
>> Richard K. Ransom, this was an opportunity.
>
> <snipped but read>
>
> I remember loving going into their store at the mall. We got my dad a
> summer sausage there as a gift at least once a year because he loved
> them. But then they seemed to go away except for mail order and
> Christmas displays in some stores. A few stores carry a small selection
> of their items year round. And you can still get the stuff online but
> they have far less selection than they used to. I guess there are just
> too many other readily available options.

I used to love them too. We used to send their stuff to our relatives in
the midwest, and they would send similar things back to us. I
particularly liked their summer sausage, dipped in honey mustard or
their horseradish sauce.

I guess it was in the 70s when they switched to selling in the malls
rather than mail-order. I liked that in that I could more easily buy
their stuff for my local family, and for myself, but it seemed that the
prices escalated at that point.

Oh well, I guess it's just another piece of Americana that is falling by
the wayside.

We only have their kiosks set up for Christmas at the local mall, never a permanent store. I can buy HF summer sausage at Walmart, also their sweet-hot mustard. I used to like a spreadable cheese they carry called Chudder, I think.

Most of the stores mentioned in this newsgroups don't exist in Southern NH. We just got our first Whole Foods and our first Aldi's opened last week. Were limited to Shaw's, Hannaford, and Market Basket, plus a few non chain stores. I would love to have more varieties.


Denise in NH

On 4/18/2016 2:06 AM, Julie BovINE wrote:
>
> "Travis McGee" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Richard K. Ransom, Founder of Hickory Farms, Dies at 96
>>
>> In 1951, finding specialty meats and cheeses could take some doing if
>> you lived in small-town America and had no neighborhood deli. For
>> Richard K. Ransom, this was an opportunity.
>
>
> I remember loving going into their store at the mall. We got my dad a
> summer sausage there as a gift at least once a year because he loved
> them. But then they seemed to go away except for mail order and
> Christmas displays in some stores. A few stores carry a small selection
> of their items year round. And you can still get the stuff online but
> they have far less selection than they used to. I guess there are just
> too many other readily available options.

Julie, that depends on whether yer a "Summer Sausage Connoisseur."
Personally, I like those large salamis made by Gallo. There's nuttin'
tastier than pickled pork, Julie.
I know you get that way after a few rounds of drinks.
I'm a cucumber man myself.
Chow on, babe!

On 4/18/2016 9:02 AM, wrote:
> We only have their kiosks set up for Christmas at the local mall, never a permanent store. I can buy HF summer sausage at Walmart, also their sweet-hot mustard. I used to like a spreadable cheese they carry called Chudder, I think.
>
> Most of the stores mentioned in this newsgroups don't exist in Southern NH. We just got our first Whole Foods and our first Aldi's opened last week. Were limited to Shaw's, Hannaford, and Market Basket, plus a few non chain stores. I would love to have more varieties.
>
>
> Denise in NH
>
Yer momma give me good head.
LOL

On 4/18/2016 8:15 AM, g8dgc wrote:
> On 4/18/2016 9:02 AM, wrote:
>> We only have their kiosks set up for Christmas at the local mall,
>> never a permanent store. I can buy HF summer sausage at Walmart, also
>> their sweet-hot mustard. I used to like a spreadable cheese they carry
>> called Chudder, I think.
>>
>> Most of the stores mentioned in this newsgroups don't exist in
>> Southern NH. We just got our first Whole Foods and our first Aldi's
>> opened last week. Were limited to Shaw's, Hannaford, and Market
>> Basket, plus a few non chain stores. I would love to have more
>> varieties.
>>
>>
>> Denise in NH
>>
> Yer momma give me good head.
> LOL


You gots a sloppy copy on me now, little feller?
LOL

On 4/18/2016 8:45 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
> On Mon, 18 Apr 2016 03:31:50 -0400, Travis McGee wrote:
>
>> Richard K. Ransom, Founder of Hickory Farms, Dies at 96
>
> Highly processed, shelf stable cheese and summer sausages. Not
> exactly the best stuff on earth. Downright nasty stuff.
>
> -sw
>

As long a Julie can put it in her mouth, she'll eat it.
I wunder wot she does with cocks?

