TOWER – The Tower-Soudan Historical Society granted a look at some history, and a chance to taste that history, during a presentation on the history of Cream of Wheat.
Cream of Wheat was a popular breakfast food for miners at the Soudan Mine. Each morning before their husbands went to work, their wives would prepare a hearty family breakfast that sometimes included warm cereal like oatmeal or Cream of Wheat and delicious home-made baking powder biscuits dripping with butter and jam. 
“We planned this event to celebrate the miners, their wives who cooked their breakfast, and the product of their cooking – hearty hot cereals like oatmeal and Cream of Wheat, meant to last until the hard-working men broke for lunch,” said program organizers Louise Gately and Linda Haugen.
TSHS board member Louise Gately, who grew up in Iowa, is a fan of the hot cereal and has a large collection of Cream of Wheat posters that she has displayed in her home for many years. Gately said the idea of the program came to her when she realized that Cream of Wheat was also a popular breakfast option on the Iron Range and it was still sold at Zup’s. When she realized that Haugen had an old teaching colleague, Mickey Bloom, who has a personal connection to the Clifford family of Minneapolis, who founded the Cream of Wheat Company, the idea for the program was cooked up. Bloom is also a frequent visitor to Lake Vermilion.
Those attending the talk on July 10 in the Depot’s coach car were treated to a breakfast of Cream of Wheat, oatmeal, and homemade baking powder biscuits from Sulu’s.
Mickey’s mother spent seven years as a private nurse to the ailing George Clifford Sr., who, with his two brothers owned the Minneapolis-based company that produced Cream of Wheat. Mickey’s mother worked seven nights a week as a night nurse to the family, earning $3 per shift.
Mickey showed those attending the program an assortment of presents and other items gifted to her over the year’s by George’s wife, Ethel, including jewelry, a music box, a crate that Cream of Wheat boxes were packed in, paperweights from Mrs. Clifford’s extensive collection, wooden puzzles from the Depression, dishes from the Clifford family china pattern, and much more. She also spoke about the luxurious Clifford family mansion, the fancy limousines, and the privileged way of life of an extremely well-to-do family in Minneapolis during that era. 
“My mother spent lots of time with Mrs. Clifford during the difficult time she cared for Ethel’s dying husband. At night, my mother and Mrs. Clifford would do puzzles together, during which time they formed a close friendship. Mr. Clifford’s health was failing,” Mickey recalls. “When he passed, my mother and Ethel Clifford remained close friends. Ethel was really like my grandma. My own grandmother lived far away – out in California – so we spent holidays with Ethel, were often invited to her house for dinner, and she was a regular visitor at our house.”
After the program, visitors got to view Gately’s collection of 50 framed posters of Cream of Wheat ads and learned about the iconic character “Rastus” in the ads who helped sell millions of bowls of Cream of Wheat. There was also a display of vintage aprons, donated to the historical society by the Margaret and Joe Mesojedec family.