Richard RansomRichard K. Ransom was an American businessman and founder of Hickory Farms.LifeRansom graduated from DeVilbiss High School (Toledo, Ohio) in 1938. He served in World War II, at Okinawa. Starting in 1951, he built a specialty foods business, using the technique of "free samples". He sold Hickory Farms to General Host Corporation in 1980.PhilanthropyHe was on the board of the Toledo Zoo and Riverside Hospital. He was board chairman of St. John's Jesuit High School and Academy.