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'''Herman Warden Lay''' (March 6, 1909 in [[Charlotte, North Carolina]] – December 6, 1982 in [[Dallas, Texas]])<ref>[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=13786341 www.findagrave.com]</ref> was an [[United States|American]] businessman who was involved in [[potato chip]] manufacturing with his eponymous brand of [[Lay's]] potato chips. He started H.W. Lay Co., Inc., now part of the [[Frito-Lay]] corporation, a [[subsidiary]] of [[PepsiCo]].<ref name="mecklenburg">[http://www.cmstory.org/people/people.asp?id=1261426363 Charlotte Mecklenburg Library]</ref>
'''Herman Warden Lay''' (March 6, 1909 in [[Charlotte, North Carolina]] – December 6, 1982 in [[Dallas, Texas]])<ref>[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=13786341 www.findagrave.com]</ref> was an [[United States|American]] businessman who was involved in [[potato chip]] manufacturing with his eponymous brand of [[Lay's]] potato chips. He started H.W. Lay Co., Inc., now part of the [[Frito-Lay]] corporation, a [[subsidiary]] of [[PepsiCo]].<ref name="mecklenburg">[http://www.cmstory.org/people/people.asp?id=1261426363 Charlotte Mecklenburg Library] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.is/20130414113201/http://www.cmstory.org/people/people.asp?id=1261426363 |date=April 14, 2013 }}</ref>


==Early life ==
==Early life ==
Line 22: Line 22:


==Career==
==Career==
He began his career at [[Sunshine Biscuits]] and was fired because of the [[Great Depression]].<ref name="smith">[http://www.cbe.csueastbay.edu/~sbesc/layaward.html The Smith Center for Private Enterprise Studies] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730092948/http://www.cbe.csueastbay.edu/~sbesc/layaward.html |date=July 30, 2012 }}</ref><ref name="crunch">Dirk E. Burhans, ''Crunch!: A History of the Great American Potato Chip'', Terrace Books, 2008, p. 40 [https://books.google.com/books?id=U4tqtcJGMEkC&pg=PA40&dq=%22Herman+Lay%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=b4OpUKXxH-rU4QSRm4GQDA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22Herman%20Lay%22&f=false]</ref> He then worked as a traveling salesman for the Barrett Food Company, when he delivered [[potato chips]] to his customers in his [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] [[Ford Model A (1927–1931)|Model A]].<ref>[http://www.fritolay.com/about-us/history.html Frito Lay history]</ref> His territory eventually expanded and his profits began to grow. In 1932, he borrowed US$100 and founded the H.W. Lay Distributing Company based in [[Atlanta, Georgia]], a distributor for the Barrett Food Products Company, and began to hire employees.<ref>[http://www.pepsico.com/Story/Happy-50th-anniversary-Frito-Lay----PEPline-looks-back-at-FLNAs-history09292011.html Happy 50th anniversary, Frito-Lay -- PEPline looks back at FLNA's history], Pesico Press release, September 29, 2011</ref><ref>[https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/diffs Texas State Historical Association]</ref><ref>[http://www.sfa.org/sfa/news.php?id=60 Snack Food Association]</ref> He peddled potato chips from Atlanta to [[Nashville, Tennessee]].<ref name="lauralee"/><ref name="kaur">Lovedeep Kaur, ''Advances in Potato Chemistry and Technology'', Academic Press, 2009, p. 28 [https://books.google.com/books?id=j6cmAxf6ofoC&pg=PA28&lpg=PA28&dq=%22Herman+Lay%22&source=bl&ots=wRZte0CvV8&sig=iDfoKn5geiwDND-lUzEFRijZiBE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=koGpUIkar9LhBLe1gZAL&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22Herman%20Lay%22&f=false]</ref> By 1937, he had 25 employees, and had begun producing his own line of snack foods.
He began his career at [[Sunshine Biscuits]] and was fired because of the [[Great Depression]].<ref name="smith">[http://www.cbe.csueastbay.edu/~sbesc/layaward.html The Smith Center for Private Enterprise Studies] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730092948/http://www.cbe.csueastbay.edu/~sbesc/layaward.html |date=July 30, 2012 }}</ref><ref name="crunch">Dirk E. Burhans, ''Crunch!: A History of the Great American Potato Chip'', Terrace Books, 2008, p. 40 [https://books.google.com/books?id=U4tqtcJGMEkC&pg=PA40&dq=%22Herman+Lay%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=b4OpUKXxH-rU4QSRm4GQDA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22Herman%20Lay%22&f=false]</ref> He then worked as a traveling salesman for the Barrett Food Company, when he delivered [[potato chips]] to his customers in his [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] [[Ford Model A (1927–1931)|Model A]].<ref>[http://www.fritolay.com/about-us/history.html Frito Lay history]</ref> His territory eventually expanded and his profits began to grow. In 1932, he borrowed US$100 and founded the H.W. Lay Distributing Company based in [[Atlanta, Georgia]], a distributor for the Barrett Food Products Company, and began to hire employees.<ref>[http://www.pepsico.com/Story/Happy-50th-anniversary-Frito-Lay----PEPline-looks-back-at-FLNAs-history09292011.html Happy 50th anniversary, Frito-Lay -- PEPline looks back at FLNA's history] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.is/20130201002042/http://www.pepsico.com/Story/Happy-50th-anniversary-Frito-Lay----PEPline-looks-back-at-FLNAs-history09292011.html |date=February 1, 2013 }}, Pesico Press release, September 29, 2011</ref><ref>[https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/diffs Texas State Historical Association]</ref><ref>[http://www.sfa.org/sfa/news.php?id=60 Snack Food Association]</ref> He peddled potato chips from Atlanta to [[Nashville, Tennessee]].<ref name="lauralee"/><ref name="kaur">Lovedeep Kaur, ''Advances in Potato Chemistry and Technology'', Academic Press, 2009, p. 28 [https://books.google.com/books?id=j6cmAxf6ofoC&pg=PA28&lpg=PA28&dq=%22Herman+Lay%22&source=bl&ots=wRZte0CvV8&sig=iDfoKn5geiwDND-lUzEFRijZiBE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=koGpUIkar9LhBLe1gZAL&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22Herman%20Lay%22&f=false]</ref> By 1937, he had 25 employees, and had begun producing his own line of snack foods.


