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Research paper

The Amazing Life of Herman Warden Lay

Have you ever tasted some delicious chips and wondered who made them? If those delicious chips are Lays potato chips then I know who made them. Herman Lay was the inventor of delicious lays potato chips. These potato chips are very unique from homemade potato chips or any other chips as they used to make them before. These chips are different because they are chips with a lot of different seasonings and homemade potato chips were chips with other types of seasonings than the ones they use now. They are also different because homemade potato chips probably always had the same seasoning and lay potato chips have many varieties of seasonings on their potato chips. Another reason for their uniqueness is that they are fabricated and the fabric has a special touch that lets you know that they were made from the lay company. The last reason why lays potato chips are delicious is because they have a lot of flavors and they’ll have good taste like for example the green lays are lemon flavored and the yellow bag is classic and there is still a lot more than that.

Early life and Childhood​

Herman Lay was born on June 3, 1909, in Charlotte, N.C. with his parents beside him. Herman Lay grew up like any other kid in the world except for one little detail while he was 11. At the age of 11, he started a small business in front of a basketball court. His small business was selling Pepsi in front of a basketball court. This is the one thing that made him not like the other kids. Sadly Herman lay didn’t have any brothers or sisters so he was an only child. His father’s name was Jesse N. Lay and his mother’s name was Bertha Erman Parr Lay. Herman Lay attended Greenville high school after finishing Middle school. At Greenville high school took a lot of sports such as baseball, basketball, and track. He was technically an athlete. Because of doing all these sports, he got an athletic scholarship to attend Furman University.(Know it all)

Beginnings

When Lay was 11 he would cell Pepsi cola’s in front of a baseball park. (Know it all) After selling a lot of things and jobs going down During the great depression, Lay got asked to work at Atlanta’s Barrett Potato Chip Co. and after some time thinking he went to Atlanta’s Barrett Potato Chip Co. to ask for the job. When he got there they told him that they were no longer looking for that spot because it had already been taken. Then he thought of an idea that would change everything. He thought of being his own boss-man. After this, he started working at different places and learning about business and how to do the job correctly. Lay had to overcome something since he had gotten so determined. He would work all day and half the night. He would rarely get any sleep because he would have to get work again right away. He would have to pass through a lot of bosses since he would not only work in one place. Lay would work in grocery stores, filling stations, soda shops, schools, hospitals, and more. He wouldn’t get any salary and would only work for sale commissions. With no salary, he probably only won a little bit of money. That's probably why he had a lot of jobs so that he would win enough money to start his own company by getting some people hired. (The Leaf Chronicle)

Accomplishments

Lay is the creator of the delicious Lays potato chips. He did everything in his power to create a whole company that could make these chips and succeeded. These chips come in a variety of flavors and all of them are very tasty. These chips have been around for more than 50 years and it still tastes good. These chips are thin like paper potato slices that then are cocked and seasoned. These chips are so famous you can find them in every store and especially in gasoline stores. Lay had many accomplishments with the idea of these chips. The first accomplishment he had was owning a stand in front of a baseball field. The second was being known by the field as the man who sales the best snacks. The third accomplishment he had was hiring a sales man in the year 1933. His fourth accomplishment was having 25 sales men in 1937. His fifth accomplishment was owning $60,000 in 1938. His sixth accomplishment was having the company Lays. His seventh accomplishment was buying Frito and creating Frito-lay. His last accomplishment was surviving all of this process. Herman lay also had some problems during the process because you can only be successful if you don't have any problems. The first problem he had was not getting enough sleep while doing his jobs since he would work all day and half the night so the next day he would probably be a little bit sleepy. The second problem he had was having people who didn't believe in him or would tell him that he wouldn’t be able to do it. The third problem was him not being able to get all the salesmen he wanted because some of them didn’t believe that what he had planned would never happen because they didn't believe in him. (The Leaf Chronicle)

Impact on the world

If the world didn't have Lay in it it wouldn't be the same. Lay created some of the best chips in the world because they are being sold all around the world and they are all so delicious. If Lay’s potato chips were not existent then companies that had gotten ideas from him wouldn’t exist. For example, Tostitos got some ideas from him like the shape and flavor. If lay didn't exist then Frito-lay wouldn't either because without lay Frito would not be the same and also wouldn’t be as famous because lay really gave them a lot of fame when they merged together to become Frito-lay. If lay didn’t exist then maybe chips wouldn’t look like they look like now. Maybe chips would look like fries. If lay didn't exist then chips would not have varieties of flavors and all the chip brands would all sell the same flavored chips. Without lay the world wouldn't be the same because lay did a lot of modifications on chips that other companies copied to make their chips even better than lays but they couldn't because lay still would make them better than them because lay had some kind of secret touch that made your mouth be satisfied with the taste. (The Leaf Chronicle)

Lessons Learned from Their Life

From what I have read Herman Lays’ personality was very good. He was a nice man because he would always sell things at places and you have to be nice in order to have clients who like you and he had a lot of people who liked him and that is why he even got a prize from the baseball field for always being there and selling thighs to people. One of the lessons Lay learned was that being your own boss-man is better than having a boos-man because you are not being bossed around and you can do what you want at your job. I will apply this Lesson to my life by being my own boss one day. Another lesson he learned was that hard work always pays off. I will apply this to my life by always trying my best. Something that makes Herman lay somebody to look up to was that he would always fight to the end and would never stop fighting. For example, when he would work all day and half the night he would never say “you know what I give up”. He would always keep fighting through his sleep and keep working so that he could one day he could make his own chip company. (The leaf Chronicle)

Work Cited

“Herman Warden Lay*” horatioalger https://horatioalger.org/members/member-detail/herman-warden-lay Acces date 8 Mar 2021

“Herman Lay and America's appetite for junk food” nashvillepost https://www.nashvillepost.com/home/article/20446310/herman-lay-and-americas-appetite-for-junk-food Acces date 10 Mar 2021

“Herman W. Lay | Legacy of Leadership Profile” Knowitall https://www.knowitall.org/video/herman-w-lay-legacy-leadership-profile Acces date 25 Jan 2021

“Potato chip king-to-be made fateful stop in Clarksville”,theleafchronicle, https://www.theleafchronicle.com/story/news/local/communities/2014/10/12/potato-chip-king-made-fateful-stop-clarksville/17162501/, Acces date May, 2 2021

“The Untold Truth Of Lay's” mashed https://www.mashed.com/255806/the-untold-truth-of-lays/ Accessed 9 Feb 2021.