In the early 1960s, Billie Crenshaw was a young mom raising four boys on their family farm in Crenshaw, Mississippi where they grew cotton, soybeans and, well, pecans. One fall afternoon, Billie decided to gather up the hundreds of pecans lining the home driveway—thinking surely something could be done with these to feed her pack of active sons. Back then, there were more pecans in the family’s front yard than her husband, Bob, knew what to do with. He told Billie that if she’d pick them up, she could do whatever she wanted with them. And she did just that.

During the months that followed, Billie began creating her own personal recipes, starting with her favorite, Cinnamon Spiced. With her sons’ encouragement, she took these delectable treats on the road, and sold her candied pecans at the Market Basket in Memphis, Tennessee and gave out free samples at Goldsmith’s department store (now Macy’s). “The trick to sales, Billie’s would say, is simply getting people to taste the pecans and once they tasted them they seem to order”. Slowly, Billie built her business through word-of-mouth and the devotion of some very loyal customers—many who are still with us today.