Betty, Meet Betty

This 1960-1961 edition of “Horizons,” the General Mills shareholder magazine, profiled a woman with a familiar name: Betty Crocker. This Ms. Crocker, from Glendale California, happened to own stock in General Mills and thus, her namesake. She never officially represented the brand, although she claimed to use many of the products in her personal life. A successful businesswoman, Ms. Crocker had chosen to buy stock in General Mills after her broker informed her it was one of the five best managed companies in the country. She held a prominent position with the Security First National Bank in Los Angeles and wanted to invest her earnings wisely. We can’t help but laugh when the magazine mentions Ms. Crocker’s soft Southern accent—she had long ago moved to California from Tennessee—which “no doubt accounts in part for her success in the prominent position she holds…” That, or she was just one smart cookie.