Friday Funnies

This is a lengthy Friday Funnies, but what's not-so-funny is that the story is absolutely true. Not only did it fool various media 85 years ago, but it's connected to my NJ hometown.

A newspaper story about the college and its star halfback

That's because, in 1941, one of the oddest sports hoaxes of all time was about a football team based in Plainfield, NJ. I learned of this notoriety several weeks ago through a small book, The Book of the Bizarre, Freaky Facts & Strange Stories a small 300-page treasure trove of unusual, stranger-than-fiction stories, usually limited to a page or less. 

One of these titled Don't Believe Everything You Read told the story of Plainfield teachers College football tea, that in 1941, had both a winning season and a star quarterback with its wins published in major newspapers. The problem was that the college and its team were the creation on a prankster NY stockbroker.

The story remains a legendary example of early 20th-century sports journalism, highlighting how easily made-up info could be accepted as truth. Somehow, it seems not dissimilar to current day AI.

While the book provided highlights, I wanted to learn more about how a NYC stockbroker fooled well-established newspapers and other media into printing the winning scores of a bogus football team. The school's star player, a fictional Chinese-American halfback, was described as a touchdown-scoring machine.

For 3 weeks, New York and regional Philadelphia newspapers published fabricated, winning game reports about this non-existent NJ team and its star player reporting the college's dominance in football games. Surprisingly, the reports were widely believed.

Who Started the Fantasy Football Team?

Morris Newburger, circa 1926

That distinction belongs to Morris Newburger and his business friends and co-conspirators, Lew Krupnick and Alexander Dannenbaum Jr.

Newburger was a senior partner at the family's Wall Street investment firm of Newburger, Loeb & Company and a 1926 graduate of Harvard University. The company dated to the 1860s when his grandfather (Morris Newburger) started a wholesale clothing business which transitioned into the securities business and continued until its 1974 bankruptcy.

Two of his passions were sports and pranks. Krupnick ran the mail room at the company. Dannenbaum, a friend of Newburger’s, was in the broadcast business in Philadelphia.

On Sundays, Newburger, read college football scores in NYC papers including those for small colleges like Slippery Rock State Teachers College in PA. He wondered if such colleges really existed or if a sports editor had invented them and printed game scores to fill up space. (Slippery Rock is an actual college founded as the Slippery Rock State Normal School in 1889, renamed Slippery Rock State Teachers College in 1926, and is now Slippery Rock University located in western  PA.)

Newburger soon realized that there was no way that reporters from any of the major NYC papers could attend any of these obscure games and that they depended on a school representative calling in game results every Saturday night.

That fact gave him an idea to phone in a score for a fictional school. He wanted to find out if it would get printed. So, on an Saturday in the fall of 1941, he called the sports desks of The New York Herald Tribune and told the reporter who answered that he was reporting a small-college football score: Plainfield Teachers College, 27 vs. Winona College, 3.

The call didn't arouse undue suspicion as it wasn't uncommon for smaller schools to phone in scores because of the lack of telegraph facilities. (Back then, New Jersey had actual teacher colleges in Jersey City, Newark, Paterson, Montclair, Glassboro and Trenton; none had a football team.) 

To Newburger's amusement, the score for Plainfield vs. Winona appeared in major papers the next day. The New York Times had the Plainfield-Winona score, on the first page of the sports section, near accounts of wins by Fordham, Army, Notre Dame and Dartmouth listed in alphabetical order. Plainfield-Winona was listed below Penn State.

Newburger set the teacher's college in Plainfield as it was hometown to his secretary. Another part of the prank was that teachers colleges back then were predominantly female, which made it unusual for one to have a powerhouse football team. 

The easy success of the hoax made Newburger believe that Plainfield Teachers College should continue its football season against nine also fictional teams. For the next few weeks, he called the sports desks of the papers every Saturday and, sure enough, scores for "Plainfield T." would appear in papers the next day. Plainfield was always victorious, crushing opponents in lopsided wins.

