The Kelloggs: The Battling Brothers Of Battle Creek

The Kelloggs: The Battling Brothers Of Battle Creek is a captivating story filled with family drama, rivalry, and the birth of a cereal empire. Let's delve into the compelling tale of how two brothers, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and Will Keith Kellogg, transformed Battle Creek, Michigan, into the breakfast capital of the world.

The Kellogg brothers were born in the mid-19th century and grew up in Battle Creek, a modest town in Michigan. Their journey began when John, the older brother, followed his passion for medicine and opened the Battle Creek Sanitarium. His beliefs in hygienic and vegetarian lifestyle practices shaped the foundation for the brothers' future endeavors.

Meanwhile, Will Kellogg, the younger brother, worked as a broom salesman. However, his ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit led him to experiment with John's corn flake recipes. Will saw the potential in these corn flakes and envisioned a revolutionary breakfast option for the masses.

The Kelloggs: The Battling Brothers of Battle Creek

by Howard Markel (Kindle Edition)

4.4 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	248927 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
X-Ray	:	Enabled
Word Wise	:	Enabled
Print length	:	510 pages

FREE

The brothers' different personalities soon clashed, leading to a bitter rivalry. John believed in the strict medical purposes of the corn flakes, while Will saw the commercial potential and aimed for mass production. Their disputes intensified until a pivotal moment that would forever change their lives.

In a twist of fate, Will Kellogg left John's sanitarium and founded his own company, the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company. This marked the beginning of the Kellogg Company, now a household name across the world. The brothers became fierce competitors, battling not only for business success but also for family legacy.

Over time, Will's marketing genius and business acumen propelled the Kellogg Company to new heights. He introduced innovative marketing strategies, including the iconic image of Tony the Tiger and Snap, Crackle, and Pop characters, captivating consumers' attention and turning Kellogg's into a prominent brand.

However, John Kellogg's contributions cannot be overlooked. He was a pioneer in the field of nutrition and a firm believer in the importance of a healthy lifestyle. His extensive research on digestive health and nutrition laid the groundwork for many dietary practices that we follow today.

As the years went by, the Kellogg brothers' rivalry simmered down. Both brothers achieved success in their respective fields and left an indelible mark on Battle Creek. The town itself became synonymous with the Kellogg legacy and the birthplace of the cereal revolution.

Today, the Kellogg Company stands as a testament to the enduring legacy of the Kellogg brothers. Their battles, both in and out of the boardroom, shaped the breakfast industry and revolutionized food manufacturing practices.

From humble beginnings in Battle Creek, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and Will Keith Kellogg rose to become two of the most influential figures in the food industry. Their enduring impact has forever shaped the way we view breakfast and healthy eating.

So the next time you pour yourself a bowl of Kellogg's cereal, take a moment to appreciate the legacy of the battling brothers of Battle Creek. Their story is a testament to the power of family dynamics, business acumen, and human resilience. It is a story worth remembering.

The Kelloggs: The Battling Brothers of Battle Creek

by Howard Markel (Kindle Edition)

4.4 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	248927 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
X-Ray	:	Enabled
Word Wise	:	Enabled
Print length	:	510 pages

FREE

***2017 National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist for Nonfiction***

"What's more American than Corn Flakes?" —Bing Crosby

From the much admired medical historian (“Markel shows just how compelling the medical history can be”—Andrea Barrett) and author of An Anatomy of Addiction (“Absorbing, vivid”—Sherwin Nuland, The New York Times Book Review, front page)—the story of America’s empire builders: John and Will Kellogg.
 
John Harvey Kellogg was one of America’s most beloved physicians; a best-selling author, lecturer, and health-magazine publisher; founder of the Battle Creek Sanitarium; and patron saint of the pursuit of wellness. His youngest brother, Will, was the founder of the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company, which revolutionized the mass production of food and what we eat for breakfast.
 
In The Kelloggs, Howard Markel tells the sweeping saga of these two extraordinary men, whose lifelong competition and enmity toward one another changed America’s notion of health and wellness from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries, and who helped change the course of American medicine, nutrition, wellness, and diet.
 
The Kelloggs were of Puritan stock, a family that came to the shores of New England in the mid-seventeenth century, that became one of the biggest in the county, and then renounced it all for the religious calling of Ellen Harmon White, a self-proclaimed prophetess, and James White, whose new Seventh-day Adventist theology was based on Christian principles and sound body, mind, and hygiene rules—Ellen called it “health reform.”
 
The Whites groomed the young John Kellogg for a central role in the Seventh-day Adventist Church and sent him to America’s finest Medical College. Kellogg’s main medical focus—and America’s number one malady: indigestion (Walt Whitman described it as “the great American evil”).
 
Markel gives us the life and times of the Kellogg brothers of Battle Creek: Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and his world-famous Battle Creek Sanitarium medical center, spa, and grand hotel attracted thousands actively pursuing health and well-being. Among the guests: Mary Todd Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, Booker T. Washington, Johnny Weissmuller, Dale Carnegie, Sojourner Truth, Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and George Bernard Shaw. And the presidents he advised: Taft, Harding, Hoover, and Roosevelt, with first lady Eleanor. The brothers Kellogg experimented on malt, wheat, and corn meal, and, tinkering with special ovens and toasting devices, came up with a ready-to-eat, easily digested cereal they called Corn Flakes.
 
As Markel chronicles the Kelloggs’ fascinating, Magnificent Ambersons–like ascent into the pantheon of American industrialists, we see the vast changes in American social mores that took shape in diet, health, medicine, philanthropy, and food manufacturing during seven decades—changing the lives of millions and helping to shape our industrial age.