Priscilla Oxley Ruckno

History of Prissy’s

In 1986, Prissy’s of Vidalia was started in the town of Vidalia, Georgia in the small kitchen of Priscilla Oxley Ruckno. She was very active in her local community, helping to start and run the Vidalia Onion Festival; it was then that she saw a growing demand for gourmet products that included ingredients with the famous Vidalia Sweet Onions. The focus of the business was to create quality products that looked attractive, tasted great, and also promoted the Vidalia name. In the beginning, Prissy’s could only be found in specialty gift markets, catering to those with an eye for the finer things in life. Up until 10 years ago, all the recipes were made strictly with Vidalia Onions and had not yet expanded into the over 100 products that Prissy’s currently offers.

Today, Prissy’s continues to sell and promote products with Vidalia Onions, but also a full array of our other gourmet items. We wanted to become a company that could offer unique products without compromising the southern flair for good taste. Two of our most popular showcase items are Vidalia Onion & Peach Salsa and Georgia Peach Preserves. We also have some hard to find items like Pickled Watermelon Rind, Pickled Asparagus, and Pickled Okra. From the small kitchen to the national company that Prissy’s has grown into, we are always looking into the future for carrying different and better products.

The growth and demand of our products have been a direct result of more consumers realizing that Prissy’s has mastered their special Southern recipes while still having a down home flavor. We are very proud to offer such a fine and elegant line of gourmet products that not only look great, but also taste delicious!

Georgia Gourmet Food Products
Vidalia Onion History

The Vidalia Onion Story

The Vidalia Onion Story takes root in Toombs County, Georgia over 60 years ago, when a farmer by the name of Moses Coleman discovered in the late spring of 1931 the onions he had planted were not hot, as he expected. They were sweet! It was a struggle to sell the onions at first, but Moses persevered, and managed to sell them for $3.50 per 50-pound bag, which in those days was a big price. Other farmers, who through the Depression years had not been able to get a fair price for their produce, thought Coleman had found a gold mine. They began to follow suit, and soon after, their farms were also producing the sweet, mild onion.

In the 1940’s, the State of Georgia built a Farmer’s Market in Vidalia, and because the small town was at the juncture of some of South Georgia’s most widely traveled highways, the market had a thriving tourist business. Word began to spread about “those Vidalia onions”. Consumers, then, gave the onions their famous name. Reorders were made, and “Vidalia Onions” began appearing on the shelves of Piggly Wiggly and A & P grocery stores.

Through the 1950s and 60s, production grew at a slow but steady pace, reaching some 600 total acres by the mid 1970s. At that point, a push was made for Vidalia Onions to be distributed throughout the nation, and several promotional efforts began. Onion festivals became an annual event in Vidalia, Georgia, and production grew tenfold over the next decade.

In 1986, Georgia’s state legislature passed legislation giving the Vidalia Onion legal status and defining the 20-county production area. The Vidalia Onion was named Georgia’s Official State Vegetable by the state legislature in 1990. More than fifty years after its humble beginning, the Vidalia Sweet Onion is a valuable industry for the state.

In 1990 it was named Georgia’s official vegetable.