Based on these positive responses, Newburger soon recruited the help of Dannenbaum, who lived in Philadelphia, to phone scores in to the Philadelphia Record. At first, the they didn't coordinate about what team Plainfield had played. Sometimes, it had played a different opponent in Philadelphia than in New York so early reports in Philadelphia and New York papers had conflicting scores. Soon, they coordinated their reports and the reports matched.

The Team Gathered Strength

Newburger's ambitions for the Plainfield Teachers grew bigger as it now had a PR spokesperson, Jerry Croyden, actually Newburger. who installed a special phone line in his office to communicate with the papers about the team. The fictional Croyden was named after the Croyden Hotel in Manhattan.

As Croyden, Newburger sent news releases on newly-created Plainfield Teachers College stationery thanks to help from his mail room friend, Lew Krupnick. The team was named the Lions. Its coach was Ralph “Hurry Up” Hoblitzel who had once been a star player for another seemingly fictitious school, Spearfish Normal. This was actually a real school. Located in Spearfish, SD, it was renamed Black Hills Teachers College in 1941, became Black Hills State College in 1964, and was renamed Black Hills State University in 1989.

In the releases, Croyden went into detail about the team, noting its team colors (mauve and puce) and adding biographical information. He wrote that coach Hoblitzel had a unique offensive strategy, the "W" formation, in which when Plainfield players lined up with the ball in their possession, the two ends would face their own backfield so that they could "see immediately who has the ball." (I know zero about football and have no idea how this could work, but suspect it's a made-up play.)

Croyden/Newburger detailed games that Plainfield Teachers College had played earlier in the season, revealing that the team was unbeaten and untied. He created a made-up schedule of games for the 1941 playing season, including those before the first called-in win.

Sep 27: Plainfield vs. Benson Institute, 20-0

Oct 4: Plainfield vs. Scott, 12-0

Oct 11: Plainfield vs. Chesterton, 24-0

Oct 18: Plainfield vs. Fox (no known score)

Oct 25. Plainfield vs. Winona, 27-3

Nov 1: Plainfield vs. Randolph Tech (Away), 35-0

Nov 8: Plainfield vs. Ingersoll, 13-0

Nov 15: Plainfield vs. Appalachian Normal (no known score)

Nov 20: Plainfield vs. Harmony Teachers (Homecoming)

After decided to share his prank, Newburger asked fellow stockbrokers to come up with names for the players. The tall pass receiver was named "Boarding House Smithers" and the right tackle was  "Morris Newburger" who would prove critical to the team’s incredible success and ultimate downfall.

Johnny Chung cartoon

But, the most interestingly named player was sophomore star halfback, Johnny Chung, a 6-foot-3, 212-pound full-blooded half-Chinese, half-Hawaiian halfback called The Celestial Comet, who averaged an astounding (and record-breaking) 9.3 yards per carry. Chung reportedly ate rice at halftime to boost his strength and seemed destined for a future as an All-American. By today's standards this would be considered a racial stereotype. It was the last name of someone Newburger knew, a dry cleaner.

One of Croyden's fake press releases was passed to New York Post reporter Herbert Allan, who wrote glowing lines about Chung in aNovember 8, 1941 Saturday College Grapevine column: John Chung, Plainfield Teachers' Chinese sophomore halfback, has accounted for 57 of the 98 points scored by his unbeaten and untied team in four starts.

Press interest was growing steadily about this small town college football team with speculation that Plainfield might secure a bid to a small-college bowl game. This wasn’t a problem.Newburger was ready and planned for the team to play in the non-existent Blackboard Bowl in Atlantic City, NJ, at the end of the season.

Newburger managed to get Plainfield's scores into papers for several consecutive weeks. After defeating Winona, it continued its undefeated season on November 1 by crushing Randolph Tech 35-0 and followed this up with a November 8 win against Ingersoll 13-0.

The Whistle Was Blown — Who Did It?

Newspapers published the fabricated scores without fail for weeks as the team's popularity grew. By now, Newburger had started believing his own fantasy, and was talking freely with friends as though the college was a reality. Others also heard about what was going on.

But that popularity brought doubt as well and that started investigations into the school's legitimacy. It’s unclear exactly how the hoax was exposed or who was responsible.

