(1960s)
By Ron Goulart
If you're like me, you read the back of cereal boxes. When I was a kid, they were colorful things, filled with offers for toys (send in your boxtops) and other things. Definitely kid's territory.
Which could be a problem if you had a cereal for adults. This was long before nutrition was a selling point, so the question was what to put on the box?
Ralston-Purina, makers of Chex Cereal (and Purina Dog Chow) decided to do something different. They hired an ad copywriter (Ron Goulart) to write a newspaper parody on the back of their boxes. Thus, the Morning Chex Press was born.
Every few months, a new box would come out. They were filled with jokes, oddball stories, a weather report, and the "No Pictures Comic Strip." The results were a delight. I think one reason I still love Corn Chex and Rice Chex is thinking about the old Chex Press. I'll admit I don't remember too many details (even the Internet gives no specifics), but I do remember looking forward to reading the box each time we bought a new one.
Goulart was just starting his career as a writer. He later developed into one of the funniest writers in science fiction before branching out to write mysteries, including a fairly recent series featuring Groucho Marx as a detective. He's also well known for his various books on popular culture.
It seems unlikely that the Chex Press will be seen again. Cereal boxes are even more ephemeral than regular newspapers (which at least have microfilm). And Ralston-Purina spun off its human food division, which was then sold to General Mills in 1997, as Ralston decided to concentrate on manufacturing store brand cereals instead of their own (which leads to an interesting point: if you buy store brand Chex-equivalent, you're buying from the original manufacturer; if you buy Chex, you are not).
In any case, the Chex Press seems gone for good. I'm somewhat saddened that I can't go back and see what I liked so much.
23 comments:
At least some one else remembers The Chex Press. I always wondered what happen to it. I used to look forward to reading it also. It may be gone,,but not forgotten. Maybe General Mills will have enough marketing brains to bring it back.
I too fondly remember reading the Chex Press. Aren't there some copies somewhere??
we were just laughing about Yoo Hoo (Son of Yoo Hoo, Ma & Pa Yoo Hoo, Yoo Hoo on the Moon). Anyone remember those ?
I liked Rice Chex. I also liked Cheerios, Rice Krispies, Puffed Wheat, Corn Flakes. I liked Rice Chex the most because "Morning Chex Press" made me laugh. I stopped buying it when they stopped.
I was just thinking about this, remembering in particular the movie reviews, often referring to an actress, "bubbly Panda Gish." One of her vehicles was a musical, "Hello, von Richtofen, Hello" This was in 1963. I have always wondered if that in any way inspired "Oh What A Lovely War"
I always looked forward to the Morning Chex Press. No one could get my attention while I was reading it.
This is the only decent Google hit searching for the old Chex Press. They were extremely funny and unusually hip for a large corporation. I remember an album review of an organist named "J. Thunder Zeus." There is/was an actual organist named E. Power Biggs.
I remember an automotive column in the Chex Press in which a reader wrote in saying: I am a big man and I like to drive a big car. That's why I purchased a Haller Mammoth. The only problem is that it is three lanes wide. Do you have any advice?
The response was: I think you may have two Mammoths there side by side. Please check and see if I'm not right.
I once heard the Car Talk guys mention the Haller Mammoth on their radio show, but only caught a moment of it and did not hear what the context was.
The Chex Press was a big influence on my life, believe it or not. I actually now am the publisher of a small community paper in Brooklyn, NY. I don't know if tearing the paper apart from the back cover of the cereal box had anything to do with it, but who knows. I believe I might have saved one or two, which would still be at my mom's house. If I find one, I will let all here know. Like you all, I thought I was the only one who remembered it. By the way, I haven't seen the cereals themselves for a while. I know that Ralston keeps getting bought up by this company or that - all I see is the snack food in delis.
Ralston Purina sold the Chex brand to General Mills in 1994 to concentrate on their pet food and store brand cereal lines. You can find Chex in most supermarkets. Oddly, though, if you buy a store brand equivalent of Chex, you are getting it from Ralston Purina, the original manufacturer.
I liked them enough to save them. I still have 3 or 4in a dresser drawer. I had hoped my own children might enjoy them someday. Well, maybe the grandchildren will.
I just remember one joke. I would love seeing the Chex Press again. If you'll send images I'll put them online. dobsley@gmail.com
I think of it when I see a webpage thrusting 20 different videos in my face as I'm trying to read-- what was their line about kids cutting up cereal boxes (vs Chex Press never)?
Here's an image of a box:
http://www.mrbreakfast.com/cereal_ucp_slideshow.asp?id=311&picid=374
I remember a tip from a housewife. It went something like, "When my husband comes home after a really hard day at the office, I like to jump out from behind the door and break a big plastic bag of chicken noodle soup over his head. This always gets a big laugh at our house."
And I remember a tip from the household repairs section of the Chex Press. Something like, "Be sure to stick a row of postage stamps along the top and bottom of your wallpaper. It is not only an inexpensive way to make sure the wallpaper does not peel off, but it adds a colorful trim to your decor."
I thought the internet had everything. Alas, no repository of Chex Press. They were very funny to my kid-brain. The only thing that stuck was Goulart's homage to E. Power Biggs: " . . . featuring J. Thunder Zeus at the Steam Organ."
What a treat to find that some other folks remember these boxes. I don't remember any specific jokes, but I remember looking forward to getting a new box and reading all the funny articles. Too bad no copies remain.
If I recall correctly (and I usually do) each edition of Check Press had the phrase "good news only" under the Chex Press banner.
Ken, I recall that opening along with a pencil sketch of a person face behind bars wit the caption underneath that said, "Our Editor"
All the sports items, regardless of the sport, quoted “Whiz Batson, famous pro.” Before there was The Onion, there was the Morning Chex Press.
"How to knit an airdrome cozy." And I think there was a reference to a Spanish car, the "Torquemada." When the series ended I sent a letter to the company, dripping with my forlorn emotions. I was delighted to receive a little keychain with a white plastic fob which reads, "Honorary Chex Press Editor." I still have it, in a small box of treasures which I go through from time to time.
Thanks to the inciting post and the warm comments here I have a new appreciation for the writer and I am glad we have his name. I find a similarity between Ron Goulart and Bruce McCall, particularly his book "Zany Afternoons." And there was the Wretched Mess News, published in West Yellowstone, Montana. Long live satire and parody!
If newspapers weren't already one of my interests, Chex Press increased that interest, even focused it, as I made up my own version of it. I still have what I created 60 years ago somewhere. When I grew up, I worked at a newspaper as a graphics artist and a writer for 32 years.
Found!
www.dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2022/01/20/the-morning-chex-press-by-ron-goulart
Along with news that author Ron Goulart died January 14, 2022 at 89 and a day:
www.dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2022/01/14/ron-goulart-rip
www.nytimes.com/2022/01/28/books/ron-goulart-dead.html
www.tcj.com/author-ron-goulart-dies-at-89
More Chex-Press:
www.nytimes.com/1962/04/27/archives/good-news-only-from-chexpress-at-breakfast.html
www.mrbreakfast.com/cereal_ucp_slideshow.asp?id=311&picid=374
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