facilities of the Planters Nut and Chocolate Company in Suffolk. He built on the widespread cultivation of peanuts in the area. By 1941, Suffolk had been declared "The Peanut Capital of the World". The city also became home to Planters' Mr. Peanut, a world-famous advertising icon (voted the country's third-most popular in 2004). A statue of Mr. Peanut is prominently displayed in downtown Suffolk. The company, now owned by Kraft Foods, is one of Suffolk's ten largest employers. In 1924 Obici and his wife Louise settled at Bay Point Farm in Chuckatuck on a bluff overlooking the Nansemond River. Their home, which has been designated a Virginia Historic Landmark, now belongs to the City of Suffolk. In memory of his wife, Obici donated funds for the construction of what became the Louise Obici Memorial Hospital in Suffolk, which opened in 1951. In 2002, a newer facility, the Obici Sentara Hospital, opened as its successor. For many years, the call letters of local AM radio station WLPM stood for World's Largest Peanut Market. Today, Suffolk remains a major peanut processing center. The railroad As a gateway to Norfolk and Portsmouth, Suffolk became a major rail interchange point, served at one time or another by many of Virginia's railroads. Before the American Civil War, both the Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad and the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad were built through Suffolk, early predecessors of 21st century Class 1 railroads operated by CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern respectively. The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, the Atlantic and Danville Railroad, and the Virginian Railway also built through Suffolk on their way to the harbor at Hampton Roads. Tornado On April 28, 2008, a massive tornado moved through portions of Suffolk. The tornado is considered one of the strongest tornadoes to strike the state of Virginia in recent history and the worst to strike Hampton Roads since a tornado spawned by the remnants of Tropical Storm Dennis nine years before. The 2008 tornado was rated EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. References History of Suffolk suffolk