A little flour, a lot of history

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- She was the first living trademark, and her product ushered in the era of convenience for American households.

And it all began in St. Joseph.

More than 100 years after her beginning, Aunt Jemima is still a household name.

And though she has undergone several transformations since the invention of her famous pancake flour, former Quaker workers haven't forgotten her beginnings here.

"It was a good pancake mix," says Carole Filley, who worked at Quaker for more than 30 years. "I can remember at one point in time when they started messing around with the recipe; I don't think it was as good after that as it was before."

Using a mix of hard winter wheat, corn flour, phosphates, bicarbonate soda and salt, Chris Rutt, a St. Joseph Gazette writer and entrepreneur, created the original formula in his kitchen in 1889.

It was a successful formula, but the product had no identity. The inspiration would soon follow after Rutt attended a vaudeville show in St. Joseph where he heard "Aunt Jemima," sung by a performer clad in an apron and bandanna headband, according to the Afro-American Almanac.

The song was such a hit that Rutt decided to link the popularity to his product by naming the pancake mix Aunt Jemima.

After Pearl Milling Company, which had been producing the flour, fell into financial trouble, R.T. Davis purchased the company in 1892.

"I guess he developed the initial recipe and R.T. Davis bought it from him, perfected it and so it became like a self-rising pancake," says Roy Fortner, a former Quaker employee, who with his wife, Peggy, is a collector of Aunt Jemima memorabilia.

A copy of the original recipe hangs on display at the Patee House Museum.

Following the sale of Pearl Milling, R.T. Davis improved the recipe and kicked the marketing into high gear, hiring Nancy Green, a St. Joseph woman and former slave, to portray the legendary black woman.

"At the 1893 World's Fair is where they introduced her," says Gary Chilcote, director of the Patee House Museum. "And she traveled around the country."

Speaking in a Southern drawl, Green and some 40 other Aunt Jemimas gave away samples at fairs, grocery stores and other public gatherings until the mid-1960s.

"She was a great woman," Peggy Fortner says.

"From when we were kids, I can remember seeing her because they would have an annual Pancake Days breakfast and Aunt Jemima would be there," Roy Fortner adds.

In later years, the portrayal of Aunt Jemima was deemed politically incorrect and prompted several makeovers, the last of which was in 1989.

Though many new products now feature her face, the image of Aunt Jemima today is quite different from the earlier Aunt Jemimas.

But one thing about her likeness has not changed -- her warm eyes and bright smile remain.

"Aunt Jemima was a name that was well established ever since the Chicago World Fair in 1893," Roy Fortner says. "That's something you just don't throw away. ... As far as I know, it's still the number one pancake brand."