The H.W. Lay & Company merged with The Frito Company in September 1961, creating the largest-selling snack food company in the [[United States]], the [[Frito-Lay]] corporation.<ref name="mecklenburg"/><ref name="lauralee"/><ref>[https://www.wsj.com/ad/article/sir-brand-dallas The Wall Street Journal, Dallas]</ref> In 1965, Herman W. Lay (Chairman and Chief executive officer of Frito-Lay) and [[Donald M. Kendall]] (President and Chief executive officer of Pepsi-Cola) merged the two companies and formed [[PepsiCo|PepsiCo, Inc]].<ref>[http://www.pepsico.com/Company/Our-History/1965.html PepsiCo, Our history]</ref>
The H.W. Lay & Company merged with The Frito Company in September 1961, creating the largest-selling snack food company in the [[United States]], the [[Frito-Lay]] corporation.<ref name="mecklenburg"/><ref name="lauralee"/><ref>[https://www.wsj.com/ad/article/sir-brand-dallas The Wall Street Journal, Dallas]</ref> In 1965, Herman W. Lay (Chairman and Chief executive officer of Frito-Lay) and [[Donald M. Kendall]] (President and Chief executive officer of Pepsi-Cola) merged the two companies and formed [[PepsiCo|PepsiCo, Inc]].<ref>[http://www.pepsico.com/Company/Our-History/1965.html PepsiCo, Our history] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606184847/http://www.pepsico.com/Company/Our-History/1965.html |date=June 6, 2012 }}</ref>


A philanthropist, he helped found the [[Association of Private Enterprise Education]] (APEE).<ref name="smith"/>
A philanthropist, he helped found the [[Association of Private Enterprise Education]] (APEE).<ref name="smith"/>

