Fremont's 'Big Nut' shares his dream of donating $1M in scholarships

Sheri Trusty
·3 min read
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FREMONT — When Jon Paul “Big Nut” Peters was a child, his grandfather, Paul Schepflin, would tune the radio to Ohio State University football games as the two did chores in the barn of the family’s Fremont farm. Schepflin was a 1932 OSU graduate, and in 1976, he took Jon to his first OSU football game. Little did they know how much benevolence would transpire from those simple family moments.

“OSU lost that day, but it’s not the final score that matters. It’s the people you share it with,” Jon said.

Those early experiences with his grandfather were the impetus for Jon’s vision to donate, before he dies, $1 million in scholarship money to students attending The OSU. On Oct. 19, he took another step closer to that dream when he donated $15,000 to the Sandusky County Community Foundation for the Big Nut Scholarship Fund, which will provide scholarship money to students from eight area schools.

Big Nut and First Lady Nut give thousands for foundation scholarships

To date, Jon and his wife, Terese, have donated $91,000 to the foundation. They will donate another $10,000 in scholarship funds to OSU, creating a grand total of $25,000 in scholarship donations this year alone.

Fremont's Jon Paul Peters, alias "The Big Nut," shows off some of his barbecue sauces, sweet and dill pickles for sale at Root's Poultry. Big Nut products are now sold at nearly three dozen stores in Northwest Ohio, with proceeds supporting the Big Nut Scholarship Foundation for Ohio State University students.
Fremont's Jon Paul Peters, alias "The Big Nut," shows off some of his barbecue sauces, sweet and dill pickles for sale at Root's Poultry. Big Nut products are now sold at nearly three dozen stores in Northwest Ohio, with proceeds supporting the Big Nut Scholarship Foundation for Ohio State University students.

Several times a year, Terese uses theater makeup to transform Jon into Big Nut, the ultimate OSU fan who raises money through appearances and fundraisers. Terese taught herself to create the Big Nut look, which takes about an hour to complete.

“At first, she kept saying, ‘I can’t do this,’ and I kept saying, ‘Yes, you can,’” Jon said. “I couldn’t do all this without First Lady Nut. We’re trying to do something unique and do something other people don’t do. We just want to help out and do our thing, and this is what we chose to do, a scholarship fund.”

The Big Nut persona is a much-recognized and well-loved sight in Ohio. The Big Nut character puts a brightly colored face to Jon’s efforts to raise scholarship money.

“We do this to bring awareness of what we do and to inspire others. The little things can inspire someone to do the next thing,” Jon said. “We’re trying to fulfill God’s Word and do positive things because that’s what God would want.”

Big Nut also raises money through food product sales

Jon also raises scholarship money through the Big Nut brand of products, including pickles and barbeque sauce, which are sold at local stores.

“It all helps. It’s all for the kids,” Jon said. “This is our way of paying it forward and giving to the kids. It’s not what you take with you but what you leave behind.”

As the Big Nut spreads joy and donates money into the community, he hopes he is encouraging other people to grasp the importance of using personal time and resources to impact others.

“There comes a time in life when you can’t be the parsley on the plate. Parsley may look good, but it won’t feed your appetite. You need to get to the meat and potatoes of what you do in life,” Jon said. “Whatever you do, you have to have a purpose. Some people look good like parsley in our community locally, but what are you doing to make a difference?”

Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheritrusty4@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Fremont's 'Big Nut' shares his dream of donating $1M in scholarships