WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2021

THE BEST BANANA BREAD IN AMERICA?

Here’s an Appeeling Story!

By JENNIFER WILSON, Our Town Temple exclusive

Do you know what the most searched bread recipe is?

According to the King Arthur Baking Company (they’ve been around since 1790, so I figured they’d know) it is banana bread. That really shouldn’t surprise anyone — let’s be honest, eating a slice of delicious banana bread is more akin to eating cake than anything else. But, hey, it’s made out of bananas and we do need our potassium!

Bananas aren’t native to most of North America, so they didn’t really become a staple here until the advent of refrigeration at the turn of the 20th century. Banana bread didn’t come into play until 30 years later, when two momentous events came together at just the right time — one would bankrupt the country and one would play a part in making us the fattest nation in the world.

Nowadays, most of us wouldn’t think twice about throwing out an overripe banana, but during the Great Depression? Not so much. Ironically, chemical leaveners (baking powder/baking soda) were mass produced during this time allowing prudent bakers to use “unusable” fruit as the main ingredient in a quick bread (because yeast is not used as the leavening agent, the dough needs no time to rise). Banana bread recipes became ubiquitous in the 1930s, but it wasn’t until the 1950s that the best recipe came to light.

In the small town of Brownsville, Tenn., Anna Roberts Wallace, my grandmother, was reading the Memphis Press-Scimitar and happened upon a banana bread recipe that she thought worth saving. She was right. Even her daughter loved the bread, and Julia was not a huge fan of bananas.

With a personal tweak here and there, that recipe of banana bread is the only one my family has ever made. Oh, we’ve sampled other recipes—gifts from friends, colleagues, bakeries — but nothing else can compare. What can I say? My family has become banana bread snobs. We would not deign to acknowledge the presence of another recipe in our kitchens.

Yes, I may be a bread snob, but I am not unkind. I am excited to share this recipe with you, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Oh, when mom heard I was writing an article about our banana bread she baked a loaf for me, after all, we needed one for the picture. It’s a hard job…

My mom makes the best banana bread. That is not a statement of braggadocio or pride, merely of fact. 

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CHEWY, GOOEY AND DELICIOUS

This building on South First Street in downtown Temple was the home to two of the city’s biggest manufacturing businesses in the early 1900s — The Texas Gum Company and the Temple Candy Company. The gum plant produced several varieties of gum, including a bubble gum that came with baseball cards that also were made in Temple. The card at top is of Christy Mathewson, the top pitcher of his day.

Early Temple had a sweet spot

By DAVID STONE, Our Town Temple exclusive

Twenty years after Temple became a town, one of its most prominent residents got a hankering for something sweet. I guess he couldn’t decide between candy and bubble gum.

Since finding quality confections in a wild Texas town wasn’t an easy task, Bennett Smith decided to make his own. In 1901, he opened the Temple Candy Company, and business boomed. Big time. The Texas Gum Company followed eight years later, and the two businesses — both operated under Smith’s guidance — thrived in the same building on South First Street.

Smith was a big believer in purchasing items Made in Texas, a motto he made popular statewide. Manufacturing jobs in Texas — outside of the larger cities of Houston, San Antonio and Fort Worth — were rare. Smith vowed to give employment to people and to keep the money in Texas.

The two businesses together employed an average of 75 people, according to an article in the Temple Mirror. In the fall — leading up to Christmas — more than 100 workers kept the “sweet machines” going.

The Texas Gum Company produced some of the top brands money could buy, including Smith’s Mello Mint, Pickle Chicle (I’d pay big money to try this) and Peerless Chips. The gums’ popularity far exceeded Texas boundaries.

According to the Mirror newspaper, both plants were equipped with the most modern equipment available at the time. Smith also was an advocate for worker’s rights, the Mirror stated, and work areas were “well lit, well ventilated, cheerful and comfortable.”