One story is that a disgruntled Wall Street broker called The Herald Tribune and said: I'll give you a tip. There ain't no such college as Plainfield Teachers. Bunch of fellows down on Wall Street are kidding you.

Another is that Time magazine learned of the hoax, but as a weekly publication, its Sports Page Error story didn't appear until Monday, November 17, 1941, three days after it broke in the newspapers.

Meanwhile, Irving Marsh, assistant sports editor at The Herald Tribune, had called the Board of Education in Plainfield, NJ, and learned it had no such college. Reporter Caswell Adams, wrote about the hoax on Friday, November 14. His article, Brokers Find Phantom School Easy to Sell in Football, included the words: Perfect record made on paper. Hail to thee, our ghostly college, product of a dream!

That same week United Press sent the following cryptic message to client newspapers: Plainfield (NJ) Teachers College has abandoned football. They not only are unbeaten and untied. They are unreal.

After its unveiling, the hoax was surprisingly well received and several papers that had reported on the fictional school published tributes. After the hoax was traced to Newburger, he reportedly asked The New York Times to allow Plainfield Teachers to finish the season and play in the Blackboard Bowl. He said that Plainfield was set to face Appalachian Tech that week followed by Harmony Teachers for the Homecoming game on Thanksgiving Day after its undefeated season.

However the paper refused to play along and its November 17 issue had a statement: For three weeks running, the sports page of the New York Times has dutifully recorded the football victories of Plainfield (NJ) Teachers College. The Philadelphia Record and other papers also took notice of unbeaten Plainfield Teachers. The only error in all the reports was that Plainfield and its opponents were nonexistent.

In response, Newburger, as Croyden, wrote a final press release describing how the team had to forfeit its remaining games since so many players had failed their midterm exams, including Johnny Chung, adding that the team would not appear in the Blackboard Bowl.

That release was never printed, but The Philadelphia Record, which also had bought into the hoax, took a seemingly disappointed attitude that Plainfield Teachers College was gone. In an unsigned item titled Football Casualty was the wording that the newspaper regretted the passing (of Plainfield Teachers). We don’t see why exposure of the gag should have to end the team’s career. It should keep playing the rest of the season. We want to know how it made out with the now-cancelled games and if the Celestial Comet could have made All-American.

Perhaps, the hoax had provided some needed levity as it ended a few weeks before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Newburger and Dannenbaum both served in WW II as officers with the Army Air Corps and Signal Corps. No information was available on Lew Krupnick.

And now myself and all of you know the rest of the story. Plainfield Teachers College will always be remembered as having been unbeaten, untied and definitely unreal.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

It's a rainy start in Nashua, NH, with summer heat returning next week

Wizard of Menlo Park

While in our home state of NJ for the recent holiday, we went to a site we'd never visited during all years of living there. Considering that it's dedicated to one of the state's most famous residents, this was definitely a much-belated road stop.

Thomas Edison Center at Menlo Park, NJ, museum and tower

The Thomas Edison Center at Menlo Park, which includes the Edison Memorial Tower and Menlo Park Museum, is located in the Menlo Park area of Edison, Middlesex County, NJ. Edison has been credited with inventing for so many technologies of modern life, not just the phonograph. 

By the time of his 1931 death, Edison held 1,093 patents covering the creation or refinements of devices in telegraphy, telephony, electric power generation, lighting, sound recording, motion pictures, storage batteries and cement technology. He was also a successful manufacturer and businessman who marketed his inventions to the public. Today, there are inventors who have surpassed Edison's number of patents.

Thomas A Edison Memorial Tower

The 131-foot tall Thomas A. Edison Memorial Tower marks the location of Edison's laboratory (nothing remains today). The tower, designed in 1937 by Gabriel Francois Massena and Alfred F. duPont of Wilmington, DE, was dedicated February 11, 1938. This was seven years after Edison's death on what would have been his 91st birthday. The Art Deco style of the tower shaft tapers upward to a 13-foot, 8-inch high replica of Edison’s first practical incandescent bulb which was made of Pyrex segments by the Corning Corporation. Since this design focuses attention to the light at the top, it also enhances the tower's sense of monumental height. 

