How 25 Christmas Traditions Started-- Part 1: Trees, Rockettes, Charlie, Pickles & Elves

From the History site.

1.  CHRISTMAS TREES

Started in Germany  It is believed the first Christmas tree lot in the U.S. opened in 1851.

2.  ROCKETTES

First called the  Missouri Rockets back in 1925.  Officially became the  Radio City Music Hall Rockettes in 1934.  Give me one of those great line kicks!!!!!!!!!!!

3.  A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS

First aired December 9, 1965

4.  CHRISTMAS PICKLES

Hide one and te first child to find it gets something.  As a shareholder with the Mount Olive Pickle Cp. I like this one.  But growing up, I never had this.  Bah!! Humbug!!

5.  ELF ON THE SHELF

Since 2005.  We didn't have them growing up, but that was quite a ways before us.  My brother and sister are quite old.

Twenty to Go.  --CootChris

Mt. Olive Pickles and Me

I have a bit of a history with the Mt. Olive Pickle Company.  My father was born in Mt. Olive, North Carolina and growing up I spent a lot of time with his parents who still lived there.  You might say I am a Mt. Olive fan.  And, the pickle company is really big in that town.

One time, my dad and my cousin Graham,who at the time lived in Warsaw, N.C., in the same county as Cates Pickle Co.got into an argument over whether Cates (made in Faison) or Mt. Olive had the better pickles.  They did a bling Pickle taste test and Mt. Olive won.

Mom bought Mt. Olive Pickle stock and now that she has passed on, my brother, sister and I have inherited that stock, so I am a part owner of the company.

Every New Years Eve, Mt. Olive Pickle Co. and the town put on a Pickle Drop (but earlier than midnight).

Several years back I was really surprised to start seeing Mt. Olive Pickles being sold here in the MidWest (and it still is).  Before that it was just a regional company.  Great to see Mt. olive pickles being sold in our local Jewel grocery stores.

And, I Really Like Their Pickles.  --Cooter

Mt. Olive Pickles-- Part 2: What Keeps Mt. Olive Going

Today, Mt. Olive Pickles is the nation's largest privately held pickle company, with one million square feet of production and warehouse space located on 150 acres.  You enter Mt. Olive and see signs saying "Welcome to Mt. Olive.  Home of Mt. Olive Pickles."

Shikrey Baddaour left the business years before his death in 1938, his homegrown company is one of Wayne County's largest employers -- providing more than 600 jobs.

"Without Mt. Olive Pickle, you might have to roll the sidewalks up," says Charles Brown, town manager.  "Mt. Olive Pickle is what keeps Mt. Olive going."

Plus, Baddour's descendants have been very active in North Carolina ever since.

--Cooter

Mt. Olive Pickles-- Part 1: A Lebanese Opportunity

From the February 2017, Our State (N.C.) magazine  "Bringing It Home" Karen Sullivan.

The story of Lebanese Immigrants to North Carolina.

THE BADDOUR FAMILY, MOUNT OLIVE

Dreams of a better life caused thousands of Lebanese to leave their country between 1880 and 1920.  In North Carolina, the census counted nearly 1,400 people of Lebanese descent in 1920.

Shikrey Baddour was one of those early Lebanese immigrants, arriving in the early 1890s.  The streets were not paved with gold as he was told, but there was an abundance of opportunity.  By 1924, just nine years after he arrived in the U.S., he was already running a shirt factory in Goldsboro, N.C..

One day, on a drive through nearby Mt. Olive, he saw farms where cucumbers were rotting in the fields, he was inspired to turn this into a profit.  With the help of 36 shareholders, he started the Mt. Olive Pickle Company in 1926.

And, you can go into most any store here in the Midwest and find these pickles on the shelves today.

--RoadDog