Honoring the 100th anniversary of the creation of Wonder Bread in Indianapolis, Indiana.

IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 418 Honoring the 100th anniversary of the creation of Wonder Bread in Indianapolis, Indiana. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 20, 2021 Mr. CARSON (for himself, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. BANKS, Mr. MRVAN, Mr. PENCE, and Mrs. WALORSKI) submitted the following resolution; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce RESOLUTION Honoring the 100th anniversary of the creation of Wonder Bread in Indianapolis, Indiana. Whereas Wonder Bread became a staple for the people of the United States, becoming synonymous with lunch time for school children, diners on highways, and cafeterias in our factories and military bases, and it is part of the collec- tive experience of living in the United States; Whereas Wonder Bread was developed by the Taggart Bak- ing Company; Whereas Wonder Bread was founded in 1905 by brothers Alexander and Joseph Taggart and Alexander’s son, Alexander Jr.; Whereas the company’s main factory was located at 18–28 North New Jersey Street in Indianapolis, Indiana; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 May 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR418.IH HR418 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 418 IH Whereas Alexander and Joseph were immigrants from the Isle of Man, located in the Irish Sea, and their company became the largest bread bakery in the State of Indiana, producing over 300,000 loaves of bread per week; Whereas people in the United States were turning away from home baked bread and purchasing their bread due to its convenience and affordability; Whereas ‘‘soft’’ bread was desirable, leading the company to develop a bread with an even texture, soft crust, and a resiliency that enabled butter, jam, and peanut butter to be easily spread upon it; Whereas Elmer Cline, the Taggart Vice President for mer- chandising development, came up with the name ‘‘Won- der Bread’’ and the colorful balloons on the packaging after watching a hot air balloon race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; Whereas Wonder Bread was sold to the Continental Baking Company in 1925, and subsequently combined the stand- ardized 1.5 pound loaves with the Otto Frederick Rohwedder invention for slicing newly baked bread in the factory and the Henri Sevigne machine that wrapped the loaves in waxed paper to ensure freshness, expanding the Wonder Bread identity, deliverability, and storage capa- bility; Whereas Wonder Bread’s popularity greatly expanded after World War II, leading to a Government request to en- hance Wonder Bread with vitamins and minerals to en- able the company to advertise its nutritional qualities as well as its convenience; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 May 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR418.IH HR418 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 418 IH Whereas Wonder Bread became a major sponsor of renowned children’s television shows, and as a result, children from across the country embraced the bread even more; Whereas the creation and rising popularity of Wonder Bread coincided with a new industrial era where factories pro- duced food with uniform size and weight, and its pre- sliced convenience and being wrapped in resealable pack- aging made Wonder Bread an icon in the United States; and Whereas Wonder Bread was not associated with a particular ethnic group, religion, or region of the country and was something new that all people of the United States were experiencing together as something that symbolized the collective experience of the post-war United States and all its possibilities: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep- 1 resentatives that— 2 (1) while the Wonder Bread brand has been 3 purchased by multiple companies in the last century, 4 it will always be associated with Indianapolis, Indi- 5 ana, where the Taggart brothers first developed it; 6 (2) the influence of the production, packaging, 7 and advertising of Wonder Bread set a standard for 8 an entire industry; 9 (3) Wonder Bread’s story of being created by 10 immigrants, combining with other innovations to 11 create something entirely new, and embracing new 12 means of advertising and distribution all combined 13 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 May 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR418.IH HR418 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 418 IH to make the story of Wonder Bread unique to the 1 United States; 2 (4) Wonder Bread, and its immediate associa- 3 tion with childhood, is a touchstone for all people of 4 the United States, a product that is iconic to our 5 culture, and a symbol of the age in which it was de- 6 veloped; and 7 (5) the 100th anniversary of the launching of 8 Wonder Bread is a moment to celebrate United 9 States heritage and the innovation of the people of 10 the United States. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 May 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR418.IH HR418 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS