It's 1906. Italian immigrants Amedeo Obici and Mario Peruzzi, also friends and business partners, find themselves in Wilkes-Barre. Peruzzi worked at a fruit stand before opening his own peanut cart, and that's when an idea was born that would eventually become Planter's peanuts.
Obici is said to have invented new production methods. The pair also introduced see-through packaging, which they hoped would keep the peanuts fresh and allow customers to see what was inside.
Ten years later, a schoolboy from Virginia submitted his sketch in a contest to come up with the brand's icon, a friendly, humanized peanut walking with a cane. Commercial artists added a top hat and a monocle, and Mr. Peanut was born.
The company's corporate headquarters remained in the area until 1961. Planters is now owned by Hormel Foods, but Mr. Peanut remains a world recognized part of the Planters logo and a big part of Wilkes-Barre history.
