Finding Betty Crocker
Page 15
49 Model Kitchen of H. J. Heinz Company: Ladies’ Home Journal, February 1930, p. 133.
50 “Yo-Ho! Ho-Yo!”: Ladies’ Home Journal, March 1930, p. 166.
50 “Aunt Jemima … the Quaker Man”: Ladies’ Home Journal, October 1930, p. 50.
50 “don’t miss the coast to coast”: Ladies’ Home Journal, November 1930, p. 59.
50 “Tune in on General Foods Baking Day”: McCall’s, April 1933, p. 58.
51 By 1933, around 250,000 on-air students registered for her Cooking School of the Air: General Mills, “Betty Crocker …1921-1954” (Minneapolis, privately printed, c. 1954), Appendix “a.”
51 close to 30 percent of a labor force: Russell Nixon and Paul Samuelson, “Estimates of Unemployment in the United States,” Reviews of Economic Statistics 22 (August 1940), pp. 106-7; cited in Harvey Levenstein, Paradox of Plenty: A Social History of Eating in Modern America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), p. 4.
51 population of 122 million: Dr. William M. Steuart, Director, U.S. Bureau of Census, United States Census, 1930.
51 “Kindly send me a copy”: Excerpts from letters sent to Betty Crocker, 1920s-1930s, General Mills Archives.
52 “United States spends thirty per cent for food”: Ladies’ Home Journal, December 1930, p. 24.
52 “Miss Crocker, sometimes I become so discouraged”: Excerpts from letters sent to Betty Crocker, 1920s—1930s, General Mills Archives.
53 Roosevelts during the Depression: Morris Markey, “Dear Mr. Roosevelt—The Inside Story of the President’s Correspon-dences,” McCall’s, May 1934, p. 4.
53 “Fireside Chats”: McCall’s, September 1933, p. 14.
53 “Your talks have a real person-to-person feeling”: Excerpt from letters sent to Betty Crocker, 1920s—1930s, General Mills Archives.
53 two of Betty’s weekly broadcasts: Good Housekeeping, January 1935, p. 147.
54 “Thrift has always been the banner of house-wifely skill”: Betty Crocker Radio Script, June 1, 1932, General Mills Archives.
54 “universal three meals a day”: Lita Bane, “The Modern Homemaker,” Ladies’ Home Journal, February 1930, p. 100.
54 “Your talks, Betty Crocker, have given me hope”: Excerpts from letters sent to Betty Crocker, 1920s-1930s, General Mills Archives.
56 “Now we live on a budget and far more economical”: Ibid.
56 “You see Betty Crocker, I am a blind girl”: Ibid.
57 “I had to settle for the name of Teddy”: Ibid.
57 “It should be pointed out, as a comment on the character of Betty Crocker”: Gray, Business Without Boundary, pp. 179—80.
57 “Would you serve this in your own home?”: Series of oral history interviews with Ruby Peterson, former Betty Crocker staffer, conducted by Susan Marks, 1999—2000.
58 “My wife is the greatest cook in the world”: McCall’s, January 1933, back cover.
60 created Bisquick: Beverly Bundy, The Century in Food: America’s Fads and Favorites (Portland, Oregon: Collector’s Press, 2002), p. 91.
60 “look for a kiss and a compliment from your husband”: McCall’s, September 1933, inside front cover.
60 “sensation at the luncheon or tea table”: Dorothy Kirk, “Waffles,” McCall’s, January 1933, p. 50.
60 “magic of Betty Crocker can make them”: McCall’s, December 1934, back cover.
60 “Family size-makes 80 Bisquicks”: McCall’s, December 1934, back cover.
61 “So why bake when you can buy cake”: Ladies’ Home Journal, February 1930, p. 143.
61 “Don’t say you can’t win”: McCall’s, December 1933, back cover.
61 “Now this is no ordinary contest”: Betty Crocker Radio Script, December 3, 1933, General Mills Archives.
63 “Not So Dumb”: Betty Crocker Radio Script, October 12, 1938. General Mills Archives.
64 “I want you to know”: Excerpts from letters sent to Betty Crocker, 1920s—1930s, General Mills Archives.
66 “whether or not she can cook!”: Ibid.
67 “I am doing lots better in many things”: Ibid.
67 “The Girl the Football Hero Is Looking For”: General Mills internal document, Preparation of Radio Broadcasts by Husted, 1937; General Mills internal document, “Proposed Schedule of Betty Crocker Radio Talks,” September 18, 1931, General Mills Archives.
67 “I think he has the right idea”: Excerpts from letters sent to Betty Crocker, 1920s—1930s, General Mills Archives.
