2016-catalog-WEB

O U R S T O R Y
It all started with a paper route. It was the 1930’s, and eager to get out of farming where
fortunes depended on the weather. Roy Webster took a 125-mile newspaper route out of
Fort Smith, Arkansas. Soon he decided he might as well be carrying more than just the
paper and worked out a deal to deliver bread along the same route. While these two
enterprises did not make him rich, there was enough money coming in so that he and
Evelyn could get married. So Evelyn became Roy’s partner in more ways than one. She
decided she could bake pies for Roy to sell on his route. In the winter of 1934-1935, Evelyn
baked and Roy delivered 17,000 two-crust pies to stores in Northwest Arkansas. Next, they
were selling butter and then chocolate milk!
When at the end of the 30’s a bakery in Rogers, Arkansas became available, Roy and Evelyn
went into the bakery business. They found success as the war came on: with sugar being
rationed, fruitcakes became the thing to mail to soldiers.
But fearing that this would not go on as strongly after the war, Roy came up with the idea of
doing a gift package: a small wooden chest containing a fruitcake and ceramic jugs of
sorghum and honey called “Rare Gifts of Arkansas”. It became so successful that more gift
packages were added each year.
When Roy was growing up in the one-room cabin of his parents’ homestead, food was a
daily concern, obtained from hard toil and only when the weather cooperated. But he truly
believed that the “good old days’ were indeed good, full of good people, good
experiences and indeed - good food.
Offering the best possible products in the tradition of the Ozarks became the philosophy
behind the House of Webster from the beginning, and it still holds true today, more than 80
years after those first pies. The selection has evolved to include gourmet selections that
grace the tables of the most discerning foodies, and we thrive to deliver it with the same
superior service.
And if you ever come to Rogers, Arkansas, please come and visit our original barn to
sample and purchase our preserves, pickles, sauces and many locally made items.
1-800-369-4641 www.houseofwebster.com
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