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Late on Sunday afternoon, two cars “came trickling in” around the same time at the World Largest Peanut Boil in Luverne. The occupants had great goober expectations. Those in one car left happy. Those in the other car left disappointed.

“It came down to that; we just didn’t have a bag of peanuts left,” said Shriner Andy Compton of the sponsoring Crenshaw County Shrine Club.  “Beginning Wednesday, we boiled 34 tons and parched a ton and half, and we didn’t a bag of either left after 4 p.m. Sunday,” Compton said. “We appreciate everybody who came out and supported the World Largest Peanut Boil, mostly homefolks from South Alabama.”

The Crenshaw County Shriners have been boiling a “world” of peanuts for 52 years.

“For a years and years, the ‘World’s Largest Peanut Boil” attracted a lot tourists that were going to the beach for Labor Day,” Compton said. “We still have a good bit of beach traffic, like one lady from Atlanta. She had planned her trip to the beach so she could come to the peanut boil. But most of those who come are homefolks, people from South Alabama where we love boiled peanuts.”

Compton said gone are the days when the peanuts were boiled in pots and hand-stirred with wood paddles.

“Boiling peanuts in pots took a lot of time and long, hard, hot work,” Compton said. “The pots had to be watched and stirred almost constantly and we could only boil about 720 pounds at time. With the five vats that we have now, we can boil 3,600 pounds at a time. So, we can get more peanuts boiled and out to the customers in less time. That’s good for us and for our customers.”

Compton said boiled peanut lovers come with the expectations of having to wait and are courteous and understanding.

The World’s Best Boiled Peanuts are worth the wait. If they weren’t

Compton said the Crenshaw County Shriners would no longer hold the title of “The World’s Best Boiled Peanuts.”