The Popcorn Stand: Eat Rice Krispies in honor of Grant
In this latest version of Six Degrees of Porterville if you’re eating a bowl of Rice Krispies this morning, you have someone from Porterville to thank for it.
And since there are all kinds of holidays now, I’m calling for this Tuesday, April 26 to be a holiday in honor of the man who’s arguably most responsible for Rice Krispies still being around for about a century now.
I’m proclaiming Tuesday, April 26 to be Vernon Grant Appreciation Day. Maybe some obscure website who lists all those obscure holidays will see this column and add Vernon Grant Appreciation Day to the list, I dunno. And I’m calling for everyone to eat a bowl of Rice Krispies on Tuesday in his honor.
Vernon Grant was born on April 26, 1902 and he just happens to be a 1921 Porterville High graduate.
He’s a well-known illustrator best known for what he did for Rice Krispies. In 1928 Kellogg’s was struggling to sell the cereal. But then Grant created those three characters that have been synonymous with the cereal ever since: SNAP! CRACKLE! POP!
After Grant came up with those iconic characters, sales of Rice Krispies soared and of course the cereal is still with us today.
Grant isn’t just know for those characters. He’s also known for his illustrations of Santa Claus and for the gnomes he created. Grant was creating Homies before there were Homies.
Grant also provided whimsical covers for numerous magazines, including Colliers and Ladies Home Journal.
Only Normal Rockell had more pieces of art feaured on magazines than Grant.
He’s also been referred to as America’s favorite children’s illustrator.
Just how respected was Grant, who attended USC? Walt Disney sent his artists to Grant to teach them how to draw characters.
When it comes to Christmas one of Grant’s most beloved illustrations is “Santa’s Band.” My guess is Grant’s inspiration for that creation came from his time as a member of the Porterville Panther Band.
Evidently Grant played the clarinet in the Panther band as that’s an instrument he played. But he also played the banjo and the accordion.
He even played the banjo with the “Old Fogies,” a group who sang gospel and country at church and civic events. So yes, Grant was a fine singer, too.
And even though Grant was an amazing artist, he may have actually been a farmer at heart. After all, he was a Nebraska-born farm boy.
And Grant was arguably as accomplished farmer as he was an illustrator. He was known as the “gentleman farmer,” and for his innovative farming techniques. In South Carolina he wasn’t just known as an illustrator but as a leader in the field of agriculture.
Grant died at the age of 88 in 1990. He settled in Rock Hill, S.C., where he co-founded the city’s annual spring festival, Come-see-me.
He created the mascot for the festival, Glen the Frog. The website for the festival is www.comeseeme.org
But Rock Hill’s most anticipated festival arguably comes every year during Christmas time. Every year the city hosts Christmasville, a holiday festival celebrating Grant’s art, including his art of Santa and gnomes. Information on the festival can be found at www.christmasvillerockhill.com
Information on Grant is available at vernongrant.org
So on Tuesday morning raise a bowl of Rice Krispies in honor of Grant.