The tower possesses architectural significance for its stylistic expression, construction techniques and use of architectural concrete. In November 1979, it was listed on the NJ State and National Registers of Historic Places as a significant commemorative landmark. It was closed in 1992 after slabs of concrete began falling from the 54-year-old structure and was put on the list of the state's most endangered historic sites. In 1997, the Edison Township Memorial Corporation started a $3.87 million renovation which ran from 2011-2015. Completion was marked by a re-dedication ceremony which included re-lighting the tower. 

Edison Center Museum, NJ

The small, two-room Edison museum houses a collection of memorabilia including historic light bulbs and portions of Edison's electric train track. In the 1880s, Edison created an experimental electric locomotive and test track at Menlo Park. Powered by electricity sent through the rails, the locomotive operated over a 3-mile track.

The museum highlights many of Edison's inventions including not only the phonograph but many of his light bulbs, as well as photographs of Edison's Menlo Park property and family. The museum is staffed by volunteers with limited hours and unfortunately, it wasn't open the day of our visit. While tours are free, the Edison Tower Memorial Corp. recommends a $5 per person donation. Hopefully, on a future NJ trip we can visit during opening times.

Menlo Park, NJ, was named after the town of Menlo Park, CA, which was the site of an unsuccessful real estate development. In 1954, the township of Menlo Park was renamed Edison Township in 1954 to honor its former resident. Over the next few years, the existing train station was renamed Edison, a post office was established, and all the fire companies in the various neighborhoods were consolidated into the Edison Fire Company.

An inventor and businessman, Edison resided in NJ for over 50 years, not only in Menlo Park, but also in Newark and West Orange. Menlo Park was his home from 1876 to 1882 and it's where he set up his research laboratory and later created what became known as the Invention Factory, the first research and development facility in the world. 

In the early 1870s, Menlo Park was a sparsely populated rural area. Edison purchased two parcels of land, about 34 acres in late 1875. He built the main laboratory building on the block south of Christie Street and built other ancillary buildings including the glass house, a carpenters’ shop, a carbon shed, and a blacksmith shop. By the Spring of 1876, Edison’s Menlo Park laboratory was the world’s first such research and development facility. 

Menlo Park Laboratory Site, Winter 1880-1881

Edison's extensive lab facilities and large staff gave Edison a major advantage over other inventors. He could work on different parts of a system or different inventions at the same time. He's credited with over 600 inventions including the phonograph, which led to Menlo Park being called the "Birthplace of Recorded Sound." The first words that Edison successfully recorded on the phonograph were “Mary had a Little Lamb.” By 1878, this invention was known all around the world and Edison became known as “The Wizard of Menlo Park.” 

Christie St became world's first street lit by lightbulbs in 1879

After the success of the photograph, Edison's next big invention was a successful incandescent lightbulb. Others  had been working on making light bulbs before. None of these earlier bulbs worked for more than a few minutes. On October 21, 1879, Edison’s bulb burned for a continuous 13-1/2 half hours. The next bulbs lasted 40 hours. By Christmas, Edison and his team worked to light the laboratory and his home with several of the new light bulbs, and on New Year’s Eve, Christie Street became the world’s first street to be lit by incandescent light bulbs with the aid of a power system designed by Edison. There's always a NJ connection; this was a very good one.

By the summer of 1880, Edison had perfected the incandescent bulb enough to be able to produce and sell it in large quantities. He remodeled a wooden building to serve as a Lamp Factory, established the Edison Electric Light Company and began working on using electricity for other purposes.

In 1887, Edison moved his laboratory out of Menlo Park into a new and much larger laboratory in West Orange, NJ. He spent the remaining 44 years of his life there, continuing to improve his earlier inventions and creating new ones including the motion picture camera. He died on October 18, 1931 at the age of 84. U.S. President Herbert Hoover on learning of Edison's death broadcast a nationwide radio address on Edison's great achievements and contributions to the progress of mankind.

