The Priester's Pecans Story
Let us tell you a little story about a handshake partnership and the beginning of Alabama's largest gourmet handmade candy company.
Fort Deposit, Alabama, is located 35 miles south of Montgomery. The little town of 1,200 sprouted during the Revolutionary War around a military ammunition depository. And around the little town sprouted pecan trees. Lots of them.
By 1935 automobiles buzzed back and forth on the main highway between Mobile and Montgomery. Mr. Lee C. Priester owned and operated a Texaco station that serviced these travelers. But his customers wanted more than gasoline, so Lee decided to offer refreshments and a little taste of the South.
Lee hired a local man named Caesar to help gather pecans. Caesar knocked the ripened nuts down with a long stick, sacked them, and brought them to Lee's porch, where they were bagged for sale next door at the service station.
The Request That Changed Everything
No one is exactly sure when "Special Order Number One" was placed, but a salesman who stopped for gasoline asked Lee to have pecans cracked and shelled for pick-up on his return. Lee arranged for local ladies to crack and shell on contract—and Priester Pecan Company started with that first customer's request!
Lee always said, "Exceptional pecans and customer service are the heart of our business." It was true then, and it's true today!
Sealed with a Handshake
The pecan business grew quickly. When the back porch couldn't handle the volume, a larger facility was purchased. With sales climbing, Lee asked longtime friend Hense Reynolds Ellis to join him. With a handshake and a $200 loan, Hense became the silent partner in Priester Pecan Company.
A New Generation Joins the Story
Hense and his wife, Ellen, later brought their sons Ned and John (and their wives, May and Rose) into the business. After Hense's passing in 1965 and Lee's retirement, Ned took the helm and eventually bought the entire company.
Ned—Auburn graduate, decorated veteran, rancher, banker, civic leader—guided Priester's while running his 3,000-acre Circle E Farms. In 1985 his son Thomas Ellis moved from sweeping floors to management, became co-owner in 2002, and sole owner in 2018.
Thomas and wife Melissa's sons—Tyler, Stinson, and Taber—grew up in the plant; Tyler and Stinson now work full-time in operations and production. Two daughters-in-law, Sarah and Grace, lead web, catalog, and social-media marketing.
The Ellis grandchildren—Hays, Luke, Henry, Rivers, Harrison, Anna Grace, and Hazel—are often found playing around the shelling plant. Perhaps they'll become the fifth generation to keep this family tradition alive.
Until then, Thomas and his family will keep working hard to provide you the very finest quality pecan products the South has to offer.
With gratitude from our family in Fort Deposit — thank you for welcoming Priester's Pecans into your traditions.
