THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 13, 1996 TAG: 9604120511
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARY ELLEN MILES, SPECIAL TO REAL ESTATE WEEKLY
LENGTH: Long : 134 lines
The name ``Obici,'' often heard locally when people refer to the Louise Obici Hospital or the Obici House, both in Suffolk, originates from an immigrant couple who diligently cultivated the American dream and left lasting footprints in the local area.
The Obici House is now a favorite site for weddings and occasional business meetings. Nearby, golfers can admire the ornate mansion while awaiting their turn to tee off.
Amedeo Obici, founder of Planters Peanut Co., founding member of the Suffolk Rotary club, an Elk, a Shriner and a 32nd Degree Mason, would like the fact that his home is being put to good use.
He served on bank boards, the Chamber of Commerce, and the College of William and Mary's Board of Visitors. He also pioneered the five-day work week and paid black and white employees equal wages. A business associate was quoted as saying ``everyone looked up to him,'' - yet he was just over five feet tall.
Born in Oderzo, Italy, in 1877, he rose from meager beginnings to become a well-respected, loved and wealthy businessman. His widowed mother sent 11-year-old Amedeo, to Pennsylvania to live with his uncle.
He spoke no English and arrived a day early, with only a shipping label and no one to meet him. A policeman escorted him to his uncle.
At 15, he left school and hunted for better employment. For a while, he worked for another Italian immigrant, selling fruit from a stand. Then, at 18, he opened his own fruit stand.
He sold roasted nuts as a side product. The nuts sold so well that he and his future brother-in-law founded the Planters Peanut Co.in 1906 in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
A couple of years later, chocolate bars were added to the production line, and the company became the Planters Nut & Chocolate Co. The next year peanut butter and other products increased the line. By 1912, the company was the largest single buyer of Virginia Peanuts.
In 1913, Obici moved the processing operations to Suffolk to be closer to the source of the nuts. Two years later, he also moved the manufacturing operation.
Shortly after Obici's arrival in Suffolk, he sponsored a contest among local high schools, to come up with a symbol for his company; hence, the birth of ``Mr. Peanut,'' the famous Planter's trademark..
In 1924, large profits from the peanut business allowed Obici and his wife, Louise, also from Italy, to buy Bay Point Dairy Farm Estate, built in 1870. The 263-acre estate overlooks the Nansemond River.
The Obicis had the farmhouse moved to its current location, also the site of the 18th hole of Sleepy Hole Golf Course.
Both the golf course and the estate are owned by the City of Portsmouth and are part of the 60-acre Sleepy Hole Park.
The original farmhouse served as the Obicis' living room, and the rest of the house was built around it, in keeping with Italian custom. The roof is made of Italian tile. Pastel floor tiles were imported from Italy for the sunroom, veranda and bathrooms.
The Art Nouveau period during the 1920s influenced some of the Obicis' choices. For instance, leaded glass panes can be found in the landing and bathroom windows.
Chandeliers and parquet floors gleam with light streaming from stained glass windows.
``The trees in the glass just come alive during the sunset,'' says Dan Field, of Surroundings & Co., which manages the house and caters weddings and special events there. On a clear night, the sunset across the river offers a spectacular view.
Since Obici was a short man, the rise of the steps is less than usual; so is the height of the banister. The kitchen was built to accommodate many people, since the Obicis fed all the house and dairy farm servants. They housed some of them above the garage.
The original basement was converted into a swimming pool, but has since been filled in.
Louise Obici enhanced their home with heavy mahogany furniture, marble sculptures, oil paintings, and handmade drapes. She was a woman with a flair for gardening, and, like her husband, rejoiced in entertaining.
They often threw parties and had guests donate money to charitable causes. The couple also entertained up to 100 people of their yacht. Some locals remember seeing it tied to the North Main Street Bridge.
Obici often tossed cans of peanuts, some with a welcome message to the Navy, to sailors as the yacht cruised around the area. The yacht was used for patrols during World War II.
In 1981, the Obici House Board of Directors was formed to handle the continuous renovation. Much of the original landscaping has been retained. Glimpses remain of formal gardens and seasonal flowers.
The Obicis also enjoyed ornate garden fountains and other amenities. Obici even bought a nursery and hired a gardener when he purchased the estate. A large fountain and benches in front of the house were removed, due to maintenance costs.
Each year, the couple held a festival to honor the Weigela shrub, part of the honeysuckle family, which grew there. At the event, they took donations for the Crippled Children's Fund.
The estate has become a popular spot for weddings, receptions, reunions, business meetings and dinners.
Considering Obici's wealth, the mansion is actually a very modest home, says Field. It has only two bathrooms. Fortunately, the stain glass windows remain intact.
Field believes the house was originally painted in reds and blacks, typical for Italian residences. He recently painted the living room ceiling in pastels, allowing the panels more prominence.
He's done quite a bit of pampering to the old house since starting work there more than a year ago.
The Obicis had a innovative conveniences that remain today. Closet lights automatically activated once the door was open. A button on the floor of the dining room buzzed the kitchen help.
Today, upstairs rooms have been designated for the bride and her attendants and the groom and his crew. Another room is a good business meeting room, says Field. ``It's the perfect spot for a half-day meeting, catered luncheon and day golf.
After Louise's death in 1938, her husband realized her dream of building a hospital in Suffolk. Today it is an enduring memory to her. Some of the household furniture sits in the hospital's lobby.
Later, a small hospital in Italy was also built with Obici funds. Amedeo died in 1947, leaving a substantial monetary legacy to Suffolk and surrounding areas. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by Gary C. Knapp
Dan Field manages the mansion and caters weddings and other event
there.
Obici's Italian heritage influenced the way he styled his Suffolk
home.
The Obici house is next to the 18th hole of the Sleepy Hole Golf
Course.
Photo by GARY C. KNAPP
The steps and bannister in the Obici House were modified for its
former owner, barely five feet tall. Now brides make their entrance
down the staircase.
KEYWORDS: BIOGRAPHY PROFILE by CNB