Foundation outline of Edison's Office and Library, 1879-1884 

After Edison left Menlo Park, the property was abandoned; many buildings were occupied by squatters. The laboratory building was used as a theater, a dance hall, and a barn. Edison’s office, library building and home were used as private residences. The carbon shed was used as a chicken shed. Buildings continued to deteriorate and  completely fall apart. Edison’s home was destroyed in fire in 1914; his office and library building met the same fate in 1919. The laboratory, machine shop and other buildings were scavenged for building materials. By 1926, most of the buildings had either collapsed or burned.

The only two buildings left were moved to Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI, where industrialist Henry Ford, a close friend of Edison, constructed a replica of the Menlo Park complex. Ford hired experts to locate surviving material belonging to the original Menlo Park laboratory and a reconstructed model of the building is now located there.

Greenfield Village is a collection of nearly 100 historic buildings on a 200-acre site. It was established in 1933 by Ford, who relocated or reconstructed buildings there from throughout the U.S. On a future road trip, it's definitely on our list of must-see places.

How about you — are there places in your area that you have never visited?

NJ Easter Road Trip

We were on the road once again last week, which will come as no surprise to regular readers of this blog as we are often many times on getaways, short or long. This was a family visit trip.

Siblings, Dorothy & Tony

Last week's road trip was to our home state of NJ for a two-fold celebration. My brother, Tony, had marked a birthday earlier in the week. We celebrated with him at a birthday lunch on an unseasonably warm day as you can see from our jacket-less attire. Although we ate dined indoors, the outdoor temperatures were in the 80s last Thursday in NJ.

Back to the NJ road trip and more family photos.

Great nieces, Autumn and Savannah

The only youngster at this year's Easter get together was our great niece Autumn Rose. There was a traditional egg hunt in the front yard, arranged by her grandmother (my brother's wife). Her cousin, Savannah, celebrated in FL with her mom, my brother's younger daughter. These 3-1/2 year olds were born 2 weeks apart and will reunite this coming summer when Jamie and family visit NJ.

Tony & Patrick, Autumn & parents (Julie & Michael), and Us

No holiday get together would be complete without a bit of fun which my brother's wife (Anita) always provides at the dinner table. My brother donned bunny ears, Grenville wore the new shirt he bought in NJ during our getaway. Autumn and parents and ourselves with bunny glasses.

If you're from New Jersey, pork roll, also called Taylor ham, is a breakfast staple. This processed pork product consists of spices, salt, sugar cure, and preservatives and is smoked before packaging. According to the manufacturer, Taylor Provisions of Trenton, NJ,  the official product name is John Taylor's Taylor Pork Roll, which at first only came in a tube-like casing. It still does, but now also comes sliced in boxes. A few years ago, my brother sent us several of these as a holiday gift which Grenville said was the best choice!

Other companies produce similar products, but Taylor Provisions is the originator. According to Grenville, and others, those others are impostors. While found in most NJ supermarkets, into Pennsylvania and parts of Maryland, it's not easily found here in Nashua, NH, aside from one local deli.

We hope that your—Easter or Passover—was celebrated with family, friends or both. In NJ, holiday dinner ended with this sweet dessert 🐰.

Yes, it was very delicious 😋. There's no such thing as calorie-counting on a holiday which is a very good thing as we are back again on the South Beach diet plan. It's been called a life style, which is more in keeping with my future eating plans. We started before the holiday (of course, not the best time, but then is there ever one?) We returned home without any gains, maintaining our pre-trip weights. 

Blog reading and commenting, which was on hold during our travels, will resume this week in between laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning. Going away is always fun, but catching up at home takes a while—until the next getaway in May for our 1st date anniversary.

We Went "Peopling"

Tis true, we've been off on a(nother) road trip the past week and a half. Unlike previous ones, this trip was to visit with people not to see places. Not just any folks, but the best type — family and long-time friends, many most of whom we hadn't seen in awhile.

Faces of family & friends visited in NJ and PA

We traveled to our home state of NJ, then to PA, and back to NJ before returning to NH.

