CHEW ON THAT

by Loralie Cecotti

Antonia Lopez de Santa Anna could never make up his mind. He fought for Spain, Mexico and United States. He fought against Spain, Mexico and United States. Between 1829 and 1853 he declared himself President of Mexico three times, was elected once, and ended each reign in exile.

In 1838 he was supposedly retired from the military and from politics but could not ignore an opportunity to again seize power. Forty-four years old he rode, unasked by his government, into its current war with Spain. Santa Anna succeeded in driving off the Spanish invaders but lost a leg in the battle. Of course the man who called himself Savior of the Fatherland insisted his leg be buried with full military honors. At all future public events he rode on horseback holding his wooden leg over his head as a symbol of his sacrifice for his country. Also, as payment for his valor, he declared himself President.Ê

History sees Santa Anna as scoundrel or hero, depending on the recorder, but there is one achievement all give him credit for. Santa Anna brought chewing gum, as we know it, to America.

Living on Staten Island in 1860 during one of his exiles, the ex-president became acquainted with an inventive gentleman named Thomas Adams. Somewhere in their idle conversations, Santa Anna introduced Adams to a substance called chicle, a gummy product of South American Sapota trees. At the time the men thought mixing the chicle with rubber might create a stronger carriage tire than had previously been available and fortunes could be made. Santa Anna believed that acting as a go-between for Adams and for the chicle growers, he could be of service to Mexico and to his friend, Adams. Though things turned out in an entirely unexpected way, he was right on both counts.

The chicle-rubber combination was a failure and Adams could not have been pleased. Santa Anna had moved back to Mexico to declare himself Dictator for Life. Adams was faced with a warehouse full of imported chicle for which he could not find a use. He tried making toys. masks, finally a rain boot. The rubber combination was a failure. Then just as he was close to throwing all remaining chicle in the bay, inspiration struck.

His attention was drawn one day to a small child buying some chewing gum. Adams remembered. South American's liked to chew on chicle. He himself had even munched on it as he worked, and found it pleasant. The gum the child was buying was paraffin and Adams believed chicle would definitely be a superior product.

He went to work, producing little penny sticks of paper wrapped chewing gum. These he coaxed his son, who was a salesman for men’s clothing, to take along on his route. This time, his inventive mind had hit on a winning recipe. Orders came flying in.

Gradually others picked up on this new fad. A doctor Beeman created pepsin gum as an aid to digestion. Adding flavors to the chicle had until now, been a problem. A man named William White found the solution by first mixing the flavor he wanted into corn syrup, then adding the flavored concoction to the chicle. Proud of his success, White took a box of his new gum to every congressman in Washington as a promotion stunt. Eventually he went off to England and presented a box of gum to the King of England who found it a highly acceptable chew. The popularity of chewing gum continued to grow as it was touted as good for cleaning the teeth, a useful breath freshener, a stomach settler, and a number one product to calm the nerves.

We jump ahead now to 1891. Twenty-nine year old William Wrigley comes to Chicago with $32 in his pocket. Selling soap, manufactured by his father, he offers a free can of baking powder with each sale but finds the powder more popular than the soap. The Wrigleys begin to manufacture baking powder, once again offering a sales incentive in a free pack of chewing gum with every order. Once again, the free item proves more popular than the main product.

The family is soon marketing juicy fruit, doublemint and spearmint chewing gum. William Wrigley, 16 years after his arrival in Chicago, invests one million dollars in advertising. Three years later, sales are topping four million So goes the power of advertising and Wrigley today is the world’s largest maker of chewing gum.

There is one last bubble to our tale, one which would surely please Santa Anna. In March, 2003, Mexico’s Grupo Bimbo, the largest baked goods company in North America,brought the popular Wrigley gum to Mexican shelves, serving as exclusive distributor. Let's sit back and chew on that!