69 “you have my opinion on the matter”: Ibid.
70 “appealed to me that I just could not refrain”: Ibid.
70 “they were eager for a wife who could cook”: Husted unfinished autobiography.
70 “I will get you a hubby yet!”: General Mills internal memo attached to letter sent to Betty Crocker, c. 1930s, General Mills Archives.
72 “I am helping you with your housekeeping problems”: Betty Crocker Radio Script, October 1, 1929, General Mills Archives.
72 “Perhaps one of the real blessings”: “Mrs. Roosevelt Replies to the Letter of an Unknown Woman,” McCall’s, March 1933, p. 4.
72 “60 million to 80 million Americans attended the movies each week”: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/hollywood.
73 “Joan Crawford—who, not unlike Betty”: General Mills, Take a Trick a Day with Bisquick—Let the Stars Show You How (Minneapolis: General Mills, Inc., 1935), and Betty Crocker’s 101 Delicious Bisquick Creations (Minneapolis: General Mills, Inc., 1933), p. 16.
73 Husted as Betty irresistible: Husted unfinished autobiography; Husted oral history interview by Toll.
73 “Question Box”: Betty Crocker Radio Script, November 11, 1936, General Mills Archives.
77 “that will be favorites with the men”: Betty Crocker Radio Script, March 1, 1937, General Mills Archives.
77 Robert Taylor “didn’t feel competent to talk about women”: Ibid.
77 “The Clark Gable frosting sounded very intriguing”: Excerpt from letter sent to Betty Crocker, 1920s—1930s, General Mills Archives.
78 “I love bread—always have it in some form, three times a day”: Vitality Demands Energy: 109 Smart Ways to Serve Bread—Our Outstanding Energy Food (Minneapolis: General Mills, Inc., 1934), p. 35.
78 “people afraid of white-flour bread”: Levenstein, p. 15.
81 “smart luminaries of movieland”: General Mills, Trick a Day, front cover.
81 sweet potatoes, and chocolate icebox cake: Ibid., pp. 13, 16, 25.
81 Husted’s Hollywood personification of Betty Crocker: Husted unfinished autobiography.
82 “nothing more important than bringing up children!”: Betty Crocker Radio Script, November 9, 1936, General Mills Archives.
82 A 1940 national survey: “Star of Stars,” Attitude survey conducted for General Mills, 1940, Summary, General Mills Archives.
82 “Golden Eight”: James Gray, General Mills, “General Mills—An Idea in Action,” Horizons, Spring 1953, p. 6.
Chapter Three: On Betty’s Watch
87 foods for building strong bodies, steady nerves, and high morale: McCall’s, September 1942, pp. 48—49.
87 President Roosevelt told American women: McCall’s, February 1942, pp. 16—17.
87 “men at sea, men in tanks, men with guns”: McCall’s, February 1942, pp. 16—17.
87 The U.S. government’s “Consumer Pledge”: McCall’s, February 1942, pp. 16—17.
87 abundance of consumables: Ladies’ Home Journal, August 1941.
88 “sugar book”: Joanne Lamb Hayes, Grandma’s Wartime Baking Book: World War II and the Way We Baked (New York: St.Martin’s Press, 2003), p. xv.
88 The weekly allowance: Levenstein, Paradox of Plenty, p. 80.
88 Coffee, butter: Hayes, Grandma’s Wartime Baking Book, p. xv.
88 “Let’s make rationing work!”: Ladies’ Home Journal, May 1943, p. 75.
88-91 “Use corn syrup to sweeten the whipped cream”: McCall’s, July 1942, p. 52.
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91 “gladden hearts, save sugar”: McCall’s, February 1943, p. 78.
91 “Of course! Simple to make”: McCall’s, November 1942, p. 68.
91 “Make it do. Or do without”: Joanne Lamb Hayes, Grandma’s Wartime Kitchen: World War II and the Way We Cooked (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000), p. 5.
91 launching of a single big ship required: McCall’s, July 1943, p. 8.
91 “or clarified drippings may be used”: General Mills, Your Share: How to prepare appetizing, healthful meals with foods available today by Betty Crocker, 1943, p. 15.
92 “1,000,000 loaves a year”: McCall’s, August 1943, p. 7.
92 “Save your ‘blue’ stamps”: General Mills, Your Share, p. 22.
92 “cupcakes for dessert”: McCall’s, June 1943, p. 89.
92 “It’s good to extend your meat with Wheaties”: McCall’s, April 1943, p. 90.
92 Emergency Steak: McCall’s, March 1943, p. 91; Your Share, p. 7.
93 “Better breakfasts are in order!”: McCall’s, May 1943, p. 83.