My brother, Tony and wife, Anita, long-time friend, Margaret, and us in NJ

Our first NJ visit was to long-time friend, Margaret, a neighbor of my late parents. She celebrated her 94th birthday this past June. We spent a wonderful visit at her home before going to lunch with my brother, Anthony (Tony) and sister-in-law, Anita. We also visited Virginia, shown in the top right collage photo, an amazing 93 years young who knew my late. She and Margaret are friends who talk every evening.

Tony my "baby" brother is three years younger than myself and my only sibling.

Long time NJ friends, Jill & Art

Another NJ visit was with longtime friends Jill and Art. Jill and myself were co-workers over 25 years ago and we have maintained a now long-distance friends. 

Even longer friends, Sara & David in PA

An even longer friendship is that of Sara and David, fellow NJ natives, who now live in New Holland near Lancaster, PA. A highlight of our get togethers is to take a group shot followed by separate photo pairings. It's always fun the next time we see each another to compare pics from the previous time(s). My friendship with Sara predates her marriage; we attended high school together in NJ, many years ago.

This PA hotel is a steamboat-type accommodation on land

One of the most unique lodging experiences in Lancaster, PA, is at the Fulton Steamboat Inn, a steamboat environment on land in unique nautical or Victorian themed guest rooms. This was our accommodations thanks to a gift certificate received last holiday season from PA family members.

Why is a steamboat in the middle of Lancaster County, PA?

It's because Robert Fulton, the man credited with developing the idea of propelling boats by steam, was born in 1765 in a small farmhouse a few miles south of this location. 

In 1807, Fulton teamed with another engineer, and they designed and constructed the first successful steam powered ship, The Clermont. Fulton is credited with turning the steamboat into a commercial success and transforming transportation history.

Faces of youngest granddaughter

Our PA visit was to spend time with the youngest granddaughter. We were looking forward to seeing her play soccer on Saturday morning, but she didn't play.

We shared grandparent time 

While this was basically an indoors visit, sometimes those can be fun with game playing, coloring, story reading and naps too. 

This road trip was a busy one with many visits. As much as we enjoy seeing new places, there's nothing better than spending time with family and friends. We're sure you agree.

A 94th in NJ

We took our first extended road 🚗 trip last week. We've been on road trips the past several months, but all of these have been within New England. This trip was to our native NJ for a long overdue (18 months) visit with family and friends.

But, the main purpose besides visits, was to celebrate a very special  94th birthday of our friend, Margaret. She and her late husband, Edward, were the nicest neighbors who lived across the street from my parent's and my childhood home. Margaret still lives there, alone now since Edward passed. She's quite self-sufficient and even still driving locally. A niece living nearby often takes her out as well. We so admire and love this remarkable lady, and were thankful and happy to have been able to spend time with and celebrate with her.

Our NJ friend, Margaret, was 94 years young last week

The last time we visited NJ and visited with her was December 2019, and despite the months passing, we've kept in contact through weekly phone chats and snail-mail. Now, that we've all been vaccinated, it was wonderful to give hugs. We went to dinner with my brother (Tony) and sister-in-law (Anita). We pre-celebrated Anita's July birthday as we won't be back in NJ then.

This extended trip took 5 days including the 6-hour travel time from NH to NJ and vice versa. We were happy to see family and friends. It entailed a bit of drive time as none of them live near one another, and we visited with several couples as time allowed. And, there were other celebrations as well. My oldest childhood friend and husband (Phyllis and Jack) told us their 51st wedding anniversary was the day we went out for breakfast together 🥂.

Great niece Autumn Rose at 20 months

Yes, the youngest family members are growing up, as shown in these photos of our great niece, Autumn Rose, who is nearly 20 months old. She and her parents were at my brother's home  when we visited over the weekend.

Autumn Rose with mom Julie and "Pop-Pop" Tony

It was game time with mom Julie and my brother, Tony, also known as "pop-pop." 

Great niece Savannah Marie, 20 months & great nephew Nicholas James, 1 month

This is her cousin, our other great niece, Savannah Marie with baby brother and great nephew Nicholas James. These youngsters live in FL and the updated photos were sent by their mom (niece Jamie) during our visit. 

