masthead of the Pillsbury Springfield Safety Circle
Friends,
The Springfield Safety Circle was a monthly newsletter for the Springfield Pillsbury employees and their families. The December 1955 cover page gives us a taste of the times.
The top graphic showing the Springfield Plant as a ship is an interesting visual. The artist for the newsletter is Wynn “Wilky” Wilkins and he almost assuredly created this graphic. He was a local guy that joined the Navy during WWII then went back to work at Pillsbury after he returned. It captures the feeling of being a part of something big that takes everyone working together.
Christmas turkeys for all eligible employees and retired people. What a great company gesture for the holiday season. The distribution was south of the Bakery Mix Dock. This is the same area where our main entrance is today for tours and events…68 years later.
1161 members of the American Federation of Grain Millers Local #24 turned out for the election of officers on December 1, 1955. This was during the highest employment period at the Springfield Pillsbury plant. At that time, total employment peaked at about 1500. This included the Local #24 members, clerical staff, supervisors, and management team. The economic impact of the Pillsbury plant for Springfield was enormous.
The annual Pillsbury Hobby Show call for entries is advertised. We had a local family show us ribbons won at the hobby shows in the mid-1950’s. With prizes valued at more than $300.00 it is easy to imagine a large number of entries. If anyone can tell us where the Auditorium was located, please contact MPF, we would be glad to know.
We hope you enjoy this little piece of Springfield history as much as we have. Thanks to all the families that have participated in the Pillsbury reunion project this year. We have had a great time listening to the stories and collecting information. Stay tuned…more stories will be shared throughout the winter months!
We have had a great response to Tuesdays at the Dock. We will continue hosting community members and past employees each Tuesday through the end of September. Open hours are from 9:00 am to 11:00 am.
Employees have come and given us insights into many of the tools and items we have collected. We have also taken them into the plant on several occasions and walked with them to their old work locations. It has been a wonderful learning experience and the stories are continuing to come in. This week we highlight the Wheat Rush.
The Wheat Rush at the Springfield Pillsbury plant was a big deal. Beginning in early July and lasting for several weeks, grain trucks would come from miles around to deliver wheat to the plant. The plant held more than 3 million bushels when filled to full capacity. Each of the 160 silos held 18,000 bushels. The 108 spaces between the silos held another 1500 bushels each.
Grain trucks would line up along 15th Street for several blocks. Sometimes, the line of trucks would stretch as far south as Clearlake Ave. Each truck would get tested, weighed, and dumped on the north side of the plant. A typical day during the Wheat Rush would see 700-1000 grain trucks unloaded.
The Pillsbury Neighborhood looked forward to the Wheat Rush. Children in the area would set up lemonade stands. Sandwiches and snacks were commonly sold to the farmers and truck drivers along with lemonade. The Wheat Rush was an annual summertime activity that everyone looked forward to being a part of.
Tuesdays at the Dock have been well attended. We appreciate the great response and plan to enjoy these gatherings from 9:00 to 11:00 each Tuesday through September.
As a result of the Reunion Project, we now know more about the history of the plant than ever before. We also have a better sense of the lives that were impacted by the activities at the plant. Mostly good, some not so good, but all certainly worth knowing and sharing. We hope you will enjoy reading a few of these stories in the coming weeks and months.
A young lady named Doris is the subject of this Pillsbury story. She and her siblings were raised in a house on the 1300 block of N. 8th St. She graduated from Lanphier High School in 1955. Her first full-time job out of high school was at Pillsbury.
Doris and her family were members of Third Presbyterian Church (1030 N. 7th St.). A member of the church, Mr. Edward Palmen, was a Department Manager at Pillsbury. When she graduated from high school, he helped Doris get a job at Pillsbury. She worked as a clerk-typist for four years then married and moved on.
The 1956 City of Springfield directory was used as a reference in verification of the correct spelling for Palmen and for Doris’s job title. Note: Doris is listed as one of five people working at Pillsbury on that one page of the directory.
The mid-1950’s were the peak employment years for the Springfield Pillsbury plant. The Bakery and Grocery Mix expansion at the plant occurred in 1949 and that created more jobs. Goods were still largely being moved within the plant by hand carts. And the C-Mill was still in operation at this time (it stopped operating in 1964). Some estimates put the number of Pillsbury employees at 1500 in 1955.
We have heard several stories now of how people came to work at Pillsbury. Many have told us they had a family connection or a good friend that recommended them. This is a tried-and-true method for employment success and Doris’s story is a great example.
The Sunday edition of the Illinois State Register on April 28, 1929 had a frontpage headline that read: “PILLSBURY TO LOCATE BIG MILL HERE”. Work to build the flour mill began shortly after. Within a few months, local employees were hired. In February of 1930 the mill began limited operations as the workers fine-tuned the equipment.
The Sangamo Club. Photo Credit: Moving Pillsbury Forward.