Revision as of 03:25, 30 December 2017

Herman Lay
BornMarch 6, 1909
Charlotte, North Carolina
DiedDecember 6, 1982 (1982-12-07) (aged 73)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Occupation(s)Businessman, philanthropist

Herman Warden Lay (March 6, 1909 in Charlotte, North Carolina – December 6, 1982 in Dallas, Texas)[1] was an American businessman who was involved in potato chip manufacturing with his eponymous brand of Lay's potato chips. He started H.W. Lay Co., Inc., now part of the Frito-Lay corporation, a subsidiary of PepsiCo.[2]

Early life

Lay was born in Charlotte, North Carolina on March 6, 1909.[2][3] His father, Jesse N. Lay, worked for International Harvester, first as a bookkeeper in Charlotte and later as a commercial salesman in Columbia, South Carolina, where the family moved.[2] By 1920, they moved to Greenville, South Carolina.[2] In 1922 his mother died of cancer and his father remarried.[2] He then attended Furman University on an athletic scholarship for two years, but did not graduate.[2][3]

Career

He began his career at Sunshine Biscuits and was fired because of the Great Depression.[4][5] He then worked as a traveling salesman for the Barrett Food Company, when he delivered potato chips to his customers in his Ford Model A.[6] His territory eventually expanded and his profits began to grow. In 1932, he borrowed US$100 and founded the H.W. Lay Distributing Company based in Atlanta, Georgia, a distributor for the Barrett Food Products Company, and began to hire employees.[7][8][9] He peddled potato chips from Atlanta to Nashville, Tennessee.[3][10] By 1937, he had 25 employees, and had begun producing his own line of snack foods.

The H.W. Lay & Company merged with The Frito Company in September 1961, creating the largest-selling snack food company in the United States, the Frito-Lay corporation.[2][3][11] In 1965, Herman W. Lay (Chairman and Chief executive officer of Frito-Lay) and Donald M. Kendall (President and Chief executive officer of Pepsi-Cola) merged the two companies and formed PepsiCo, Inc.[12]

A philanthropist, he helped found the Association of Private Enterprise Education (APEE).[4]

Personal life

Lay married Sarah Amelia "Mimi" Harper[13] and had four children.[2] He died at the age of 73 on December 6, 1982.[2] His late son, Herman Warden Lay Jr., was a Dallas-based co-founder of a bottling company in Mexico for Pepsi and 7 Up.[14]

Legacy

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has a room named after him.[15] His alma mater, Furman University, offers a scholarship in his name.[16] The Lay Ornamental Garden in the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden is named for him [17]

References

  1. ^ www.findagrave.com
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Archived April 14, 2013, at archive.today
  3. ^ a b c d Laura Lee, The Name's Familiar: Mr. Leotard, Barbie, and Chef Boy-Ar-Dee, Pelican Publishing, 1999, p. 159 [1]
  4. ^ a b The Smith Center for Private Enterprise Studies Archived July 30, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Dirk E. Burhans, Crunch!: A History of the Great American Potato Chip, Terrace Books, 2008, p. 40 [2]
  6. ^ Frito Lay history
  7. ^ Happy 50th anniversary, Frito-Lay -- PEPline looks back at FLNA's history Archived February 1, 2013, at archive.today, Pesico Press release, September 29, 2011
  8. ^ Texas State Historical Association
  9. ^ Snack Food Association
  10. ^ Lovedeep Kaur, Advances in Potato Chemistry and Technology, Academic Press, 2009, p. 28 [3]
  11. ^ The Wall Street Journal, Dallas
  12. ^ PepsiCo, Our history Archived June 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ APSU benefactor, alumna, heiress to Frito-Lay Co. dies
  14. ^ Joe Simnacher, Herman Warden Lay Jr., son of snack icon who found his own success in business, dies at 66, Dallas News, 28 October 2011
  15. ^ U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Meeting Space
  16. ^ Furman University scholarships
  17. ^ Lay Ornamental Garden
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