![]() Rather than run someone else’s company for them, not long after, O.D. and his wife decided to sell their bakery and reportedly mulled over retiring, but at the request of Ruth’s brother, Cecil, who at this point was running King’s Bakery, returned to help out managing it. invented what is today the company’s oldest continuously sold product- the oatmeal creme pie.īy the mid-20th century, O.D. However, it seems each bakery operated with moderate success, though with little known about them other than that it was during this period that O.D. McKee’s official history leaves a giant gap between 19. In 1936, over a business disagreement, the company split with the couple selling their share and moving to Charlotte, North Carolina to found a new bakery, while King took over the Tennessee shop, which he renamed King’s Bakery. Either way, it doesn’t appear to have been a match made in cake heaven. It’s not clear why they did this, perhaps they needed an infusion of capital or maybe they trusted King’s business instincts. ![]() In 1934, they took on Ruth’s father, Symon King, as a partner. Years later, Jack McKee would explain that his parents had “a unique opportunity during the Great Depression and they took a risk.” A few months later, the bet seemed to be paying off with the bakery moving to a larger location down the street.īut all wasn’t perfect. They were, as the company’s official history put it, “ideal business partners because her cautious, conservative nature was the perfect complement to his risk-taking, adventuresome spirit.” traveled the state making sales and coming up with some innovative ways to produce new product, she baked, managed the office and took charge of the few employees they had. In what was a unique arrangement for the time, Ruth became a full managing partner in the business with her husband. By the next year, business was good enough that they were able to purchase a Chattanooga, Tennessee bakery, Jack’s Cookie Company. started selling five-cent Virginia Dare Cakes made by Becker’s Bakery out of the back of said vehicle. According to McKee Foods’ official history, this was when O.D. What the couple did still have, however, was a 1928 Whippet car. and Ruth McKee who had lost most of their money due to a bank failure. Nearly a quarter of the nation was unemployed and bread lines went blocks in short, many were desperate, including O.D. It was 1933 and the country was in the throes of the Great Depression. Her real name is actually Debbie McKee-Fowler and here’s how she became the face – and Executive Vice President – of the company that makes Swiss Rolls. “Little Debbie” is also the Executive Vice President of McKee Foods, the eight-decade-old still family run company that makes all of these treats – plus Zebra Cakes and Cosmic Brownies. ![]() Who is Little Debbie? The simple answer is that she’s the straw-hat-wearing, blue-eyed little girl on the front of the box of delicious confectioneries like Oatmeal Creme Pies, Honey Buns and whatever Star Crunches are. Images Courtesy of McKee Foods Corporation and Women of Distinction
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