A cultural icon is in trouble.
Make those two cultural icons.
Back when television sets were black and white, we impressionable children were given hope by two things: we could "build strong bodies" twelve ways just eating squishy white bread; and we could eat a sponge-filled mini-torpedo filled with mostly non-organic material every-so-often, when our parents were feeling generous.
We didn't need a political campaign: just manufactured food.
Hostess Cakes, the manufacturer of both Twinkies and Wonder Bread is filing for Chapter 11 -- again. This makes the second time in recent years that Hostess is going in for corporate emergency care. At this writing the fate of both Wonder Bread and the Twinkie is unknown.
The fate of the Twinkie may be better assured than Wonder Bread. Twinkies have been known to have a staying power of years, if not centuries, and are near indestructible.
Twinkies were present at the first atomic bomb explosion in the White Sands Proving Ground, New Mexico, July 16, 1945. You've seen the old Movietone news reel footage: the flash, the mushroom cloud, the winds, the effects on the model town that was created...
Twinkie was a survivor. It was flash-fried. This is where the idea came for deep-frying the spongy-wonder.
Wonder Bread was on the plates of the dummies in the houses. It was... toast. Really burnt toast.
Both Twinkie and Wonder Bread are Chicago area products. Twinkie was invented in Schiller Park in 1930, and Wonder Bread was first baked in a suburb of Chicago, Indianapolis, in 1925.
According to the Twinkie web site, Bill Clinton put one in a time capsule. Why, I don't know. It is its own time capsule.
It is unclear if First Lady, Michelle Obama, will crusade to save the Twinkie and Wonder Bread, but it is a safe bet that a Twinkie found in a food desert will still be as good as the one they found in King Tut's tomb.
Filed under: Chicago culture, City Life, History, retail
Tags: Hostess Cakes, Twinkie, Wonder Bread
I prefer the homemade version from Angel Food Bakery, anyway!
What, you mean you actually like real ingredients?
Wonder Bread could disappear. The trend is towards whole grain or multi-grain bread, and most grocery stores offer fresh-baked white bread.
On the other hand, somone will buy Hostess' line of baked goods, including Twinkies, Hostess Cupcakes, Ho-Ho's, and Ding-Dongs. And didn't Hostess buy out Dolly Madison some years ago? I seem to recall seeing Zingers with the Hostess brand, rather than the Dolly Madison. Does anyone remember went the Peanuts Gang pitched for Dolly Madison, and Snoopy was the Zinger Zapper?
Perhaps Little Debbie could buy the Hostess line. Little Debbie products have always been priced lower than Hostess. So, that could help Little Debbie expand its product line.
If Wonder Bread disappears, what will we aging kids use to build strong muscles simply by chewing? It's too late to hit the gym.
Little Debbie's Twinkies? It could work.
Heh ... Indianapolis as a suburb of Chicago ... classic!
Oh no!!! My grandfather worked at the Twinkies' bakery in the 1930's (could have been the 1920's, but I think it was the 30's). I'd be sorry to see Twinkies go. Even though I wasn't born until 20 years after he worked there, I have a sentimental attachment to the Twinkie.
I suppose it could be turned into a Little Debbie's product, but I always thought Little Debbie's cakes were too sweet.
Word is, with the birth of each grandchild an employee was given a special blue or pink Twinkie. If yours is still sitting around the old chest in the attic, the good news is, you can still eat it.
I was born in 1974 and I think its a shame that these old-time businesses go under.
Because really they've become cultural icons, which I personally define as: a brand/foodstuff or device...which has become SO commonplace and beloved that we unconsciously think of them as a permanent fixture of society.
Like "baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and "Chevrolet."
Do you eat the filling first or no? Sometimes I scoop it out first.
Thanks for sharing this news with us, Richard.
I understand that there is still some TARP money left over to save the Twinkie. All is not lost.