Grenville at White Castle, a favorite NJ fast food eatery

For Grenville, no NJ trip would be complete without a stop at White Castle, his favorite fast food eatery. Unfortunately, there are none in New England, so he had a fix at one near our South Plainfield, NJ hotel. Maybe that's why we always stays at that Hampton Inn 😋

White Castle celebrates its 100 birthday this year. The family-owned business (no franchises) was founded in 1921 by Walt Anderson and Billy Ingram in Wichita, KS. White Castle still sells its steamed beef patty with onions and a pickle, cheeseburgers also available. These small, square hamburgers are so easy to eat, that they were dubbed Sliders and sold by the sack. In 1921, White Castle was the first fast food hamburger establishment. By 1927, co-founder Ingram came up with the idea of carry-out and inaugurated the now familiar ad of Selling ‘em by the sack, which is how they are still sold today. Throughout the company's existence, the Ingram family's decision not to franchise or take on debt has kept this chain relatively small compared to similar restaurants.

The Polar Cub, Whitehouse, NJ, no road trip is complete without ice cream

Of course, for us no road trip would be complete without one of our favorites🍦and not just at any roadside stand. Its official beginnings are unknown, however, the Polar Cub in Whitehouse, NJ, has been a very popular highway creamery since the 1950s. While, the pandemic shuttered the stand last year, it reopened for the 2021 season in mid-May, luckily just before our visit. 

Yes, we were happy to be in the area after a late breakfast with friends. This was a lunch stop. Doesn't everyone believe in dessert first or last?

Thanks for your comments on last week's post about The Dumb Guy Museum in Portsmouth, NH. We agree it was the most unique museum we've visited on our travels to date. While, it might be hard to beat this find on future road trips, we'll definitely keep looking 👀.

We Ate at a Castle

Not just any castle, mind you, but one that's generally recognized as the first U.S. fast-food burger chain. Maybe some folks reading this post already know the answer.
If not, the answer may surprise you, unless you knew the answer — White Castle.

If you knew that, did you also know that this regional hamburger chain differs from other burger chains because, unlike its burger competitors, White Castle is not a franchise operation. Since it started in 1921, this burger joint has always been a privately-owned company and remains so to this day. 

First NJ White Castle, July 1930

White Castle is beloved by burger aficionados for its menu staple of small square burgers referred to as “Sliders®.” This signature burger is made with 100% beef, steam grilled on a bed of onions, and served with a slice of pickle on a signature bun. The burgers are not cooked directly over heat.

There are over 420 White Castle outlets in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin. The most are in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois; fewest are in Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

As NJ natives, we've previously enjoyed these burgers. Sadly, we now live in New England where there are no White Castles. 

Grenville needed a "fix." 

Luckily, there are some White Castles in the metro NY-NJ area, even luckier, we were in NJ visiting family for the Easter holiday. There was one within 5 minutes of our South Plainfield, NJ hotel. Another was 20 minutes away in Greenbrook, NJ. We didn't visit both locations. The design has changed from the 1930s one above to this one (left). So have prices and a slider that was 5 cents in the 1920s was 72 cents plus tax.  

 The
We happily downed several sliders each — Did I mention these are small burgers? Our "combos" came with a drink and fries. The fries were not as good as the burgers, so we'll skip them next time. Grenville ordered the bacon burger and my choice was the original cheeseburger. We'll also skip the bacon burger, based on Grenville's taste test. If you go to a White Castle, try the tried and true burgers or cheeseburger sliders. You won't go wrong.

Originally, burgers were sold in a paper bag after being individually put in a cardboard box (see below). Buying them this way, you got "a sack of sliders." Purchase options now include Castle Packs of 7, 8 or 9, buy'em® by the sack® of 10, Crave Case® of 30, or a Crave Crate® of 100 burgers for seriously addicted aficionados. 

Walter Anderson and Edgar Waldo “Billy” Ingram started White Castle with $700 in 1921. It was incorporated in 1924 as the White Castle System of Eating Houses Corporation. The original White Castle was on the corner of First and Main Street in Wichita, KS and is long gone.

