70tebelmann
Tebelmann Baking Company in St. Louis, about 1925; image Courtesy of Scott K. Williams.
It's been a spell since I've visited History's Time Portal to Old St. Louis, which is odd, because old photographs seem to work on my brain like a drug. Lucky for me, I get to curate the back-page "Flashback'" photo every month, which means I know pretty much every archivist in town, but I'd be hopelessly addicted to Shorpy even if trolling through old photos was not part of my job description.
Here we have an image that perfectly illustrates the roots of our toxic, kwikie-mart food culture that so appalls Michael Pollan. Note the motto stretched across the top of each cake delivery wagon: "WHY BAKE AT HOME?" One of the most interesting things I read in Pollan's much-mailed NY Times piece is the fact that cake mixes actually don't require the additon of anything but water. But marketing research revealed that a woman would not purchase boxed cake mix unless preparation included the psychological satisfaction of cracking an egg, which made her feel like she was actually baking. Of course, when this photo was taken, the cakes were still made with human hands and I'm sure tasted much nicer than the cushion-foam iced with lard they sell in grocery store bakeries these days, so maybe this wasn't really cheating.
From the caption accompanying the photo:
"The bakery was located at Blair Avenue and O'Fallon Street. Photo contributed by Marilyn Lane, daughter of August Cornelius Moellinger (in the 2nd truck on the left), born 2 Oct 1899 in St. Louis, was a mechanic for the Tebelmann Baking Company in St. Louis in the 1920s. August (aka Gus and Al) moved to San Diego, California in 1927 and lived in San Diego until he died in 1987. August was the son of Joseph Francis Moellinger and Elizabeth Burkhart." --Stefene Russell