On 4/18/2016 8:17 AM, Colonel Edmund J. Burke wrote:
> On 4/18/2016 2:06 AM, Julie BovINE wrote:
>>
>> "Travis McGee" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> Richard K. Ransom, Founder of Hickory Farms, Dies at 96
>>>
>>> In 1951, finding specialty meats and cheeses could take some doing if
>>> you lived in small-town America and had no neighborhood deli. For
>>> Richard K. Ransom, this was an opportunity.
>>
>>
>> I remember loving going into their store at the mall. We got my dad a
>> summer sausage there as a gift at least once a year because he loved
>> them. But then they seemed to go away except for mail order and
>> Christmas displays in some stores. A few stores carry a small selection
>> of their items year round. And you can still get the stuff online but
>> they have far less selection than they used to. I guess there are just
>> too many other readily available options.
>
> Julie, that depends on whether yer a "Summer Sausage Connoisseur."
> Personally, I like those large salamis made by Gallo. There's nuttin'
> tastier than pickled pork, Julie.
> I know you get that way after a few rounds of drinks.
> I'm a cucumber man myself.
> Chow on, babe!
>
>

Stop it Kernel, she's MINE!

On 4/18/2016 9:45 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
> Downright nasty stuff.
>
> -sw
> Your doctor should be the one drawing blood and testing it, not you.
> I currently take .2mg Synthroid but you don't see me drawing my own
> blood and testing it using my employers resources (as Kathleen has
> openly admitted a few times).
>
> -sw

On 4/18/2016 11:11 AM, Colonel Edmund J. Burke wrote:
> On 4/18/2016 8:45 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
>> On Mon, 18 Apr 2016 03:31:50 -0400, Travis McGee wrote:
>>
>>> Richard K. Ransom, Founder of Hickory Farms, Dies at 96
>>
>> Highly processed, shelf stable cheese and summer sausages. Not
>> exactly the best stuff on earth. Downright nasty stuff.
>>
>> -sw
>>
>
> As long a Julie can put it in her mouth, she'll eat it.
> I wunder wot she does with cocks?
>
I'm having my choad resurfaced, too much tooth action...

On Mon, 18 Apr 2016 13:11:26 -0400, Colonel Edmund J. Burke
> wrote:

> On 4/18/2016 8:45 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
>> On Mon, 18 Apr 2016 03:31:50 -0400, Travis McGee wrote:
>>
>>> Richard K. Ransom, Founder of Hickory Farms, Dies at 96
>>
>> Highly processed, shelf stable cheese and summer sausages. Not
>> exactly the best stuff on earth. Downright nasty stuff.
>>
>> -sw
>>

he will be buried in a box of green plastic easter hay surrounded by
strawberry candies.

>
> As long a Julie can put it in her mouth, she'll eat it.
> I wunder wot she does with cocks?
>


--
ga·ble
'gab?l/
noun
the part of a wall that encloses the end of a pitched roof.
a wall topped with a gable.
noun: gable end; plural noun: gable ends
a gable-shaped canopy over a window or door.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/phot...213138,00.html
Gable
Gabled roofs are the kind young children typically draw. They have two
sloping sides that come together at a ridge, creating end walls with a
*triangular extension*, called a gable, at the top. The house shown here
has two gable roofs and two dormers, each with gable roofs of their own.
The slant, or pitch, of the gables varies, an inconsistency that many
builders try to avoid.

LOL

-

have you heard about the lotusLoser?
he's a loser but he still keeps on tryin'...

2nd verse: (by: re)

have you heard about the lotusLoser
beaten by the queen of pembroke each time
have you heard about the lotusLoser
he's a luser but he still keeps on cryin'...

-

LOL

well i guess if we went to:

http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/color-summarizer/

and gave it the URL to the image THAT YOU POSTED IN POST:
>

<http://i.imgur.com/gchDiBs.png>

I took that on my way to eat lunch. I tried to make an index card with
backward writing so the SPANKY-SPANKY! reflection would show up with
frontward writing, but apparently I can't write backward legibly, so
you gets what you gets."

it would say "definitely not green", right???

http://i.imgur.com/1CkNIDC.png

D'OH!!!!