94 “I wasted no food this day”: General Mills, Your Share, p. 37.
94 Victory Lunch Box Meal: General Mills, War-Time Services for the Home-Front, bulletin IV, n.p., n.d.
94 “an attractive flower decoration”: General Mills, Your Share, pp.31-35, 43.
94 fortification of milk and flour: Levenstein, p. 69.
94 Gold Medal Flour as “Vitamin-Mineral Enriched”: McCall’s, September 1942, back cover.
94 carry the AMA label of “preferred” food: “All Gold Medal is vitamin and mineral enriched. Thus it’s a ‘preferred’ food.” Gold Medal Flour advertisement, 1942, cited in Hayes, Grandma’s Wartime Baking Book, p. 109.
99 “made the Betty Crocker way”: McCall’s, September 1942, back cover.
99 Doughboy’s Special: General Mills, War-time Services for the Home-Front, bulletin, n.d.,n.p.
99 “that boy in the service”: McCall’s, December 1942, p. 58.
100 “Cordially, Betty Crocker”: Except from Betty Crocker letter reply, 1940s, General Mills Archives.
101 “job in a defense plant to help end this thing”: Excerpt from letters sent to Betty Crocker, 1940s, General Mills Archives.
104 “working long hard hours to cover them all”: Betty Crocker Radio Script, November 3, 1944, General Mills Archives.
104 Legionnaires were eligible for prizes: General Mills’ internal document, The War Comes to Betty Crocker, n.d., n.p; General Mills, Homemaker Report to Betty Crocker-Home Legion, n.d.,n.p., General Mills Archives.
105 “You must be a grand person”: Excerpts from letters sent to Betty Crocker, 1940s, General Mills Archives.
106 “you boost my morale 100% whenever I hear you”: Ibid.
106 “ever been done for the American homemakerv”: General Mills, “Outline of the Career in Advertising of Marjorie Child Husted,” February 1950, General Mills Archives.
108 “in these simple, inglorious tasks”: Betty Crocker Radio Script, March 14, 1945, General Mills Archives.
111 the Pillsbury Bake-Off: Unpublished manuscript of one of Leo Burnett’s original founders, Dewitt Jack O’Kieffe, c. 1970s, Leo Burnett Archives.
114 Eleanor Roosevelt championed the Bake-Off: Bundy, The Century in Food, p. 111.
114 rounded out the top four, at 2.7 percent: General Mills’ Betty Crocker Attitude Survey, “The Most Helpful Home Economics Personality,” 1949, General Mills Archives.
114 4,000 to 5,000 letters daily: General Mills, oral history of Marjorie Child Husted, conducted by Jean Toll, July 26, 1985, p. 36; Gray, Business Without Boundary, p. 178; General Mills’ “Betty Crocker Chronology,” 1948, pp. 7—9; General Mills: 75 Years of Innovation, Invention, Food and Fun, General Mills private publication, 2003, p. 26.
114 Mary Margaret McBride: See Michele Hilmes, Radio Voices: American Broadcasting, 1922—1952 (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997), p. 279.
116 nine out of ten homes: General Mills’ Betty Crocker Attitude Survey, 1949, General Mills Archives.
116 “$1 on the General Mills accounting books”: Fortune, 1945, pp. 116—17.
119 “biggest morale job in history”: See Loren Baritz, The Good Life: The Meaning of Success for the American Middle Class, cited in Levenstein, Paradox of Plenty, p. 102.
119 “the problem without a name”: See Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (New York: Dell Publishing, 1984), p. 15.
119 Take pride in your homemaking skills: General Mills, Rules for Better Home Management, “A Homemaker’s Dozen,” 1946; General Mills, Betty Crocker’s Home Management for Happiness, 1946, General Mills Archives.
120 “a place of peace, joy and contentment”: General Mills, Betty Crocker’s Home Management for Happiness.
120 “happiness for yourself and your dear ones”: Ibid.
121 “copied this habit of mine”: Ibid.
121 “these same maturing experiences”: Betty Crocker Radio Script, January 15, 1946, General Mills Archives.
121 “run a mighty poor second to a talent for cooking”: Ladies’ Home Journal, March 1942, p. 41.
121 “what a G.I. dreams of! Lady—make his dreams come true!”: Crisco advertisement, January 1946. Cited in Hayes, Grandma’s Wartime Baking Book, p. 63.
121 “Young Mother”: Letter sent to Betty Crocker, January 1946, General Mills Archives.
123 “you should not still be the best of sweethearts”: Letters sent to Betty Crocker in response to “Young Mother,” January 1946, General Mills Archives.
