America's First Lady of Food

I've always felt I was born in the wrong time period. Every since I was a little girl, I secretly wanted to be a wife and have lots and lots of children. I wanted to be the stereotypical woman who was always "barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen."

I was born in an era where women were running from the kitchen in hopes of finding independence. The kitchen became cold due to the ovens no longer in use. Homes across America no longer had the smell of homemade cookies permeating to every room of the house.

Had I been born in my desired time period, I would have been among a great company of like-minded women. Not saying that I'm dissatisfied with the company I have now. Back then I would have had more RLF (real life friends), versus the many I have online. Funny thing is, I have so many online friends that I've never met, but some are my closest friends. There's one lady I'm sure that I would have been "BFFs" with. Her name was Betty Crocker.

The other day I was looking at the pile of books that have been waiting for me to read. Each book was crying out to me saying, "Read me! Read me!"

I figured it was a good idea to start reading them instead of tripping over them each time I walked by my favorite chair. I look at a book titled "Finding Betty Crocker, The Secret Life of America's First Lady of Food." I thought the book would be filled with recipes.

I was shocked by what I found. Yes, there were a few recipes, but what I found astonished me. It contained some dialogues between Betty Crocker and American women. What stood out the most was Betty Crocker's five keys to happiness: love and affection, good food, self-expression, pleasant surrounding and spiritual faith.

Betty Crocker wrote a Homemakers Creed and this is what it said:

I Believe

homemaking is a noble and challenging career.

I Believe

homemaking is an art requiring many different skills.

I Believe

homemaking requires the best of my efforts, my abilities, and my thinking.

I Believe

home reflects the spirit of the homemaker.

I Believe

home should be a place of peace, joy and contentment.

I Believe

no task is too humble that contributes to the cleanliness, the order, the health, the well being of the household.

I Believe

a homemaker must be true to the highest ideals of love, loyalty, service and religion.

I Believe

home must be an influence for good in the neighborhood, the community, the country.

This is to certify that ____________ is a member of the Home Legion dedicated to Good Homemaking for a Better World.


General Mills, Inc.                                    Betty Crocker (her personal signature)

Seventy thousand Betty Crocker American Home Legion members received a copy of the Homemakers Creed, suitable for framing.

The Homemakers Creed inspired so many women back then. I believe it can be an inspiration today. I've decided to make a copy and hang it up in my kitchen.

Below are excerpts from letters written to Betty Crocker regarding the Homemakers Creed:

"I want to thank you for the Homemaker's Creed. I think it is so nice and means so much to me. I never realized home could be such a heavenly place until I heard your program. It really has done wonders for me and I love it. You must be a grand person."

"The Homemakers Creed scroll does a lot for my home front morale. Whenever I glance at it, it reminds me of my duty to my home, my family and myself. I am a homemaker and proud of it. In fact, my Homemakers Scroll means more to me than my Bachelor and Master of Arts sheepskin."

"I'm very much interested in your Home Legion project and sincerely hope you can accomplish wonders with the average homemaker. your Home Legion has given me real encouragement in my work."