Wonder Bread was our country’s first manufacturer of sliced, white bread. The brand originated at a bakery in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1921. In 1930, the Taggart Baking Company began distributing pre-sliced bread nationwide.
Wonder Bread, however, did not invent sliced bread. Instead, a jeweler named Otto Rohwedder built the bread-slicing machine. He developed devices to help his work with jewelry and watches. Eventually, he decided to sell his jewelry stores to help fund his efforts to design another type of invention, the bread-slicing machine. Rohwedder received a patent and sold his first machine to the Chillicothe Baking Company in Chillicothe, Missouri. With its new device, the baking company commercially sold the first loaf of pre-packaged, pre-sliced bread on July 7, 1928.
While many wondered who would care if their bread was pre-sliced, it turned out just about everyone! Wonder Bread and other brands became successful products. Besides the pre-sliced bread, the sales of other products began to skyrocket. Since the commercial bread slicing machines cut thinner slices than most consumers would cut at home with a bread knife, people ate more pieces of bread at a time. More slices encouraged more spreads, such as jam and jellies, boosting the sales of those ancillary products. The original machine now sits in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC.
No matter how you slice it, you are welcome to receive the Bread of Life. Beginning this Sunday, we engage in a five-week lectionary series from the Gospel of John featuring Jesus’ bread of life discourse. We invite you to join us for worship to hear the Word of God. Would you mind worshiping with us this Sunday, July 25, at our 9:15 AM (indoors) or 10:30 AM (outdoors drive-in) liturgies? Renewing your faith will be the greatest thing since sliced bread!