The Sangamo Club hosted the grand opening public reception for the Pillsbury leaders that made their way to Springfield from Minneapolis on the afternoon of May 3, 1930. That same evening, 200 business leaders from Springfield attended a celebratory banquet at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel. An excerpt of the Illinois State Register article reads:
“Pillsbury’s Best” merited the city’s best today and Springfield was attired in holiday garb to celebrate the opening of the Pillsbury Plant. Catching the eye in numerous store windows both downtown and outlying sections of the city were engaging displays of the various Pillsbury food products. Flags also were displayed.
Several streets were lined with placards of greeting to the Minneapolis delegation and the trails from the business district to the plant were similarly marked.
The Sangamo Club was a part of “the city’s best” for a good long time…just as Pillsbury was.
This week we say farewell to The Sangamo Club…22 years after the last flour was milled at Pillsbury on May 24, 2001. Each had a good long run and deserves a special place in our Springfield memories.
Although it is a bit anticlimactic, we now know that the recently found “Bicep Doughboy” image was born in July of 1981. We successfully contacted the panel manufacturer (Automated Display Incorporated) after finding the panel model and serial numbers. The panel was created by the ADI team under contract from Pillsbury. The Pillsbury Company provided the Bicep Doughboy image for integration into the panel graphic. Clearly, the image was included as a symbol of pride in manufacturing at the Springfield plant. It speaks well to the company culture that existed. The image embodies everything we have heard from former Pillsbury employees…the Springfield plant was a great place to work, and many fond memories still exist.
Sooo…What does this mean for the doughboy origination story that has spawned from this research? Was the original doughboy created here in Springfield by an employee at the plant in the late 1950’s? Well, it is still quite plausible that Wynn “Wilky” Wilkins created the original doughboy image here in Springfield.
The circumstantial evidence is strong. Wynn worked at the Springfield plant as a teen then served in the Navy during WWII. He returned to work at Pillsbury in 1946, had art schooling, and is listed in the 1955 Springfield Safety Circle published at the local plant as “artist”. He clearly had the training and talent. There are many examples of his works. His best friend, Jim “Jaws” Shrake, told many people that Wynn was the originator and is said to have tried to convince Wynn to take credit for it. Several former employees at the plant also believe that Wynn was the originator.
What is missing here? Wynn not taking credit is missing. He was a salaried supervisor by the late 1950’s and may have felt that it was simply a part of his job. Afterall, he produced many images during his time at Pillsbury. It wasn’t until later, in 1965, that the doughboy became a big hit in advertising. Wynn left employment at Pillsbury in late 1962 or early 1963. He had moved on to other things by 1965. He passed away in 2010.
What else is missing? A signed and dated Wynn “Wilky” Wilkins doughboy image. We don’t yet have a doughboy image that can be tied to Wynn directly. Is there one (or more) that exists? Maybe. His descendants have not been able to find one. Former employees at the Springfield plant kept many of his cartoon images but there are no doughboys included.
So where does this leave us? We will continue looking for a doughboy image that can be tied directly to Wynn Wilkins. There is still a chance that there is one (or more) out there. We will also document former employee stories. It is hard to know where these will lead. The history here is fascinating.
We must also note that another former employee has been researched as a possible originator of the doughboy. George Colin was tagged in conversations early in our research. He worked at the Springfield Pillsbury plant from 1948 to 1975 and went on to become a well-known folk artist. His life story is well recorded. His existing family was contacted. They had no evidence, images or stories, from George Colin to support his being the doughboy originator.
Thanks for being a part of the Pillsbury Project,
MPF Research Team
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Yes, Wynn Wilkins is presumed to be the artist for the “Springfield Pillsbury Ship” image on the Springfield Safety Circle. It is easy to imagine that the doughboy with his sailor scarf was a crew member on that ship. Wynn and his best friend Jim both served in the Navy during WWII.
Moving Pillsbury Forward (MPF) announced last week that an early doughboy image was found at the former Springfield Pillsbury plant. MPF asked for your help to bring forth information about the “Bicep Doughboy” discovery. Various media outlets picked up on the story and aided us in the effort to get the story out to the community. MPF is pleased to report that the collective effort worked. There were several new leads regarding the history of the “Bicep Doughboy” image. This information has been documented as accurately as possible. The new leads have proven to be fascinating.
The story begins with two local teenagers who went to work at the Springfield Pillsbury Mill in the early 1940s. Both young men were born in 1925, worked at Pillsbury, then joined the Navy and served during WWII. Both men returned from the war and went back to work at the Springfield Pillsbury plant. They remained best friends for the rest of their lives.
Wynn “Wilky” Wilkins and Jim “Jaws” Shrake were well known at the Springfield Pillsbury plant in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s. Wynn was known for making cartoon sketches of his friend Jim (and other coworkers) and posting them around the plant in break rooms and various other areas of Pillsbury. Early in his life Wilkins had taken up art and attended art school. He continued in art by sketching works for the local Pillsbury newsletter known as “The Springfield Safety Circle” that originated in 1949. In a recently documented 1955 issue he is listed as Wynn Wilkins – Artist.
