The J.O. and Mildred Dalton Scholarship Endowment was established in 1979 by gifts from the Board of Directors of Best Maid Products, Inc., Margie Dalton Tarwater, and Dalton Tarwater in honor of J.O. Dalton and Mildred M. Dalton who founded Mrs. Dalton's Best Maid Products of Fort Worth, Texas in 1926. The scholarship is awarded to a Food Technology major with a minimum 2.0 GPA or upper 25% of their class if an incoming freshman. Financial need will be considered. 

Best Maid Products was founded in 1926, and it all started with a small door-to-door business that actually had nothing to do with pickles. Mildred Dalton ran a small pie-selling business out of her home. After making meringue for her pies, she would have a lot of egg yolks left over so she began using them to make mayonnaise and selling it at her husband Jesse's grocery store in Fort Worth. The mayonnaise was a big hit. She then expanded her dressing line to include sandwich spread, which required relish. She began growing her own cucumbers to pickle the relish and had a bumper crop. With the leftover pickles she began what became the company's most popular product, particularly dill pickles and hamburger slices. The family opened a small production factory on Evans Avenue in Fort Worth, Texas and made direct sales door-to-door and to small grocery stores selling single jars of pickles and condiments from Best Maid delivery trucks.

Today, pickles make up 95 percent of Best Maid's revenue. Its products include pickles, jalapenos, relish and dressings. Four generations later, the Dalton family still owns the majority of the business, while a few other employees have minor ownership interest. Gary Dalton, grandson of the founders, is the company's current CEO. Brian Dalton, great grandson, is President and CFO. Chris Dalton, also a great grandson, is tank yard manager.

Dalton Tarwater graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics. He went on to receive a master's degree in philosophy and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of New Mexico. He is a retired faculty member and former chair of the math department at TTU.

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Contact

Alex Yack
Alex.Yack@ttu.edu
Senior Director of Development
806.742.2802

Matt Williams
matt.williams@ttu.edu
Director of Development
806.742.2802

Shelbey Havens
shelbey.havens@ttu.edu
Assistant Director of Development
806.834.1108