BBBH and I were each enjoying a bowl of frosted mini-shredded wheat when nostalgic flashback overcame me. I said, "Do you remember when Nabisco made Shredded Wheat and packed thebiscuits in layers in the box?
There were coloring cards* separating the layers." Yes, she remembered that. Then in my mind's eye, I envisioned the photo of Niagara Falls which graced the ends of the box.One thing led to another, and I started to think about the ninnies, idiots, and daredevils who attempted or accomplished various stunts involving this natural wonder. Over the years I had heard of a number of attempts to go over the falls and I wondered who was the first to accomplish the feat.
Of course with an entire library at my finger-tips, so to speak, it was a simple task to discover that one Annie Edson Taylor was the first. She designed her own barrel, padded it with a mattress and took with her a pillow when she was launched from a rowboat on her sixty-third birthday, October 24, 1901.
Ms. Taylor was nobody's fool. She was a well-educated, well-traveled woman. She had lived well, but now a widow, she felt she needed to find a way to enhance her finances. Long tale from this point until her death twenty years later, but in the end she died with virtually no resources.
Annie Edson Taylor 1838 - 1921 RIP
Image of Mrs. Taylor: Wikipedia
Additional reference:
Daredevils of Niagara Falls
*Some of you may remember the "Injun-uity Manual" series.
8 comments:
Hi Vanilla,
Yes! I fondly remember those cardboard separators. The ones I collected showed how Indians lived.
I would eat twice as many servings of shredded wheat just to get to the next card.
Do you remember the pins that came in packages of Kellogs Pep? I loved those things.
Thanks for sparking some happy memories.
John Cowart
Being a whippersnapper, of course I had no idea about these separators. But I do remember when Shredded Wheat was made by Nabisco. It just seems wrong somehow that Post makes them now.
In the 1970s, Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats gave away little trading cards with photos and facts about every United States President up to that time, so that meant the last card was Gerald Ford. I had a complete set.
I do remember the box and the separators. I like the bite-size shredded wheat--had some for breakfast this morning.
I remember the box, but not the cards. My brother probably collected them :) I also remember saving box tops from another cereal and sending them in with a dime to get an airplane for my brother's birthday. The picture of the airplane almost filled the back of the box. When the plane arrived, two weeks after the birthday, it was about three inches long. Live and learn!
Love the shredded wheat boxes! Somewhere I have a nearly full set of the Injun-uity cards they packed for a while.
John, I believe I never had the "Pep" experience-- that may account for so many things.
I think one of the "Injun-uity" series boasted 72 different cards. I never got them all.
Jim. I still think "Nabisco" when I think of shredded wheat.
I don't remember the presidential cards, but then I'm afraid my kids were more into Apple Jacks.
Chuck, I like the "bite-size," too. As a child, I would take the big old biscuit and crumble it into the bowl-- that's how Daddy did it.
Vee, and that may also account for the crumbled state of the biscuits-- someone taking out the cards before the cereal was eaten. Airplane? It's the thought that counts!
Shark, that's amazing! I don't think any of my childhood "treasures" survived the many twists and turns my life has taken.
I don't remember the cards, but I do enjoy shredded wheat to this day. I like the mini ones with strawberry topping. YUM!
I must be an old fogey though--I love oatmeal the BEST for breakfast!
Lin, I still like my shredded wheat, or raisin bran, but oatmeal can't be beat! (It just takes longer to fix.)
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