Recently discovered cooking booklets from my childhood have revealed some interesting facts. Perhaps you recall me mentioning that my dad had an appliance store in Underwood. I took an interest in this business especially when it came to customers purchasing new stoves. We had a three-stall garage on our home, and the first stall was completely used for storage – you know, a church pew, the plastic swimming pool, bicycles, luggage carrier and so forth. In the front, I had a play kitchen which featured real stoves that had been traded in by customers that simply did not work. I spent many enchanted afternoon hours in this kitchen which featured a deluxe Estate stove. It was white with lots of chrome, double ovens, a grill, warming space and it served as my play canvas as a chef. It also featured a “Bar-B-Kewer Meat Oven” which made all easy bake ovens seem like Christmas tree ornaments.

It just so happens that this Estate Range from the early 1950s was endorsed by Duncan Hines. I still have the booklet that came with this model, “The Art of Grilling, Baking and Barbecuing.” You may not know that Duncan Hines was a real person – unlike Betty Crocker.

He was born March 26, 1880, in Kentucky and his mother died when he was 4 years of age. He was named after and raised by his grandmother, Jane Duncan, who introduced him to good food. He often used her skills as a measuring stick for future meals that he dined upon.

As a young man, he worked as a traveling salesman, and he repeatedly dined at “mom and pop” restaurants and cafes. Now keep in mind, the early 1930s was at a time when chain restaurants were unheard of and the interstate and highway systems had not been established. There was no Twitter! If he had enjoyed a meal at Irene’s Cafe, he jotted it down in his notebook and before long he had a list of over 200 eating places that he knew served excellent fare. In his notes, he recorded the appearance of the place, the friendliness of the staff, how clean it was, but most important was the pleasure of the meal.

He was constantly being asked by other traveling salesmen for restaurant recommendations; Hines and his wife, Clara, decided to compile a book, “Adventures in Good Eating,” which was published in 1935. The paperback book was small in size and salesmen soon were packing it with their daily essentials realizing they could depend on Hines’ word for a good meal.

The book went beyond salesmen and became a standard in many homes. This inspired Hines to write a newspaper column in the 1940s and ’50s, “Adventures in Good Eating at Home.” It quickly became a syndicated newspaper column which by November 1951 could be read in 100 newspapers around the country with combined circulations of 20,000,000. He additionally wrote a book, “Lodging for the Night,” which gave a detailed account of hotel, motel and roadside cottages listing such things as cleanliness, furnishing of the room and the quality of the bath towels which were hopefully resting against a pleasing paisley wallpaper.

We are now getting to the point where Hines was able to connect with just about anything related to food. He was a marketing person for Estate Ranges, he endorsed a line of stainless steel kettles which were built like battleships, and many of these vessels are still are harbored in kitchen cupboards and called to service daily. Duncan Hines was fast becoming a household name, and “recommended by Duncan Hines” was recognized as a “seal of approval.” People trusted his judgment.

Writing his book allowed him to change careers. He and his wife, Clara, took to the road and continued to frequent cafe, restaurants, coffee shops and tea rooms. They often made reservations under a different name because he didn’t want special treatment – he wanted to see a real day of meal service and then relate this to his followers. Restaurants wanted him to stop, and hopefully enjoy a meal, because if Hines recommended a place, you could count on it. This recommendation did not come without Hines inspecting the back kitchen. He believed that stopping by the kitchen would encourage owners to keep a cleaner kitchen thus offering better food to customers. Once the restaurant passed inspection, they would receive a letter that stated they had been added to the “Duncan Hines Family” of restaurants. This then allowed them to rent a sign which could be placed below their advertising stating they were a “Duncan Hines Favorite.” This sign business, which was also operated by Duncan Hines, generated much revenue for his new business. Eating establishments paid yearly to post this honor.

While Hines was on the road in 1950, he was promoting a food product – no, it was not cake! In fact, his first product was ice cream that contained more butterfat than any other ice cream on the market. It was delicious and stood above its competitors. He had gone into partnership with Roy Park to form Hines-Park Food Inc. Their marketing plan was to bring high-quality, easy-to-use foods to American housewives who wanted to spend more time listening to Elvis than sifting flour.

In 1951, Nebraska Consolidated Mills processed the first of the famous Duncan Hines cakes mixes with the first flavors being white, yellow and devil’s food. Housewives soon learned that they could watch “As the World Turns” and still create a decent cake. Hines marketed the cake mixes with the idea that fresh eggs mean a bigger, better cake. Soon other cake mix companies copied his idea. Consumers liked the ease of these cakes mixes and this triggered bread, pancake and blueberry muffin mixes. In 1957, Duncan Hines was sold to Procter & Gamble, who sold a mosaic of items under Hines’ name. The Duncan Hines brand is now owned by Pinnacle Foods, who sometimes forget the straight and narrow and create cake mixes such as blue velvet.

Over the years, Hines wrote several books and had a large office staff to help with all the duties involved in these publications. He had much on his cake plate and worked well into his 70s. Aiding in the business management was his capable wife, Clara, who was his protector and friend. Together they traveled all across the United States enjoying restaurants and some of these were added to their recommended list. Travel was almost never done by train or planes; they preferred to drive as this allowed them to meander into little-known dining places off the beaten path. He passed away on March 15, 1959, in Bowling Green, Ky.

Hines is still placed on a pedestal in his hometown of Bowling Green, and a portion of U.S. Route 31 W north of the city was named the Duncan Hines Highway after his death. How fitting for a man that continues to bring charisma as we travel the pathways of our lives marking birthdays, anniversaries and other celebrations with easy-to-do cake.