THE BEST BREAKFAST FOOD IN THE LAND

Does the title sound familiar? If I added JACK ARMSTRONG NEVER TIRES OF THEM AND NEITHER WILL YOU, would you recognize the radio jingle advertising Wheaties? That radio jingle was invented by the General Mills Corporation in 1926. First used in the Twin Cities (Mn) area, it so boosted sales that it was introduced nationally and sales soared.

The design of a jingle had to be short, with a simple verse and melody, made easy to remember. Here is one that I have never forgotten:

SOCKS! SOCKS!

HERE WE ARE UPON THE AIR
BILLY JONES AND ERNIE HARE
WE'RE THE INTERWOVEN PAIR

I had no idea what interwoven pairs were, but the people who bought them knew and it was a huge success.

Wheaties became my favorite cereal in the 1930s when the BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS series was introduced. Every sports-minded boy wanted these sports pictures on his bedroom wall. The Yankees Lou Gehrig was the first athlete pictured on a Wheaties box.

Would it surprise you to know that another famous person had a "Wheaties connection?" As a sports announcer, President Ronald Reagan was named the MOST POPULAR WHEATIES ANNOUNCER IN THE NATION. He won an all-expense trip to the Chicago Cubs training camp in California. While there, he took a screen test - the rest is history.

More, later.