Wynn Wilkins was promoted to a salaried supervisor position at the plant sometime in the mid to late 1950s. He continued his sketch work and even made a few dollars on the side doing advertising pieces. He had honed his artist’s craft well enough to gain good attention.
The story as told by Wilkins and Shrake family members is that Wynn drew a doughboy sketch and gave it to the plant manager. The manager then passed it along to the Minneapolis Pillsbury headquarters. From there it is unknown just what happened to the sketch. Later, Wynn was offered a promotion within the Pillsbury Company but would have had to relocate to the headquarters in Minneapolis. He and his family decided to take a pass on the opportunity. In 1962 or 1963, Wynn shifted gears in life and took another full-time job away from Pillsbury. For the rest of Wynn’s working life, he would utilize his artistic talents in various ways.
Recent interviews with family members of Wynn Wilkins and James Shrake, several former Springfield Pillsbury employees, along with sketches and memorabilia from the families, has led to the plausible conclusion that Wynn Wilkins is the original artist of the “Bicep Doughboy” that has been found at the former Springfield Pillsbury plant.
We (MPF) understand that this narrative is counter to the doughboy origin narrative that has been put forth by others over the years. Clearly, the timing involved in the Wynn Wilkins origination story pre-dates the famous 1965 doughboy origination story from the Leo Burnett team. The two origin stories are in direct conflict with each other.
Can the Wynn Wilkins doughboy origination story be proven? Not Likely. Short of a Wynn Wilkins signed and dated doughboy, proof of origination is unlikely.
Can the Wynn Wilkins doughboy origination story be strengthened with more research? Yes.
Additional research will possibly strengthen the plausible conclusion that artist and former Pillsbury employee Wynn Wilkins created the original doughboy image that was later crafted into a worldwide Pillsbury Company icon by the Leo Burnett team in 1965. It is likely that additional evidence can be found by conducting further investigations and collecting more information. Documentation through former employee interviews, archive searches, and personal records searches still need to take place.
The story presented here represents a fascinating new line of consideration for the true origin story of the iconic Pillsbury Doughboy. Since 1965 the famous Pillsbury Doughboy origin story from the Leo Burnett team has been widely accepted. No alternative existed until now. The newly exposed origin story with Wynn Wilkins as the artist is a credible and believable alternative. It is hard to know now which one is historically most accurate. What we do know is that the origin of the iconic Pillsbury Doughboy just became more interesting than ever.
Thanks to all who have contributed to this exciting adventure. Please, continue forwarding any new leads (images, information, documentation, etc.) that may bring historic clarity to the true origin of the iconic Pillsbury Doughboy.
Thank you!
Chris Richmond, Polly Poskin, & Tony DelGiorno Moving Pillsbury Forward pillsburyproject.org
Moving Pillsbury Forward is excited to announce that we have found an early doughboy image from the former Springfield Pillsbury Plant. Please contact us if you have any helpful information to add to our research on this image. We want to get the history and record of this image documented as accurately as possible.
The “Bicep Doughboy” found at the former Springfield Pillsbury plant is perhaps the earliest, and rarest known version of the iconic Pillsbury Doughboy. The “Bicep Doughboy” was found on a control panel door in the bakery mix portion of the former Springfield Pillsbury plant in early December 2022. The bakery mix area of the plant was built in 1949 and the panel is of unknown age at this time (March 2023). More research is needed to verify the age of the panel. The image likely dates to 1965 or earlier.
“Bicep Doughboy” on a control panel door in the bakery mix area
The “Bicep Doughboy”
The official Pillsbury Company story is that the Pillsbury Doughboy was created by a Chicago advertising agency hired by Pillsbury in 1965. Locally, however, employees of the former Pillsbury Mills plant in Springfield, Illinois tell a different story. They have reported that a Springfield plant employee sketched the original doughboy image.
The story the employees have reported is that an employee working at the plant sketched the original doughboy and placed many of his sketches at various locations around the plant. Most everyone working at the plant loved seeing them. Later, he placed a sketch in a company suggestion box, and eventually Pillbury paid him for the idea. This is said to have happened in the late 1950’s or early 1960’s.
Is our new found “Bicep Doughboy” one of these original sketches? Well, more research is needed. What we do know is that the employee stories and the physical evidence are compelling arguments for the doughboy being a Springfield original. At this point, it is hard to know for sure but, the doughboy may well have been born in Springfield and turned into a wolrd-wide advertising icon in Chicago.
PS: Moving Pillsbury Forward will be a guest on AM Springfield (Sports Radio 1450 AM) at 7:10 am, Wednesday, March 8th. The “Bicep Doughboy” will be the focal topic. Please tune-in/call-in as we work to advance our understanding of the doughboy story and this important piece of Springfield history.