*SPNAKITY-SPNAKITY*

-

"People didn't cause the Great Depression, Liberal ko0kTarD. Governmental
policy did." - Fakey in MID <7880b90ad2ecebe35ba01b4557597d80%40dizum.com>

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes...eat_Depression
"The initial stock market crash triggered a "panic sell-off" that made the
stock market go even lower."

so... so the "government" panicked, snickers?

funny that a bona-fide conservative horatio alger hero type would want the
government stepping in to save the stock market.

"Current theories may be broadly classified into two main points of view
and several heterodox points of view.

First, there are demand-driven theories, from Keynesian and institutional
economists who argue that the depression was caused by a widespread loss
of confidence that led to underconsumption. The demand-driven theories
argue that the financial crisis following the 1929 crash led to a sudden
and persistent reduction in consumption and investment spending.[1] Once
panic and deflation set in, many people believed they could avoid further
losses by keeping clear of the markets. Holding money therefore became
profitable as prices dropped lower and a given amount of money bought ever
more goods, exacerbating the drop in demand.

Second, there are the monetarists, who believe that the Great Depression
started as an ordinary recession, but that significant policy mistakes by
monetary authorities (especially the Federal Reserve), caused a shrinking
of the money supply which greatly exacerbated the economic situation,
causing a recession to descend into the Great Depression. Related to this
explanation are those who point to debt deflation causing those who borrow
to owe ever more in real terms."

wait? what? no major "third" konservative k0okTheory blaming the
government for everything mentioned?

odd, that. eh, lotusLoser?

-

the never-ending saga of fakey's "lotus"...
https://web.archive.org/web/20160408...om/e3OrQSq.png

-

"sines, sines, everywhere there's sines
blocking up the snickerTurds, breaking his mind"
http://i.imgur.com/Z4p1Z55.png

-

FNVWe attempts to rewrite physics texts in Message-ID:
>

">>let's not forget that mine also had the correct applied mathematics
>> equations unlike fakey the supposed know-it-all:
>> phase A: 120*sin(2*pi*60*x)
>> phase B: 120*sin(2*pi*60*x+pi)
>> voltage difference between phase A and phase B at any point x in time:
>> 120*sin(2*pi*60*x) - 120*sin(2*pi*60*x+pi) = 240*sin(2*pi*60*x)

Wrong, as has already been proven. What does it say below, you fecking
*moron*?

"The _sum_ E(θ) ‰¡ E(a) + E(b) can be written thusly:""

it says that you don't even know how to correctly apply mathematics to
real-world AC electricity, snickerTurds. it says that you're in denial
about the inversion of your AC legs.

http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/text...power-systems/
http://sub.allaboutcircuits.com/images/02170.png
"To mathematically calculate voltage between €œhot€� wires, we must subtract
voltages, because their polarity marks show them to be opposed to each
other:"
http://sub.allaboutcircuits.com/images/12112.png

http://www.samlexamerica.com/support...Circuit s.pdf

on page 2:

** NOTE: The phase of Hot Leg 2 (Phase B) is in the
opposite direction - i.e., 180° apart from the phase
of Hot Leg L1 (Phase A)

*COUGH*
SPNAK!!

-

i know a guy on the internet who will draw a triangular sine wave in ASCII
art if you ask nicely.</GROUCHO MARX>
see: Message-ID: >

-

snickerTurds can't seem to refute the following:

- begin snickerSinewaveStew.cpp --
/*
HOW TO RUN: download arbitrary precision libraries from:

http://www.hvks.com/Numerical/arbitrary_precision.html

place those files in a directory and save this file as
snickerSinewaveStew.cpp inside that same directory.

compiles with:

gcc -Wall -I. precisioncore.cpp snickerSinewaveStew.cpp -lstdc++

run with:

