Art Oberto and his daughter, Laura, both made Oberto Sausage Company a big part of their lives while still in their teens.

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Meet Art Oberto, the man behind

Oberto Sausage Company

By Stephanie E. Ponder

Art Oberto stepped down as president

of Oberto Sausage Company more

than 20 years ago, yet he remains

the public face of the meat-snacks busi-

ness. He’s most comfortable in his red,

white and green suit with a tie proclaiming,

“I’m just wild about jerky.” And no

encounter is complete without receiving

one of his trademark four-color pens that

reads, “Stolen from Art ‘Oh Boy’ Oberto.”

At 77, the chairman of the board of

Oberto Sausage Company, maker of Oh

Boy! Oberto and Pacific Gold meat snacks

and jerky, enjoys talking about the privately

owned company—one of the largest meat-

snacks businesses in the United States.

Conversations with Art feel as though they

should come with a map as they crisscross

nearly 90 years, from the company’s hum-

ble beginnings to its current status. His sto-

ries cover tragedy, inspiration, challenges

and success—all imparted with morsels of

IRIDIO PHOTOGRAPHY