Spreading the word about air-conditioned bread - Kansas City Star

These ladies are not Brittingham's but Taystee Bread was! I love to find old stories about "growing up."

Spreading the word about air-conditioned bread

By EVELYN KISER BARTLOW


“Air-conditioned bread? Never heard of it!” the first householder said, as he accepted two slices of Taystee bread and listened skeptically as I hurried through my memorized sales pitch.
I needed a summer job after graduating from Westport Senior High School in 1936. The YWCA’s bulletin board in the school’s front hall listed available jobs.
I rode the streetcars from 39th and Main streets to the Taystee bread plant at Admiral Boulevard and Virginia Avenue in hopes I could get the job they offered. I was one of eight women chosen to advertise “air-conditioned” Taystee bread. (Air conditioning was rare and exotic at the time, and the marketing department decided to play up that fact that our factory was air-conditioned.)
Each morning, we prepared the free samples, two slices of fresh bread in a clear waxed bag. We also helped Fred, our driver and boss, load the samples into his red and white Taystee bread truck. He would check to see whether his work crew of eight women dressed in starched white uniforms, red belts and floppy red sun hats was ready to represent Taystee Bread Co.
Fred drove the truck to a different neighborhood each day. We worked in pairs, walking house to house, knocking on doors, offering each family a free sample of air-conditioned bread.
Some people wouldn’t open their doors. We could see them peeking through the lace curtains. Others opened their doors and eagerly accepted our free samples. One man even exclaimed, “This isn’t bread! I eat Taystee bread for cake!”
Fred and our crew helped spread the word about air-conditioned bread five days a week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., June through August. I earned $12.50 a week.
My first week’s wages were spent at the foot doctor’s. My poor feet! Walking on hard concrete sidewalks eight hours a day and climbing up and down wooden steps took its toll. My doctor came to the rescue by wrapping my arches tightly with wide hospital tape. By the end of the summer, I became used to the daily walking routine.
Not only did I earn $12.50 a week, but this was the year the government issued the first Social Security cards. Uncle Sam assured me I would have money to live on in my old age. Uncle Sam kept his promise. I am 90 years old now, and I still receive a monthly Social Security check. Thank you, Uncle Sam! And, thank you, Taystee Bread, for that memorable summer.

Evelyn Kiser Bartlow, 90, lives in Kansas City. Remember When appears occasionally. Send your essay and a photo if you have one to starmag@kcstar.com.
Spreading the word about air-conditioned bread - Kansas City Star

Shared via AddThis