Temple Candy Company produced 250 candy varieties and was known for its chocolate bars, cream-filled chocolate candies and hard candies. The most popular confection was the O’Sally, a candy with a vanilla fudge center, dipped in caramel, rolled in roasted peanuts and covered in chocolate. It was a favorite of sweet teeth across the Lone Star state and beyond.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Smith and his investors “were salaried men, and none had more than a few hundred dollars to spare in the enterprise.”

Still both companies flourished into two of the most successful manufacturing enterprises in the state.

In 1914, the Texas Gum Company decided to expand its chewy lineup, and they enlisted the help of local residents to pick a name for the new product. More than 1,200 suggestions poured in, and the company selected the name “Chicamah” submitted by W.D. Shaw.  According to reports, the selection was unanimous.

The company said at the time that “Chicamah” was an Indian word meaning “good.” The new gum got the Cadillac treatment with fancy packaging and a big advertising budget. The peppermint-flavored gum was immensely popular.

Shaw received $25 — and gum — for naming the newest member of the company’s lineup.

To boost gum sales, Texas Gum Company began producing flat or “sheet” gum that could be packaged with Temple-made baseball cards. Stars like Ty Cobb and Christy Mathewson were pictured on the lithograph cards, and they became top sellers. 

The company was awarded the exclusive rights to gum sales at the State Fair of Texas beginning in 1917, and with a little help from hometown governor Miriam Ferguson, Temple gums and candies were awarded contracts for sales at all state institutions in 1924.

Over the years, the candy business boomed in Temple. Other companies included Gem Confectionary, Model Confectionery, Triangle Candy Co., American Confectionery and Pappas’ Olympia Candy Kitchen.

The Temple Candy and Texas Gum companies shut down in 1950.

Thanks to Craig Ordner, an archivist with Temple’s Railroad & Heritage Museum, for supplying some of the information used in this story.

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Our Town Classifieds

REMODELING KITCHEN AND MUST SELL KItchenAid Dishwasher. It is in great shape. $100. (254) 913-8309. 

HAVING A GARAGE SALE? Let your friends know with an Our Town classified.

FOR SALE: 2006 Nissan Murano 118K miles, White in color, new tires, AC works great. Asking 6,000. Email @ timh810@aol.com if interested.

LIFE SPAN TREADMILL DESK: Great condition. Desk and treadmill come as set. $500. Call/Text 254-654-0548 if interested. Can send pictures.

HEY, REAL ESTATE AGENTS — Here’s a perfect place for your newest listing!

LARGE DESK WITH CHAIR: Great condition. $250. Dark brown in color. Approx 55 inches long, 35.5 inches wide, 35 inches tall. Sides of desk act as bookshelves. Call/Text 254-654-0548 if interested. Can send pictures.

SELLING YOUR CAR? Post it right here!

BIG MEDICINE BALL — 40-pound soft-sided Rage Fitness medicine ball. Great for Atlas drills. Like new. $40. (254) 624-4010

MAKE GREAT SMOOTHIES — Vitamin. Great condition. Comes with two pitchers. Also great for salsas. $200. (254) 624-4010

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING? HAVE SOMETHING TO SELL? List it here!

PLYO BOX: Soft-sided, 20x24x30 plyometric box. Great condition. $40. (254) 624-4010

Subscribers get FREE classifieds up to 25 words. Email info to OurTownTemple@gmail.com

Our Town Deals

FREE COFFEE WITH PURCHASE OF ANY BREAKFAST ITEM — Easy As Pie, 1217 S 1st St A, Temple. 

To list your business in Our Town Deals, call (254) 624-4010

What’s Happening, Temple?

August 6, Friday - First Friday in Downtown Temple. The first Friday every month, downtown is the place for late night shopping. 5 p.m.

August 6, Friday - Tony Siegl Live at J.Kowboy Wine Bar. 6 p.m.

August 6, Friday - Lilly Milford of Lilly & The Implements joins Bryon White of The Damn Quails for a special performance. O’Briens Irish Pub. 9 p.m.

August 6, Friday - Family Night at Summer Fun Water Park, Belton, 7 p.m.