../a.out

enjoy the LULZ

*/
#include <fprecision.h>
#include <iostream.h>

using namespace std;

int main(){

//float_precision MIN=float_precision(0);
//float_precision MAX=float_precision(0);

float_precision STEP=float_precision(.0001);
float_precision t=float_precision(0); // time variable
float_precision sum=float_precision(0); // sum of SnickerTurd's
ridiculous sinewave mess
float_precision snickerPrediction=float_precision(2550.25); //
snickerTurd's erroneous k0oK-k'lame Sum
float_precision PI;
PI =_float_table(_PI,25);

// this while loop will run forever, but snickers doesn't understand why
while(sum < snickerPrediction){

// fakey's Sinewave Stew(TM) see: MID:
>
sum = (float_precision(150) * float_precision(
sin(float_precision(120)*float_precision(2)*PI*t)) ) +
(float_precision(20.25) * float_precision(
sin(float_precision(33)*float_precision(2)*PI*t))) +
(float_precision(1400)* float_precision(
sin(float_precision(150)*float_precision(2)*PI*t)) ) +(float_precision(20)*
float_precision(sin(float_precision(5013)*float_pr ecision(2)*PI*t))) +
(float_precision(600)*float_precision(sin(float_pr ecision(13)*float_precision(2)*PI*t)))
+
(float_precision(360)*float_precision(sin(float_pr ecision(1209)*float_precision(2)*PI*t)));

// perhaps show a few values larger than +2300 to educate teh
snickerTurds
if(sum>float_precision(2300)){
cout << "t=" << t << " sum=" << sum << std::endl;
}
t = t+STEP;
}
/*

Message-ID: >
"Oh, yeah... it's 2550.25 volts... so why does your graph not even
reach 2500 volts, given that eventually all the sinewaves will
constructively interfere (ie: *add* to each other) to *sum* to 2550.25
volts?"

Fakey, it doesn't reach 2500 volts because the summation of your sinewaves
never reaches that. They never reach their max values at the same time.
That's how stupid you are.

Message-ID: >
"I most certainly *did* prove otherwise. It can't even arrive at the
correct sinewave summation voltage of 2550.25 volts"

Fakey, you only *proved* that you are too inept to graph the equations and
notice a few things about the interactions of their frequencies when
summed.

the next line of code is never executed, but snickers DEFINITELY can't
figure out why it isn't and instead has a bunch of lame excuses while
still having not produced a value for t where the sum=2550.25, as he has
k0okily proklamed in many usenet messages that are archived FOREVER.

*/
cout << "snickerTurds was right! the sum is " << sum << " at time t=" <<
t <<endl;
}
- end snickerSinewaveStew.cpp --

-

Fakey irrationally demands a theme song to foam to:
"all I really want your pathetic pwned ass to do is write me a classic
rock song as tribute to your Usenet Lord and Master..."
>

-

Somewhere Abouts Round Fri, 12 Feb 2016 17:25:03 -0500, Friendly
Neighborhood Vote Wrangler Emeritus > wrote:

<snicker>

Fag. LOL
Idiot. LOL
Moron. LOL
Tranny. LOL
Libtard. LOL
Crackhead. LOL
GableTard. LOL
DildoRider. LOL
Bad Musician. LOL
Stick Figure. LOL
Terrible Liar. LOL
Sinewave Spammer. LOL
Outerfilthing Stalker. LOL
Talentless FrothMonkey. LOL
Math Challenged Halfwit. LOL
Klimate Katastrophe Kook. LOL
Defeated Tearful Spankard. LOL
Waster Of Time To Save $10. LOL
Worst Maker Of Sinewaves In The History Of Usenet. LOL

<the band strikes up a rousing version of "on top of old smokey">

on top of old snick-ers, all covered with Fag. LOL
is where my usenet lord and mas-ter
can go straight to hell*

*hell doesn't exist. hope everybody is having a productive evening.

