After misplacing my recipe notebook in a recent move, I thrifted this 1940s recipe box by Gold Medal (now known as General Mills) to store my old recipes.

Gold Medal would have been one of the pioneering companies to adopt Home Economics in business practices, offering cooking tips and recipes for housewives through their women-led Home Service Department. Their most influential service was “Betty Crocker’s” radio program—who was not a real individual, but rather a marketing character—providing the first national cooking show in the USA. Due to the limited range of radio waves, “Betty Crocker” would have been played by dozens of voice actresses across each state; her image maintained under the purview of home economist Marjorie Husted.

After finding this box, I couldn’t help but taking it home after learning about its unique history.

If you’re interested in learning more, I highly recommend the book “The Secret History of Home Economics” by Danielle Dreilinger.