It was an ordinary day. Checking the fridge for a snack when I came across two small plastic containers that had cantaloupe pieces in one and honeydew melon pieces in the other. Finished both in short order! Then I noticed the fruit bowl on the kitchen counter had one final banana in it and I devoured that also. As I was discarding the banana peel I noticed that it had a Chiquita Banana label on it. Wasn't long ago that I read an online story telling about the Chiquita banana and the fact that the banana is America's favorite fruit. Not necessarily so in my household, but we do buy bananas from time to time. Good to cut up for the top of cereal in the morning as well as a snack during the day. The online story I read told about the United Fruit Company that was founded in 1899.
It began when the Boston Fruit Company, which was owned by a Captain Baker and Andrew Preston, and the Minor C. Keith railroad company. They merged and before long became known as Chiquita Brands International Inc. By 1944 Chiquita was teaching Americans how to eat the yellow fruit from the Caribbean and why not to put it in their refrigerator. To help in their ad campaign they created a mascot known as Miss Chiquita who found fame in the fruit aisle as an animated banana.
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| An advertisement from a magazine. |
Cartoonist and illustrator Dik Browne provided the face for Miss Chiquita. She in turn showcased a festive and fun personality as the resident expert for everything you wanted to know about bananas. She wore a red skirt and wide brimmed hat filled with bananas and sang along to her catchy jingle while educating viewers on why bananas have to ripen to be at their most delicious. Told the tale that the banana was best consumed when flecked with brown and with a golden hue. A singer by the name of Patti Clayton provided the voice for Miss Chiquita. If you might have heard the original jingle, you perhaps remember that a piano and a box of paper clips that were shaken simulated the sound of maracas to go with Patti's voice. By the end of WWII the jingle and Miss Chiquita became a big hit which led to bananas being one of the most favorite fruits of the era. To top that off, Chiquita stickers were placed on each bunch of bananas and to this day still appear on Chiquita bananas everywhere.
Mr. Oscar Grillo, artist and creator of The Pink Panther, transformed Miss Chiquita from an animated banana into a woman in 1987. Today she appears as a real person on the stickers. She still wears a hat covered with a fruit cornucopia, her red skirt swapped out with a stylish blue dress and heels. For the past 18 years Miss Jenny Canales has been the public face of Chiquita when she was chosen through a national search to become the legendary icon. She is now 70 years old, but remains the indisputable first lady of bananas. I must admit that when I finished off the last banana on the counter, I did stop and look at the young lady staring back at me from the label on the banana. But, she certainly didn't look to be 70 years old. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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