"At 91, Peanuts’ Fears He Is Pasco’s Forgotten Man"
Tri-City Herald
December 1989
By Gale B. Robinette, Herald Staff Writer
Return to Old Newspapers Index
Age has crept up on the man who was known simply as “Peanuts” in Pasco, where he became a celebrity because he gave away candy to children for at least 30 years.
At 91, his hearing is not so good anymore. His eyesight is fading. He uses a walking cane.
The three-wheel cycle he used to pedal about town sits gathering dust on a porch.
Peanuts, whose real name is Noburo Fukuda, does not like growing old.
“No can do nothing anymore,” he said Tuesday.
At the foster home where he lives near Burbank, he often walks the short driveway to the mailbox hoping to find a card or letter addressed to him.
There is none.
And he feels forgotten.
“When he comes back in the house, he puts the mail on the kitchen table and says ‘Is there anything for Peanuts?’” said Doll Jonker, who cares for him at the foster home. “I go through it and say, “No, there is nothing for Peanuts,” Sometimes he will go and sit down in silence. Sometimes he says, “Peanuts is no good because nothing is there.’”
Julie Alvarado and Patsy Osborn want to change Peanut’s mood this Christmas.
The women, who remember Peanuts giving them candy 20 years ago when they were children, are sending cards to him. And they are encouraging their coworkers at Kennewick City Hall to do the same.
The foster home’s address is 2234 Westbourne Loop, Pasco, 99301.
Until recently, Alvarado and Osborn did not know where Peanuts lived or even if he was still alive.
“I think it is important to remember him,” said Alvarado, who heads the Kennewick Police Department records division.
The last time she saw Peanuts was seven years ago, when she took her daughter to the Payless Drug Store in Pasco where Peanuts stood outside and distributed free candy.
Osborn, 26, was only 6 years old when she first got sweets from Peanuts.
“It was like he devoted his life to giving candy to kids,” she said.
Peanuts was born in Japan and came to the United States in 1922, leaving behind all his relatives.
He first went to Seattle, then Portland, before moving to Pasco for a job laying track for the Seattle, Portland and Spokane Railroad.
He made Pasco his home, living in an upstairs room at a boarding house.
At 70, he retired from the railroad. He used his pension money to continue buying candy.
Peanuts never married and has no children.
But he loved children, even those whose name he never knew. He gave candy to make them smile. Year round, he would stand outside the Payless store in Pasco handing out candy bars, chewing gum and rolls of Lifesavers.
“People are the kings and queens of the earth,” Peanuts said Tuesday. “This is what God says. He wants you to take care of the animals, birds and children. The little kiddies are the brothers and sisters of God. God tells me to take care of them.”
When Peanuts moved into the Burbank foster home about a year ago, he would walk around the neighborhood giving candy to children.
That didn’t last long, however. Some parents complained to the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office about a stranger giving candy to youngsters. A deputy sheriff told Peanuts to stop.
“Peanuts almost cried,” Jonker said. “He was very disappointed.”
Now, she keeps a dish in the living room filled with candy for Peanuts to hand out to visitors, which nowadays is the extent of his giving.
Peanuts got his nickname years ago from railroad co-workers.
“What they really say is I was ‘plain nuts,’ but then everybody call me ‘Peanuts,’” he said in a 1975 newspaper interview, one of many stories about him in Herald files.
In a 1972 poll, the fifth-grade class at Captain Gray Elementary School in Pasco put Peanuts atop it’s list of “great citizens.” That list included famous names such as Richard Nixon and Jesus.
In addition to giving away candy, Peanuts pushed a hand-made cart around Pasco, picking up trash.
The Pasco Lions Club bought him a new three-wheel cycle as a Christmas gift in 1974.
He was grand marshal of the 1976 Benton-Franklin County parade.
Pasco named a small downtown park in his honor in 1977. Peanuts Park is on Lewis Street near the Farmers Market.
Now, he spends much of his time feeding the birds outside the foster home. His companions include three playful dogs named Sammi, Suzi and Panda. And he likes to watch sunrises and sunsets.
“Man has to take care of everything,” he said.
Asked what he wants for Christmas, Peanuts said he did not know.
“He is not a demanding person,” Jonker said. “He would rather give you something.”
Peanuts said he does not miss Japan and has no wish to go there.
“This world is all the same,” he said. “Any place you go, you will die anyway.”
