TR stories: Did you bring any Templeton Rye with you?
Gene Wiese from Manning, Iowa, shared this story about the popularity of Templeton Rye in Chicago back in the late 1940s:
When I was a kid, we just accepted Templeton Rye in our area as commonplace. We thought everybody might have something similar to Templeton Rye, that there was nothing unusual about it.
Soon after WWII in 1947, I exhibited cattle at the Great Chicago International Stock Show. My parents warned me, South State and Halsted Streets, that is a tough end of town. As I was sitting with my cattle, all these different ethnic groups would come.
When people asked you where you were from they would say, “Where is that from Des Moines?” or “Where is that from Sioux City?” Well, these folks in Chicago would look at the sign I painted and often ask, “Where is that from Templeton?” Now, this is Chicago, and they acquainted any town in Iowa with where it was from Templeton. The next question was “Did you bring any Templeton Rye with you?” The stories about its popularity in Chicago are very, very true.
You can listen to Gene talk about the Chicago International Stock Show and getting asked about Templeton Rye in the video below:
View more stories on YouTube at our Templeton Rye channel.
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