August 6, Friday - Branded Heart, Bo’s Barn Dance Hall, 8 p.m.

August 6, Friday - F-R-I-E-N-D-S Trivia Night at Fire Base Brewing Co. Who will walk away with the Gellar Cup? 7:30 p.m.

August 7, Saturday - Dave Jorgenson, Bo’s Barn Dance Hall, 9 p.m.

August 7, Saturday - Wine & Wrinkles. Botox & Filler party with Stacie and Natalie. Corky’s. 3 p.m.

August 7, Saturday - Bell County Comic Con is a family friendly event for those interested in comics, pop culture, wrestling, gaming, movies and fantasy. Bell County Expo Center. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

August 7, Saturday - Dig It! Family Day. Will include a sand pit for unearthing treasures. Learn what it’s like to be an archeologist or a paleontologist and the difference between the two fields of science. Temple Railroad & Heritage Museum. 10 a.m.

August 7, Saturday - American Bucking Bull, Bell County Expo Center Equine/Livestock Complex.

August 8, Sunday - Bell County Comic Con is a family friendly event for those interested in comics, pop culture, wrestling, gaming, movies and fantasy. Bell County Expo Center. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

August 9, Monday - Great Books Club at Temple Public Library. 6 p.m.

August 10, Tuesday - Czech Film Night at The Beltonian Theatre. Free! Second Tuesday of each month. 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.

August 10, Tuesday - Family Night at Mexiko Cafe. Taco Tuesday and Loteria, a Mexican version of Bingo. 6 p.m.

August 13, Friday - SmokinMaxx Carter live at Fire Base Brewing Co. 6:30 p.m.

August 13, Friday - Love Connection Matchmaking at Corky’s. 7:30 p.m.

August 13, Friday - Broken Time & Midnight Tradesmen at O’Briens. Two hot Bell County Bands! 9 p.m.

August 13, Friday - Bell County Kennel Club, Bell County Expo Center.

August 13, Friday - Hyway Traveler, Bo’s Barn Dance Hall, 8 p.m.

August 13, Friday - Bell County Cutting Horse Show, Bell County Expo Center Equine/Livestock Complex.

August 14, Saturday - Downtown Temple Farmer’s Market. 2 N. Main Street. 8 a.m.

August 14, Saturday - Bell County Kennel Club, Bell County Expo Center.

August 14, Saturday - Texas Senior Pro Rodeo, Bell County Expo Center Equine/Livestock Complex.

August 14, Saturday - Name That Tune Bingo at Fire Base Brewing Co. Featuring mixtapes of the 1980s and 90s. 7:30 p.m.

August 14, Saturday - The Damn Moore Boys & Co. at O’Briens. 9 p.m.

August 14, Saturday - Broken Arrow at Bo’s Barn Dance Hall, 9 p.m.

August 15, Sunday - Bell County Kennel Club, Bell County Expo Center.

August 15, Sunday - Texas Senior Pro Rodeo, Bell County Expo Center Equine/Livestock Complex.

August 16, Monday - Short Story Reading Group at Temple Public Library. 6 p.m.

August 17, Tuesday - An evening with winemaker Tom Parmeson of Parmeson Wines. Four-course wine dinner at Pignetti’s. 6:45 p.m.

August 17, Tuesday - Taroks Card Party and Lessons at Czech Heritage Museum and Genealogy Center. Learn and play the 1400’s European card game brought to Texas by Czechs in the 1800s.7 p.m.

September 11, Saturday - Pink Fishing’s Reeling in the Cure, 6th annual bass tournament. Proceeds benefit breast cancer patients and cancer research. Cedar Ridge Park. 6 a.m. Call (254) 681-0102 for details.

Have an event you would like to promote? Email info to OurTownTemple@gmail.com with “What’s Happening” in the subject line. Keep it short and sweet — what, when and where. You may include a short description. You must include a phone number for verification purposes. The phone number will not be published unless requested by submitter.