Walter Anderson & Billy Ingram and early White Castles

A 1904 novel, The Jungle, an expose by American novelist Upton Sinclair had publicized unsanitary conditions of the U.S meat-packing industry in Chicago and other cities. Some considered the book mostly a work of fiction, but it sparked food safety legislation. The U.S. Food and Drug Act was passed in 1906 largely due to public response.

Because of Upton's novel, Anderson and Ingram wanted to change the public's perception of their new industry which had beef as the main ingredient. The two men wanted the restaurants they opened, small white buildings with stainless steel interiors, to present a sense of cleanliness. Employees dressed in uniforms with no facial or long hair, most were male back then. The same type of building existed from 1924 to 1929.

In 1933, Anderson sold his half of the business to Ingram who then closed restaurants in the smallest profit markets, including those in Wichita and Omaha, NE. He also relocated the corporate headquarters to Columbus, OH. Not surprisingly that state now has the largest number of White Castles. Yet, since 1938 there hasn't a single WC in the entire state of Kansas, where it all began. But KS folks can satisfy their burger fix in neighboring Missouri which has over 50 of them.

Since McDonald's and Burger King started up much later, there was no fast burger food when White Castle began. The company established centrally-located bakeries, meat supply plants and warehouses to self-supply the business. In 1932, Ingram set up a subsidiary to produce the iconic paper hats that employees wore, as well as other paper products used in the restaurant from packaging to serving.

White Castle initiated chain-wide standardized methods of operation to ensure that customers would receive the same product and service in every location.  The White Castle Pledge is: Serving the finest products, for the least cost, in the cleanest surroundings, with the most courteous personnel. 

Anderson is credited with inventing the hamburger bun, kitchen assembly line and the cook as a replaceable technician. In 1934, he formed a White Castle subsidiary, Porcelain Steel Buildings (PSB) Co. to manufacture portable restaurant buildings that could be moved for standardization.

In the beginning, burgers were prepared using the White Castle System, so that cooks at any location could produce nearly-identical small square burgers. Burgers were cooked according to a specific recipe: ground beef balls were placed on a hot grill and topped with tiny shredded onions, then burgers were flipped and squashed into a patty. The bottom bun was placed on top, and a pickle and the top bun were added.

That formula existed until 1949, when the five-hole hamburger patty debuted. The recipe was changed to reduce long lines of waiting customers. These five-hole burgers were steamed on a bed of shredded onions. They not only cooked faster, but this process eliminated flipping and the burgers were more flavorful. 

When the first White Castle in the far western U.S. opened in Nevada on the Las Vegas strip in 2015, it marked the company's first expansion into a new state in 56 years. Demand was so great that the restaurant closed for 2 hours to restock and sold 4,000 sliders per hour in its first 12 hours, reportedly the largest demand in its 94-year history.

Supermarket purchase to our freezer

Since 1977, a subsidiary company, White Castle Distributing, Inc., has been marketing products in supermarkets nationwide including hamburgers, cheeseburgers, breakfast burgers, veggie burgers, and black bean burgers. Availability varies by supermarket chain and, once again, Grenville luckily found them in the frozen food section of a local supermarket, so can have his "fix" at home. 

Takeout White Castle being enjoyed at family dining table in 1940s

The Ingram family’s decision not to franchise or take on debt has kept the chain relatively small compared to other fast food companies. For example, there’s nearly 40,000 McDonald’s locations worldwide; 14,000 in the U.S. alone. 

More White Castle facts . . .

• Pioneered first use of restaurant newspaper coupons which ran in a St Louis, MO, paper in June 1932. A carryout order of 5 burgers for 10 cents was a great deal during the depression as burgers were normally 5 cents each. 
• First fast-food restaurant to sell over 1 billion burgers, reaching that milestone in 1961 ahead of competitors, but WC started earlier.
• Credited with starting National Hamburger Month in 1992. Annually every May, burger promotions now tempt burger fans.

Photo Credits: Vintage b&w photos in this post were displayed inside a White Castle in South Plainfield, NJ. Very few photos had detailed captions. Seeing them was a step-back-in-time.