We've all heard the stories of WWII's "Rosie the Riveter" and the massive contributions women made in our struggle against tyranny. But there was another war before that one! It was called the "War to End All Wars" but sadly it didn't work out that way! And our women stepped to the forefront during this one as well as millions of housewives headed into the factories where men used to dominate. But one thing that was common to both global conflicts were the housewives who kept the families and the economy going at home.
As in WWII, the Great War produced food shortages as the American government scrambled to feed its troops overseas. Blockades by enemy submarines prevented many essential materials from reaching our shores. But America was very reliant in those days as the housewives struggled to substitute common items due to the rising prices and interrupted distribution. And, of course, there were the children. As America geared for war, the dynamics of the family began to change. Mothers were forced to be away from their homes more and more so the kids were forced to grow up faster and help the family with the war effort. Children from the age of 14-years old were expected to go to work if needed to help support the family. Also, the lack of modern appliances forced heavier workloads on the housewives who were forced to do more by hand rather than futuristic automaton. Even the relatively small size of iceboxes (not refrigerators) meant the housewives had to make more frequent trips to the grocery store, the butcher, or the fish market.
One food that stood out during this period as a basic essential was "Grape-Nuts" cereal. It was developed in 1897 by Charles William Post, a competitor of the 19th-century breakfast food innovator, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. Post originally developed the product as a batter that was oven cooked on a flat sheet pan. Afterwards, he broke the sheet into pieces and ran them through a coffee grinder to produce the "nut" sized pieces. The cereal was very lightweight and nutritional but more importantly it resisted spoilage making it a mainstay for every housewife.
But on August 25, 1918, the Pensacola News Journal came up with a great marketing idea by combining the advertisement of local businesses with a helpful daily organization chart for housewives. Now the Pensacola housewife could check the charts on what activity needed to be done for the day and instantly know how to accomplish it. Just like today, there's always a marketing strategy to combine profit and convenience and sell it to those that keeps the household working!
Pensacola News Journal 8-25-1918
Post Grape-Nuts 1897-2018
Pensacola News Journal AD 8-25-1914
Grape-Nut AD of 1919
Grape-Nut AD of 1930
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