-

http://i.imgur.com/2tH6zVB.jpg

http://cafepress.com/kooktown

http://i.imgur.com/pnWqhSG.jpg

-

If my poasts are offensive to you, you can always block all From: headers
containing ", unless you are an idiot who would like to
yammer about "morphing" and maybe try to lodge some frivolous complaints
to my news provider, then please be sure to ignore this helpful
information and have fun making an ass of yourself in public.

if that route of silencing those horrid opinions of mine that you
downloaded to your computer under duress doesn't work you can always try:
http://i.imgur.com/jlsN9JX.png?2

-

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Gish_Gallop
The Gish Gallop is often used as an indirect argument from authority €” as
it appears to paint the galloper as an expert in a broad range of subjects
or with an extensive knowledge of an individual one. Simultaneously it
presents opponents (in spoken debates) or refuters (in written,
Internet-based ones) as incompetent bumblers who didn't do their homework
before the debate. Such emphasis on style over substance is the reason
many scientists disdain public debates as a forum for disseminating
opinions. - Page #1 from the Gospel of SnickerTurd

-

Coming soon! To a newsgroup near you!:

$ perl fakeyBot.pl
FakeyBot> I'm FakeyBot. What's your name so I can Google-stalk you,
look you up on Radaris, and hurl invective and probably-illegal harrassing
bile from behind an anonymous dizum account? <snicker>
You> Robert Michael Wolfe
FakeyBot> Oh look, you're back again to polish my size 16 steel-toed
boot with your colon and listen to me talk about bestiality and cocks,
Robert. <snicker>
Robert> you talk about cocks a lot.
FakeyBot> Oh, I talk about sex a lot?
Robert> *** sex, mostly...
FakeyBot> Fag!

(just as useful as the original!)

-

snickers the wonderturd describes how he alerted lots of his kiddie pr0n
friends to the ensuing FBI sting in message
>:
"That's easy enough to do... how do you think my crew uncovered the
largest CP ring using Tor and I2P, which we promptly turned over to
the FBI? I discovered a way to uncover the IP addresses the I2P users were
using, and a way of tracking Eepsites back to their IP addresses, then we
figured out that we could DDOS a Tor IP address and modify Tor headers
while checking whether a Tor hidden service was still up, then using
process of elimination to pinpoint the IP address hosting that hidden
service. It's not rocket science.

_The I2P community got all up in arms when I discussed on their forum how
I was doing it, and that it'd be a good way of cleaning up I2P so it can
get on with being a platform to research anonymous communication... my
distinct impression was that the "anonymity
research platform" story was just a cover story to allow pervs to
trade CP._ (NOTE: admits to participating in what he "suspected" was a
kiddie pr0n network.)

That Silk Road 2.0 was taken offline in the ensuing FBI Operation
Onymous was just icing on the cake."

-

Golden Killfile, June 2005
KOTM, November 2006
Bob Allisat Memorial Hook, Line & Sinker, November 2006
Special Ops Cody Memorial Purple Heart, November 2006
Special Ops Cody Memorial Purple Heart, September 2007
Tony Sidaway Memorial "Drama Queen" Award, November 2006
Busted Urinal Award, April 2007
Order of the Holey Sockpuppet, September 2007
Barbara Woodhouse Memorial Dog Whistle, September 2006
Barbara Woodhouse Memorial Dog Whistle, April 2008
Tinfoil Sombrero, February 2007
AUK Mascot, September 2007
Putting the Awards Out of Order to Screw With the OCD ****heads, March 2016

On 4/18/2016 11:42 AM, "Fakey's" dogwhistle holder living at 5907
Stanton Ave., Pittsburgh, PA (aka Teh Mop Jockey), socked up as 5907
Stanton Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206-2117 wrote:
> On Mon, 18 Apr 2016 13:11:26 -0400, Colonel Edmund J. Burke
> > wrote:
>
>> On 4/18/2016 8:45 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
>>> On Mon, 18 Apr 2016 03:31:50 -0400, Travis McGee wrote:
>>>
>>>> Richard K. Ransom, Founder of Hickory Farms, Dies at 96
>>>
>>> Highly processed, shelf stable cheese and summer sausages. Not
>>> exactly the best stuff on earth. Downright nasty stuff.
>>>
>>> -sw
>>>
>
> he will be buried in a box of green plastic easter hay surrounded by
> strawberry candies.

Wot?

No Peeps?