California Raisin Day: April 30th

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Do you remember lunchtime in third grade? I do, but not because we could leave our classroom for a noisy and crowded cafeteria, but because of the surprise treat my mother would add to my lunch bag on rare occasions. It was a small red box with a picture of a pretty girl named Sun Maid, and it contained 2 or 3 ounces of California Raisins.

In case you’re as curious as I am, her name was Lorraine Collett Petersen. She was born in December 1892 in Kansas City, Missouri. Leroy Payne, one of the executives of the raisin cooperative in Fresno, California, spotted her while she worked, part time, as a seeder and packer. Payne hired her to be the model to promote a new corporate trademark: the Sun-Maid Girl.                                                                                          

Back in 1952 very few of us kids knew where California was (we learned about the states in fifth grade), but we sure knew how sweet and juicy a raisin was. And so did the rest of the world. Something else kids didn’t know then was that there is a city in California that is the namesake of that precious little fruit. The post office in Raisin was established in 1907, however today that suburb of Fresno is called “Raisin City.”

Raisin City is home to 267 people who had ancestors who lived in the area and worked in the grape vineyards. There may be a family whose great-grand father drove a horse pulled wagon that hauled the grapes to the Sun-Maid packaging plant.

Then one day in 1986, a commercial came to television about California raisins. They were an immediate media phenomenon. Marie and I were married; our daughter was in High School, but those raisins brought back memories each time they appeared in a new commercial, movie, or cartoon. They were also commercially popular on t-shirts, bed sheets, Halloween costumes, lunch boxes, and even toilet paper. They went “viral” long before the word “viral” meant what it does today. In 1988 the American Postcard Company published a multi-card set showing the antics of the raisins as they sang Marvin Gaye’s 1960s Motown smash: I Heard It Through the Grape Vine. Even if you weren’t alive in the ‘80s, decades later you most certainly have heard about them and how they heard everything they know “through the grapevine.”

They were so popular the guy-raisins needed a three gals-raisin group of backup singers.

Back up Singers

The date is unknown, but likely in the early 1990s the Pacific Novelty Company also published a set of “raisin” postcards that were, in essence, scenes from the commercials.

So, how did a bunch of humble, dried grapes remarkably ascend from advertising mascots to pop culture icons?

First there were Madison Avenue executives who decided that April 30th would not be just another day; it would be California Raisin Day! A day dedicated to those wrinkly little gems that grace our trail mixes, cookies, and at least, my nostalgic childhood memory.

The first hint of a Raisin Day in California came when this poster, and later a postcard, appeared around 1909. Another iteration appeared in 1912.

California Raisin Day   April 30, 1909
California Raisin Day   April 30, 1912    Eat Raisin Bread

California Raisin Day is like Christmas for dried fruit enthusiasts. Raisins are the ultimate treat. Eating them is like finding candy on the menu instead of boring carrot sticks and peanut butter sandwiches.

To truly honor California Raisin Day, perhaps we should reflect on the history of this humble fruit. Except, there isn’t any. The first raisin was probably eaten by cave-people, and the story goes like this: one day Cavelady Jill was distracted and left her recently gathered grapes on a rock near the cave door. When Caveman Jack came home with that night’s dinner, he found the grapes in the hot afternoon sun. They had shriveled up and turn black. It may be that simple!

Other history may include some of the expressions we grew up with. Ever hear someone say, “I feel like a raisin in the sun.” A raisin day may well offer opportunities to reminisce about such phrases or it could prompt a shout-out to a sign I once saw: “Raisins: The only fruit that comes in a tiny cardboard box, but makes you feel like it cost millions.”

If you haven’t celebrated California Raisin Day with a grand feast, don’t wait until April, do it tonight. Find some raisins in your pantry, get your baking pans and whip up some raisin cookies! Or make a salad and sprinkle it with a handful of raisins.

And remember, too, that California Raisin Day is not the only day to be thankful for every little aspect of life – even things like raisins that seem dry or boring at first glance. And let me remind you that occasionally we go through our own drying-out phases and it’s those wrinkles of experience that give us flavor! So get out there and celebrate your unique wonders of life — warts and all!

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Interesting and enjoyable article. I never knew the raisin girl was based on a real person. There was always a unique fragrance to the raisins crammed in those little boxes.
Deltiologist dog owners: Raisins are one treat you should NEVER share with your pup.

This is a delightful article. However, I won’t get that earworm tune of “Heard it on the Grapevine” out of my head for the rest of the day.

My mom had several California Raisins figurines, as well as a shirt emblazoned with “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and depicting the anthropomorphic dried fruits.

What a fun, upbeat article! Especially love the Grapevine raisin postcards, thank you for sharing all of the images. Very interesting information, proving once again how postcards and those who collect them can provide great stories and facts.
We had a friend years ago whose parents had a grape farm in that area to specifically ‘make’ raisins. We teased him, naming him “The raisin wrangler”. Anyway, thank you again for a super fun article.

Fun article. I really enjoyed reading it!

I fondly remember AC, Stretch, Bee Bop and Red…my son and i would visit Hardee’s on Sunday bad get the newest character and a couple of cinnamon raisin biscuits. Still have the “guys”.
Great article.

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