The obelisk is a monument to George Cormack, a former Montana State Senator, his wife
Claire (Disbrow) Sutherland and her siblings, Katharine D. Ransom, Gertrude D. McVay and Dallas Disbrow. The name Sutherland on the obelisk is for her first husband who died in 1930. George and Claire were married in 1938. In the years between her first husband's death and her marriage to George Cormack she took up art, becoming quite proficient and well known for her art.
The obelisk stands apart, near the far eastern edge of the cemetery, southeast of the large white marble war memorial.
We have all heard of
Wheaties, The Breakfast of Champions, but do you know who developed the product? Probably not. Neither did we until today. It turns out to have been one George Cormack who, in 1921 had the good fortune to be in the employ of the Washburn-Crosby Company, an affiliate of General Mills. See the story of Wheaties, and George's involvement, below.
George Cormack, a former State Senator from Big Hero county, was born in Scotland on June 17, 1870 and for several years was employed as head miller at the Washburn-Crosby Flour Milling Co., Minneapolis. This company became part of General Mills. It was he who developed Wheaties, "The Breakfast of Champions" in 1921, which was to become one of General Mills' most popular and long lived products. George passed away on September 26, 1953 and is interred with his wife Claire Cormack at this obelisk.
The Wheaties Story
Like many great inventions, Wheaties cereal was discovered almost by accident. In 1921, a health clinician in Minneapolis spilled bran gruel mix on a hot stove. The gruel baked into a crispy flake. Upon tasting his new creation, he decided it had promise.
The flakes were brought to researchers at the Washburn Crosby Company where the head miller, George Cormack, set about perfecting the product. His top priority was making the flakes stronger so they didn’t turn to dust in the box. After testing more than 35 formulas,
Cormack finally found the perfect flake.
Jane Bausman, the wife of a General Mills export manager, won the
companywide naming contest for the new product. Her idea, “Wheaties,”
was chosen over entries such as Nutties and the original name, Gold
Medal Whole Wheat Flakes.
With sales lagging in 1929, General Mills considered discontinuing the product when advertising manager Sam Gale noticed that the majority of Wheaties customers were in regions where they could hear
the Wheaties Quartet. General Mills had introduced the Wheaties Quartet to radio listeners in Minneapolis in 1926. Its catchy tune
“Have You Tried Wheaties?” helped boost sales tremendously in the listening area with what is believed to be the first singing advertisement on radio. Gale urged the company to take the commercial
national. It did – and Wheaties sales soared.
In 1933, nine years after the cereal was introduced, Gale and legendary ad man Knox Reeves coined what would become one of the most famous advertising slogans in history – “The Breakfast of Champions.”
Gale was also the innovator behind the idea of sponsoring radio broadcasts of local baseball games. General Mills’ contract for the broadcasts of Minneapolis Millers games on WCCO included a large advertising sign board at the ballpark. Though details are sketchy, legend suggests the famous phrase was created as Reeves sketched a box of Wheaties and then wrote “Wheaties – The Breakfast of Champions.” Whether it was an agency copywriter, Gale or Knox Reeves himself, the slogan was posted, and an advertising legend was born – marking the Wheaties affiliation with champions.
Read about the
The Breakfast of Champions at General Mills.