Return to Old Newspapers Index
December 1989
By Gale B. Robinette, Herald Staff Writer
Return to Old Newspapers Index
Age has crept up on the man who was known simply as “Peanuts” in Pasco, where he became a celebrity because he gave away candy to children for at least 30 years.
At 91, his hearing is not so good anymore. His eyesight is fading. He uses a walking cane.
The three-wheel cycle he used to pedal about town sits gathering dust on a porch.
Peanuts, whose real name is Noburo Fukuda, does not like growing old.
“No can do nothing anymore,” he said Tuesday.
At the foster home where he lives near Burbank, he often walks the short driveway to the mailbox hoping to find a card or letter addressed to him.
There is none.
And he feels forgotten.
“When he comes back in the house, he puts the mail on the kitchen table and says ‘Is there anything for Peanuts?’” said Doll Jonker, who cares for him at the foster home. “I go through it and say, “No, there is nothing for Peanuts,” Sometimes he will go and sit down in silence. Sometimes he says, “Peanuts is no good because nothing is there.’”
Julie Alvarado and Patsy Osborn want to change Peanut’s mood this Christmas.
The women, who remember Peanuts giving them candy 20 years ago when they were children, are sending cards to him. And they are encouraging their coworkers at Kennewick City Hall to do the same.
The foster home’s address is 2234 Westbourne Loop, Pasco, 99301.
Until recently, Alvarado and Osborn did not know where Peanuts lived or even if he was still alive.
“I think it is important to remember him,” said Alvarado, who heads the Kennewick Police Department records division.
The last time she saw Peanuts was seven years ago, when she took her daughter to the Payless Drug Store in Pasco where Peanuts stood outside and distributed free candy.
Osborn, 26, was only 6 years old when she first got sweets from Peanuts.
“It was like he devoted his life to giving candy to kids,” she said.
Peanuts was born in Japan and came to the United States in 1922, leaving behind all his relatives.
He first went to Seattle, then Portland, before moving to Pasco for a job laying track for the Seattle, Portland and Spokane Railroad.
He made Pasco his home, living in an upstairs room at a boarding house.
At 70, he retired from the railroad. He used his pension money to continue buying candy.
Peanuts never married and has no children.
But he loved children, even those whose name he never knew. He gave candy to make them smile. Year round, he would stand outside the Payless store in Pasco handing out candy bars, chewing gum and rolls of Lifesavers.
“People are the kings and queens of the earth,” Peanuts said Tuesday. “This is what God says. He wants you to take care of the animals, birds and children. The little kiddies are the brothers and sisters of God. God tells me to take care of them.”
When Peanuts moved into the Burbank foster home about a year ago, he would walk around the neighborhood giving candy to children.
That didn’t last long, however. Some parents complained to the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office about a stranger giving candy to youngsters. A deputy sheriff told Peanuts to stop.
“Peanuts almost cried,” Jonker said. “He was very disappointed.”
Now, she keeps a dish in the living room filled with candy for Peanuts to hand out to visitors, which nowadays is the extent of his giving.
Peanuts got his nickname years ago from railroad co-workers.
“What they really say is I was ‘plain nuts,’ but then everybody call me ‘Peanuts,’” he said in a 1975 newspaper interview, one of many stories about him in Herald files.
In a 1972 poll, the fifth-grade class at Captain Gray Elementary School in Pasco put Peanuts atop it’s list of “great citizens.” That list included famous names such as Richard Nixon and Jesus.
In addition to giving away candy, Peanuts pushed a hand-made cart around Pasco, picking up trash.
The Pasco Lions Club bought him a new three-wheel cycle as a Christmas gift in 1974.
He was grand marshal of the 1976 Benton-Franklin County parade.
Pasco named a small downtown park in his honor in 1977. Peanuts Park is on Lewis Street near the Farmers Market.
Now, he spends much of his time feeding the birds outside the foster home. His companions include three playful dogs named Sammi, Suzi and Panda. And he likes to watch sunrises and sunsets.
“Man has to take care of everything,” he said.
Asked what he wants for Christmas, Peanuts said he did not know.
“He is not a demanding person,” Jonker said. “He would rather give you something.”
Peanuts said he does not miss Japan and has no wish to go there.
“This world is all the same,” he said. “Any place you go, you will die anyway.”
Return to Old Newspapers Index
