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Our Story Recipes Products Home Store Store Locator News & Media My account Cart Checkout Home > Our Story Our Story Daddy “Old Folks” F.B. Purnell Because he liked to sit and listen to old folks talk, a Tennessee farm boy became known as “Old Folks”…that was my daddy, Fred B. Purnell, who, as a young man, went to work in Nashville for the railroad. He was a steam engine mechanic. Daddy had been accustomed to his family’s homemade country sausage and found there was none available in the city, so he started making his own in the fall of 1932, using only the choicest cuts from the whole hog. These were ground and combined with just the right blend of salts, sages and pepper. When packing his lunchbox for work, Daddy would take leftover biscuits from the breakfast table to go with his own ‘Purnell’ sausage. Once he shared his lunch with a helper who enjoyed it so much, he offered to buy whole hog sausage from Daddy. That popular lunchbox started Fred and Clara Purnell in making old-fashioned country sausage a ‘business.’ In 1944, “Old Folks” gave up his job with the railroad because of a disability, and the making of whole hog sausage from his special recipe became a full-time family business. Mamma sewed up the bags that Daddy filled with his homemade sausage. There were a few years when they quit making sausage and had their own packing house and several grocery stores. Keep Reading Family History Family History Why it's Good Why It's Good Sign up for our newsletter Hey folks! Sign up for our newsletter to get some Gooo-od product, recipe and company updates. Our Story Recipes Store Store Locator Contact Us Sitemap Terms of Use Compliance Privacy Policy News Careers News Archive FAQs Can't find something? Can't find something? FOLLOW: Facebook Pinterest Instagram © 2021 Purnell's