our roots

My Grandfather, Raymond Rumph, was a grandson of German immigrants. They settled in Jackson County Indiana, west of Seymour and raised their family.  Raymond Rumph, “Red” as he was called due to his fiery red hair, married Oleta McMahon and had 5 children one of which is Marvin, my dad. Red and Oleta lived during some of the toughest times America has known of wars, depression and disease but they stayed true to God and one another and carved out a successful business of farming, trucking fertilizer - coal - water to others, construction, driving a school bus and running country grocery stores in various locations. First there was the Tampico store, where the Township line road ended to the south, then there was the Acme store at the top of the hill in Acme on the North side of Highway 258 across from the Acme Methodist Church. Then, they built their new store between Acme and Freetown on Highway 258 in a burg named by my grandmother called Easyville. The store had a concrete floor and was the first to have electric heaters from the REMC throughout. They ran the store 7 days a week 6am to 9pm (6pm on Sundays) for the most part by themselves and rarely had any time to themselves for vacation or even a family visit. Our Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday gatherings were conducted in the warehouse/storage room of the store on Sundays after the store closed. Hardest working folk I have ever known. My grandfather was also honest and ethical, and has been reported to have never done a cross or unfair action. When I was in 8th grade, I got into a little trouble fighting with another boy. The dean ask me if I was related to Red Rumph and I said “yes, he is my grandfather”. He asked me if I thought he would be proud of me right now, and he advised me that if I did not know it then, I needed to know that my grandfather was beyond reproach and that I should act to protect the legacy of the Rumph name. I never will forget that conversation and I changed that day to better represent my family. Also, I certainly have inherited the Rumph entrepreneurial gene. Already starting and growing successful businesses in the medical field, I wanted to do something fun.  A hobby of sorts that pays its own way. I have always been amazed at natures ability to take a seed, cover it with earth and create something amazing in its likeness.  I started raising peppers> First Sweet Banana, Hot Hungarian Wax Bananas, Jalapeno, Habanero and eventually Paper Lanterns, Jojo chilies and more. Rumpy’s sweet and spicy pepper relish spread was born in a friend’s man-cave we affectionately call the Devil’s Pit.  I had tasted several pepper dishes over the years. Salsa, jellies, butters and spreads but nothing like this.  It was an addiction that made you want to go back for more again and again. After playing with the ingredients and changing some of the amounts and switching some of the various components, Rumpy’s World Famous Pepper Spread was born. Sharing my cupboard at local gatherings, tailgating, boating snack, pitch-ins and parties led to many friends swooning over the creations.  The Rumph entrepreneurial spirit kicked in ; “We are on to something!”  I have never seen such pleasure for a product from friends and strangers as our Facebook page will attest. So we found an approved kitchen, packaging company, had our friend and local art teacher create our logo, built the website and registered to do business August 19, 2019 in honor of my grandparents entrepreneurial spirit as Rumph’s General Store LLC; the same namesake of the Easyville store my grandparents ran for most of my life until the untimely death of my grandfather in a farming accident in 1980. The backdrop to the website is the actual signage that greeted all visitors to my grandparent’s store. For me it is a warm and welcome reminder to slower times with good friends. So “welcome to our store”! Stay and visit awhile. Share your recipes, videos and stories of happy times enjoying our Rumpy’s World Famous Pepper Spread.