YES! Weekly YES! Weekly
  • News
  • Food & Drink
  • Music
  • The Arts
  • Education
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Film
  • Local & Live
  • Photos
  • Calendar
  • Donate
  • Contact
Go to...

    Breaking News

    • Venezuela alleges Greensboro company transported
    • Stone Temple Pilots to headline
    • Greensboro City Council considers enforcing
    • Crime Stoppers Reward Increase for
    • CHRIS STAPLETON CONFIRMS 2019 “ALL-AMERICAN
    Home»Editor's picks » An American dream gone wrong

    An American dream gone wrong

    Mark Burger
    August 3, 2018
    Editor's picks, Literature, Opinion, The Arts
    Comments Off on An American dream gone wrong
    Views : 708
    0
    An American dream gone wrong

    JELL-O GIRLS by Allie Rowbottom. Published by Little, Brown and Company. 288 pages. $14.99 retail.

    When one thinks of Jell-O, it conjures up the inevitable sweet treat that so many of us enjoyed as young children or a tasty pudding pop on a hot summer’s day. The carefully crafted, and highly successful, advertising campaign all but stated that Jell-O represents America, or at the very least Americana. Having Norman Rockwell create the iconic advertising artwork went a long way toward perpetuating this idea.

    In the 1980s, Jell-O sales were given an unexpected, and certainly dubious, boost with the rise in popularity of alcoholic Jell-O shots, which became – and remain – a party staple, which yours truly can certainly attest to, having indulged in my first (but not last) Jell-O shots in college.

    Of course, entire generations remember those long-running, award-winning T.V. commercials in which Bill Cosby, seemingly the personification of paternal benevolence, promoted the product. That Cosby’s run as the Jell-O spokesperson lasted nearly three decades is a bitter irony, although not the first – or the last – to be found in Allie Rowbottom’s heartfelt memoir, Jell-O Girls.

    This nonfiction volume, however, is not so much concerned with the corporate history of Jell-O, although that figures to some extent in the narrative. Rather, it’s a deeply personal and frequently painful journey that’s all the more heartrending because it happens to be true.

    Rowbottom is a direct descendant of the Woodward family, which purchased the patent for Jell-O in 1899 for $450 – not an insignificant sum at that time. Before they sold their interest – Jell-O is now owned by Kraft Foods – the family saw its investment mushroom into millions. To compound the old adage that money doesn’t buy happiness, for Rowbottom’s family – particularly her grandmother Midge and mother Mary – it paved the way for misery. It is their stories that Rowbottom concentrates on in Jell-O Girls.

    The town of LeRoy, New York, where Jell-O was headquartered for years, remains synonymous with the product, even as sales and the town’s fortunes have waned over the years, due in no small part to claims that it’s not necessarily healthy for you. Indeed, a mystery illness struck several young girls in LeRoy in the early part of this century – a manifestation of what is euphemistically called the “Jell-O Curse,” perhaps?

    For years, Mary had drilled into Allie’s head the idea of the curse – much as Mary’s mother Midge had drilled it into hers. But as Allie delves into her mother’s history – and, by direct osmosis, her own – the idea of a curse proves perhaps to be well-founded. The author lays bare the details of a dysfunctional family that seemingly had everything, but it simply wasn’t enough.

    Long after the family’s financial stake in Jell-O ended, its specter still loomed large, even when not spoken of. When Mary is hospitalized for terminal cancer and has difficulty eating, she is – not surprisingly – served Jell-O. It’s almost as if the product remains on the periphery of their lives, almost taunting them, reminding them even in their weakest moments of its inescapable influence. It’s no exaggeration to say that anyone over the age of three knows what Jell-O is – and, more likely than not, loves it.

    Rowbottom is able to deftly avoid descending into melodrama, although the story would certainly make for a quintessential Hollywood soap opera. She brings a clear-eyed clarity to the story, incorporating both a conciliatory and a cathartic tone that keeps the story on track throughout, even in its darkest moments – of which there are many. Jell-O Girls is a fascinating story, and sometimes a hopeful one, but it’s not always a happy one. Coming as this does on the heels of Bill Cosby’s conviction for aggravated sexual assault (he’s due to be sentenced in September) – which is only briefly discussed in the book – one simply can’t think of Jell-O quite the same way again. The bitter has overtaken the sweet.

