The Claxton Bakery is a
confectionery
Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two bro ...
company based in
Claxton, Georgia
Claxton is a city in Evans County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,602 in 2020. It is the county seat of Evans County.
History
The town had its visionary, W.R. Hendricks. In May 1890 there were only a couple of dwellings scattered ...
.
History
The Claxton Bakery was founded by Savino Gillio-Tos (March 31, 1885 in
Ivrea
Ivrea (; ; ; ) 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 straddles the Dora Baltea and is ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
- 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 Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...
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 is a cake made with Candied fruit, candied or dried fruit, Nut (fruit), nuts, and spices, and optionally soaked in liquor, spirits. In the United Kingdom, certain rich versions may be iced and Cake decorating, decorated. ...
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 a ...
; 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. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...
Jamboree Parade in
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
and also the
Cherry Blossom Festival Parade in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
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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