By Sharon Oliver
Contributing Writer
NORWELL – If mom or grandma did not bake a homemade cakes from scratch, chances are they relied upon a box of Betty Crocker cake mix. Crocker, a fictional character, was based on a sous-chef from Franklin College who made baked goods for the school cafeteria. However, several women lent their talents to the making of the iconic Betty Crocker, including Janette Kelley.
Started from promotional campaign
In 1921, Washburn-Crosby, which made Gold Medal flour in a Minneapolis suburb and where Kelly first worked, ran a promotion giveaway of a pincushion resembling a flour sack to anyone who could complete a jigsaw puzzle of a milling scene. Thousands of customers also responded with a flood of questions about baking. Washburn-Crosby created the persona Betty Crocker to personalize answers, choosing “Crocker” in honor of the recently retired director, William Crocker and “Betty” simply because it sounded friendly.
Marjorie Child Husted, followed by Agnes White Tizard were the radio voices of Betty Crocker. Florence Lindeberg created Betty Crocker’s signature after men in the office who answered letters did not feel right signing their names. But it was Janette Kelley who became the Betty Crocker spokesperson and director at General Mills’ Test Kitchen and Home Services Department when the company developed recipes for “Betty Crocker’s Kitchen Cookbook.”
Photo/Courtesy of General Mills
Released in 1950, the cookbook was an instant best seller and became a popular wedding gift. One promotional ad proclaimed: “At last! A Betty Crocker Cook Book! Over $100,000 spent in testing and developing recipes before a single page was printed! Just off the press! Exciting, revolutionary, handsome! The result of 29 years’ experience by the Betty Crocker Staff of General Mills, in food, cooking and homemaking.”
The Betty Crocker House
In the late 1930s, Janette Kelley bought an antique three-bedroom, two-bath Cape house in Norwell while working for a Massachusetts branch of General Mills and lived there until she sold the house sometime during the 1940s. Located on 604 River Street, the house was built in 1681 and went on the market in 2016 for $675,000. Zillow listed it as sold in 2020 for $635,000. It is currently valued by Zillow at $1,139,400. A few local residents have posted lasting memories on Facebook of what is still known as the Betty Crocker House.
Barry P. Callis wrote:
“I know the house and exactly where it is. Had no idea of its history.”
Elizabeth Cloutier added:
“I grew up three houses away and spent many happy days in this house!”
While residing in Massachusetts, she was an active member of the community. Kelley gave lectures and cooking demonstrations, which included suggestions for hostesses. She also participated in The Can Opener and World Politics conference which was held in Swampscott at the New Ocean House where a panel of experts spoke before a group of nutritionists, home service business women and teachers. Kelley’s recipes were also often featured in The Boston Globe.
In 1939, Kelley participated in a series of radio quiz programs on WBZ and WBAA with a group of Simmons College students to discuss home economics, girls who get married before finishing college and girls who marry soon after graduation.
Photo/Courtesy of General Mills
Kelley was responsible for setting up the first model kitchen, preparing the first bread-baking book, and making the first chocolate cake that was the first to be depicted in advertising using illustrations. Under her leadership, many recipes and new products were introduced, including the development of the one-bowl cake method. In 1947, General Mills acquired the rights to Harry Baker’s chiffon cake recipe and perfected it into a cake mix in Kelley’s test kitchen and introduced it to a wider audience of home bakers. Janette Kelley died in 1958.
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