    For more information about Jell-O Girls, visit the website.

    See Mark Burger’s reviews of current movies on Burgervideo.com. © 2018, Mark Burger.

    Tags : 1899, Allie, Allie Rowbottom, americana, Bill Cosby, bitter, children, Hollywood soap opera, illness, investment, Jell-O, Jell-O curse, Jell-O Girls, Jello, Kraft Foods, LeRoy, LeRoy New York, Little Brown and Company, Mary, melodrama, memoir, Midge, mystery illness, New York, Norman Rockwell, product, pudding pop, sexual assault, soap opera, Summer, Sweet, terminal cancer, TV, TV commercials, Woodward Family
    Share :
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+
    • Pinterest
    • Linkedin
    • Email
    [Spotlight] Greensboro man wins big in poker
    Next article
    [Spotlight] Greensboro man wins big in poker
    Sonic painting with Caterpillar Hedge
    Previous article
    Sonic painting with Caterpillar Hedge

    Mark Burger

    Related Posts

    • Editor's picks, News February 19, 2019

      Fighting longer than the USA:

      Fighting longer than the USA: The 24-year war of Y’Khiem Ayun
      Education, The Arts February 19, 2019

      Summer Art Camps at Theatre

      Summer Art Camps at Theatre Art Galleries (TAG) of High Point
      News, The Arts February 18, 2019

      The Southeastern Center for Contemporary

      The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) Presents Exhibition Entitled:  Remembering Sam
    • Education, Music February 18, 2019

      Greensboro College Music Department Presents

      Greensboro College Music Department Presents “GC Live!”
      Editor's picks, News February 18, 2019

      ‘NEVER HOG-TIE a prisoner:’ Instructions

      ‘NEVER HOG-TIE a prisoner:’ Instructions on device warn against fatal restraint
      Music, News February 18, 2019

      Triad Stage announces it's 2019-2020

      Triad Stage announces it’s 2019-2020 Season with some exciting shows

    Support Local Journalism

    PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!

    e-Edition

    Advertisement

    Sponsored by









    Calendar

    Recent Posts

    • Fighting longer than the USA: The 24-year war of Y’Khiem Ayun
    • Summer Art Camps at Theatre Art Galleries (TAG) of High Point
    • BREAKING BENJAMIN ANNOUNCE NORTH AMERICAN SUMMER AMPHITHEATER TOUR WITH SPECIAL GUESTS CHEVELLE, THREE DAYS GRACE, DOROTHY, AND DIAMANTE
    • ABC of NC Receives Prestigious Joy W. Pope Memorial Grant in Human Services from the John William Pope Foundation
    • Reynolds American, Inc, BB&T, HanesBrands and Inmar Receive United Way Spirit of North Carolina Awards

    Recent Comments

    • Eight great things to do in the Triad: Feb. 15-17 | YES! Weekly on Anti-Valentine’s Day coming back your way
    • Live from the ADP presents: Gooseberry Jam | YES! Weekly – BidWin Content on Live from the ADP presents: Gooseberry Jam
    • So Cardi B won a Grammy…I’m not surprised | YES! Weekly – BidWin Content on So Cardi B won a Grammy…I’m not surprised
    • KITTLE TO HEADLINE WINSTON-SALEM DASH HOT STOVE BANQUET – Yes! Weekly | Chicago White Sox on FORMER WHITE SOX STAR RON KITTLE TO HEADLINE WINSTON-SALEM DASH HOT STOVE BANQUET
    • Dr. Ajit Kelkar Announced as Interim Director of New Centers of Excellence – JSNN on North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Creates Three Centers of Excellence; Interim Directors Named

    Tweets

    Tweets by @yesweekly

    Facebook

    YES! Weekly
    2018 COPYRIGHT WOMACK NEWSPAPERS, INC.