125 “Now if I can only prove myself worthy”: Letter from “Young Mother” sent to Betty Crocker, February 1946, General Mills Archives.
126 “to remind them that they had value”: Carol Pine, “The Real Betty Crocker is One Tough Cookie,” Twin Cities, November 1978, p. 46.
Chapter Four: Bake Someone Happy
131 In a “kitchen just like yours”: McCall’s, November 1926, p. 53.
131 “cook book full of [Betty’s] famous tested recipes”: Betty Crocker Picture Cook Book, foreword by Betty Crocker, 1950.
131 Betty Crocker’s Cook Book of All Purpose Baking: McCall’s, October 1942, p. 71, and McCall’s, November 1942, p. 95.
131 Big Red is in its ninth edition and has sold more than 30 million: General Mills Public Relations e-mail, April 5, 2004.
133 Husted became: General Mills internal document, History of Betty Crocker, General Mills Archives, c. 1962.
133 “lots of ’em in gorgeous color”: Betty Crocker Radio Script, September 8, 1950, General Mills Archives.
134 “At last A Betty Crocker Cook Book.”: Ladies’ Home Journal, November 1950.
134 the gift of choice at bridal showers: See Karal Ann Marling, As Seen on TV: The Visual Culture of Everyday Life in the 1950s (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1994), p. 203.
134 the Bible for the top spot: General Mills internal company newsletter, Modern Millwheel, January 1951; Modern Millwheel, November 1953.
134 complimentary copy: http://www.meredith.com.
134 15 million copies by 1996: http://www.mediahistory.umn.edu/ time/1930s.html.
134 between 1951 and 1958: See Anne Mendelson, Stand Facing the Stove: The Story of the Women Who Gave America the Joy of Cooking® (New York: Henry Holt & Company, 1996), p. 279.
134 The press was more than kind to Betty: Modern Millwheel, January 1951.
136 Dear Friend: Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book (Big Red) (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1950), introduction, p. 5.
136 “Please try my mother’s recipe”: Ibid., p. 65.
138 “Don’t miss the recipes marked”: Ibid., introduction, p. 5.
138 “We call it our vitamin dessert”: McCall’s, March 1943, p. 58.
138 “Surprise! Guess what’s in it! Moist, goozly!”: Big Red, p. 221.
138 “‘gentle art’ of cake making”: Ibid., p. 117.
139 “modern way”: Ibid., pp. 120—21.
139
“Well, we have”: Ibid., pp. 120—60.
139 “Elegant Cake Desserts”: Ibid., pp. 209—48.
139 “A butter icing is like”: Ibid., p. 161.
140 “What month is your birth date?”: Ibid., p. 165.
140 “cake and give to women guests”: Ibid.
140 “present with a kiss hug”: Ibid.
141 “recipe from France in 1790”: Ibid., p. 248.
141 “an inspiration to us all”: Ibid.
141 “Pure white heavenly concoction”: Ibid., p. 321.
141 one of Betty’s home recipe testers: Ibid., p. 155.
141 “our own Vice President”: Ibid., p. 134.
141 “Their shells should look dull”: Ibid., p. 250.
141 “ ‘Cooky Shines’?”: Ibid., p. 175.
142 His Mother’s Oatmeal Cookies: Ibid., p. 174.
143 “vegetables in disguise!”: Ibid., p. 414.
143 “Smart homemakers say: ‘My meals are more interesting’”: Ibid., p. 34.
143 “Cortez the Spanish conquistador”: Ibid., p. 56.
143 “good coffee is an asset”: Ibid., p. 54.
144 “Hush, puppies!”: Ibid., p. 71.
144 “Let your head save your heels”: Ibid., pp. 427—34.
144 “Get a medical check-up”: Ibid.
147 “complete assurance and success”: Ibid., p. 432.
147 “the happy ending we’ve anticipated from the very first”: Ibid., p. 209.
147 $100 million in Betty Crocker: Levenstein, Paradox of Plenty, p. 115.
147 “the most trusted friend in the kitchen”: Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book, foreword to the 2002 facsimile edition.
Chapter Five: Just Add Water!
153 “But now I am really proud of the ones I make”: Excerpt from letter sent to Betty Crocker, 1920s—1930s, General Mills Archives.
153 “Cakes have become the very symbol”: General Mills, Betty Crocker Cook Book of All-Purpose Cooking, 1942, p. 10.
153 than a billion cakes: See Karal Ann Marling, As Seen on TV, p. 228.
154 “there’s nothing like a home-baked cake”: Betty Crocker’s Ultimate Cake Mix Cookbook (Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2004), foreword.
154 “There is something about a good cake”: Gold Medal Flour magazine advertisement, 1922, General Mills Archives.