The Durant Weekly News, reported August 1944 as the first year Bryan County farmers planted popcorn on a “contract basis.” Popcorn was a great addition to small farms because it didn’t interfere with the growing or harvesting of field corn, peanuts, or cotton. One thousand farmers planted 15,000 acres with an estimated yield of 15,000,000 pounds. The harvest was not graded that first year, so the best and the worst popcorn brought the flat price of $3.68 per pound.
About 8,000 acres of that first crop was contracted to the Atkins Popcorn Company. They had taken over Durant’s old dye plant on the M-K-T right-of-way earlier that spring and renovated it into a mill and elevator. It was 240x50 feet at the ground floor level and rose three stories high in the middle. Shelling and cleaning machines were installed and shelled popcorn was packed into 100 lb. water-proof bags. Popcorn had to be shelled carefully. If it was scratched or cracked it wouldn’t pop.
In addition to local crops, Mr. Atkins also planned to process his Illinois corn crop in Durant because it cured much faster in our climate. Other buyers who contracted with local farmers were from Iowa, Illinois, and New York.
Bryan County popcorn production was promoted on a WKY radio program sponsored by the Durant Lions Club with E. L. Whitehead, county agent, as the main speaker. He reported that the $700,000 industry was “second in the United States in popcorn production.”
In August of 1945 the newspaper declared “Harvest of Bryan county’s 26,500-acre popcorn crop, estimated to be worth one million dollars to the growers, was begun this week…” Atkins Popcorn had 15,000 acres of the crop under contract, and 5,000 acres under contract in adjoining counties. Others buying the crop were A. L. Blount and Fred Jones Feed Mill.
The 1945 crop was so abundant that in September Atkins Popcorn published an ad in the Durant Daily Democrat stating that they had “about one million pounds” of popcorn on the ground and could not accept anymore until the following week. Piles of corn were a fire hazard and the plant had already experienced one. As a result, fire officials installed a hydrant near the plant and lent Mr. Atkins 200 feet of hose to add to the 150 feet he already had. The plant was shipping two car loads of 1,600 pounds each day, and hoped to clear up the excess quickly.
For Christmas that year, Atkins Popcorn gave employees a 5% bonus. Fifteen employees qualified according to H. E. Croy, plant manager.
A clever advertising campaign was launched in December of 1945. Small cotton sacks containing 6-12 pounds of shelled popcorn were distributed to local residents and merchants at a cost of 75 cents. A map of Lake Texoma was included and bags were labeled “Bryan County, Popcorn Capital of the Southwest. Lake Texoma, 1250 miles of shoreline.” Merchants purchased 900 bags, which they planned to sell at cost.
Mr. Atkins believed in innovation and experimentation, so he furnished different types of seed to his contracted farmers. Many of the early ones were developed by Oklahoma A&M. In 1946 he advertised that he had Purdue hybrids 31, 32, 34, and 38, developed by the University of Indiana, and Kansas K-4, from the University of Kansas. In 1947, the Atkins company and the Durant Chamber of Commerce repeated their package program of 1945. Three-pound bags of shelled popcorn, complete with a card for easy mailing, were sold to local residents for 45 cents each. They were encouraged to give them as gifts to “acquaintances and friends throughout the nation”. The Chamber included this message: “With greetings from Durant. Popcorn and Spanish Peanut Capital. Home of Southeastern State College. Gateway to Lake Texoma, biggest artificial lake in America, 100,000 acres of water, 1,250 miles of shoreline, where fishing is unexcelled.”
John Hogan of Caddo brought in the first load of popcorn for 1948. He had harvested 2,230 pounds from one acre and was paid $80.
The year 1949 saw a reduced crop and lower prices. Only 2,000 acres were planted and $2.75 per hundred pounds was the price paid.
Mr. Atkins declared the 1950 harvest “one of the two best we have ever produced.” The number of acres planted was about 3,500. Predicted harvest was estimated at an average of 1,500 pounds per acre, with a selling price of $3.00$4.00 per pound. The moisture level of the harvest was also higher than previous years, making a heavier popcorn.
Early in 1951, Mr. Atkins moved his headquarters from Dallas to Durant and purchased 347 acres from the estate of Dr. Haynie, two miles south of Durant. He built a twelve-room house on a hill overlooking highway 69/75. Construction began in March and in December 871 guests toured the impressive mansion.
The year 1951 turned out to be a difficult year for popcorn farmers. There were sixteen days of rain in June and a hailstorm damaged a considerable amount of acreage. Gene Ramsey’s crop in Colbert was totally destroyed. Cutworms and corn borer damage took their usual toll. Despite those difficulties, or perhaps because of them, Mr. Atkins devised a way to determine the very best ways to grow popcorn.
He selected 14 FFA boys, two from each of the seven Bryan County Chapters, and offered $50 to the one who grew the best popcorn on upland soil, $50 for the best bottom land crop, and $400 to be divided between the other young farmers. In addition, they were to be paid $3.26 per hundred pounds. Atkins provided their seed and the Chamber of Commerce donated fertilizer. The boys experimented with different seeds, amounts of fertilizer, etc. From time to time there were tours of the various crops.
Those participating were Carlice Armstrong and Ronnie Wilson, Durant; Alton Tarper and Gail Lee, Calera; Philemon and George Philpot, Bennington; Glen Neal and Connie Henson, Bokchito; Jack Wells and Orel Joines, Caddo; Bobby Gower and Gene Ramey, Colbert; Douglas Love and Wiley Wisely, Achille. Jack Wells and Douglas Love had the best crops.
It was a drought year in 1952 with little chance of a profitable crop. Many fields were cut for silage or plowed under. In May 1953 the “palatial home and ranch of Mr. and Mrs. G. C. Atkins” was sold at a district court mortgage foreclosure sale. The estate was purchased for $72,000 by Don Keeton of Bonham, Texas. The property was then purchased in a private sale by L. B. A. Abbott, “Durant oil dealer.” He also bought some of the furnishings, rugs, and drapes.
Also sold on foreclosure was the popcorn plant. It was purchased by George Robinson of OK Iron and Metal, Durant. In June, they advertised some of the sheet metal from the old building would be sold. In 1954, their ads read: OK Iron and Metal, 10 West Locust, “formerly known as Atkins Popcorn.”
The popularity and profitability of popcorn continued to decline. It’s no longer a major crop in Oklahoma, replaced by winter wheat, hay, cotton, peanuts, sorghum and soybeans. Popcorn is listed as one of our “specialty” or “niche” crops.