The Claxton Bakery is a
confectionery
Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...
company based in
Claxton, Georgia
Claxton is a city in Evans County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,746 at the 2010 census, up from 2,276 in 2000. It is the county seat of Evans County.
History
The town had its visionary, W.R. Hendricks. In May 1890 there were only a ...
.
History
The Claxton Bakery was founded by Savino Gillio-Tos (March 31, 1885 in
Ivrea
Ivrea (; pms, Ivrèja ; ; lat, Eporedia) is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley (part of the medieval Via Francigena), it stradd ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
- January 1966 in Claxton, Georgia) who immigrated to the United States in 1902. He moved to New York City, where he worked at a Brooklyn hotel as a master baker. He eventually took a job in
Macon, Georgia
Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...
and moved from there to Claxton. Mr. Gillio-Tos's Claxton Bakery was a successful maker of baked goods, homemade ice cream and
fruitcake
Fruitcake (or fruit cake or fruit bread) is a cake made with candied or dried fruit, nuts, and spices, and optionally soaked in spirits. In the United Kingdom, certain rich versions may be iced and decorated.
Fruitcakes are typically served ...
s. In 1945, Savino Gillio-Tos sold the bakery to
Albert Parker, an employee, and retired.
Albert Parker's Claxton Bakery
Under Parker's leadership, the Claxton Bakery began to focus on fruitcakes; this eventually led the bakery to start selling fruitcakes for fundraising purposes in the 1950s. One of the bakery's earliest fundraising partners was
Civitan International
Civitan International, based in Birmingham, Alabama, is an association of community service clubs founded in 1917. The organization aims "to build good citizenship by providing a volunteer organization of clubs dedicated to serving individual an ...
; since 1951, local Civitans have sold millions of pounds of Claxton fruitcake each holiday season in support of their work with the developmentally disabled.
A little over a decade later, in 1964 and 1965, the company was part of the
New York World's Fair. Mr. Parker quickly took advantage of the success at the fair and came up with other means to get his product out to the world. One such innovation came when he entered several floats in the
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...
Jamboree Parade in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
and also the
Cherry Blossom Festival Parade in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Today the Claxton Bakery, Inc. works with over a thousand organizations throughout North America.
On May 21, 1995, Albert Parker died. His three sons and his daughter now run the corporation.
Further reading
*
Claxton Bakeryarticle a
www.georgiafruitcakecompany.com
a
American ProfileClaxton Bakery article
a
Taipei Times
References
External links
www.claxtonfruitcake.com
€”Official web site
Evans County, Georgia
Confectionery companies of the United States
Privately held companies based in Georgia (U.S. state)
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