By Kristy McCaffrey
William Wrigley Jr. started the Wrigley Company in Chicago
in 1891. He sold his father’s Scouring Soap and as an enticement to buy, he
included a free gift of baking powder. However, the baking powder became more
popular than the soap, so the company switched to selling baking powder with a few
sticks of chewing gum as a gift. When the gum became far more popular than the
baking powder, Wrigley proceeded to produce and sell chewing gum.
The Juicy Fruit flavor was introduced in 1893 and has been
characterized as a combination of banana and pineapple, although some say it
resembles jackfruit. Peach is also a reported flavoring.
The gum was taken off the civilian market temporarily during
World War II due to ingredient shortages and the demand for the gum to be
included in C-rations (prepared food for the military troops).
Juicy Fruit helped the Wrigley Company become the most
popular and successful chewing gum company in the world.
Don’t miss Kristy’s novella Rosemary, Book 11 in the Widows
of Wildcat Ridge Series.
Rosemary Brennan struggles with grief along with the other
widows of Wildcat Ridge after a devastating mine accident takes the life of her
husband, Jack, and many others. Forced to find a new husband or be evicted from
her home by the unscrupulous mine owner, Mortimer Crane, Rosemary finds
unexpected help from Jack’s friend, Miles McGinty, an ex-U.S. Deputy Marshal.
Together, they’ll uncover Crane’s deceit that involved her first husband. But
McGinty knows more than he’s saying, and Rosemary isn’t certain she can trust
another man so soon after losing Jack. More importantly, does she dare open her
heart to him?
A sweet romance set in 1884 Utah Territory.
Excerpt
Rosemary has gone into the hills in search of an old Spanish mine
called The Floriana but has become lost. She stumbles across the path of two
unsavory prospectors, Hector and Alvin. It’s here that she meets our hero,
McGinty.
Two men rolled in the dirt, locked together like battling
bull elk. Another horse stood vigil, minus its rider, who must be the man
currently fighting Hector on her behalf. For a split second, she thought it
might have been Priscilla’s husband, Braxton, but the man grunting and,
unfortunately, losing ground to the likes of Hector, was a stranger to her.
Friend or foe, she couldn’t let Hector win.
“Freeze or I’ll shoot,” she said loudly.
Both men stopped and looked at her.
“Who are you?” she demanded of the stranger.
“McGinty,” he wheezed past the chokehold Hector had on him.
McGinty? That
sounded familiar.
“Let him go, Hector,” she demanded, “before I drag you to
the marshal and have you locked up.”
A wicked grin spread across Hector’s face. “How you gonna do
that? You’re as lost as a whore in church.”
Rosemary inhaled sharply. “You’re a despicable human being,
and if you don’t release Mr. McGinty right now, I’ll shoot your foot off.”
Hector chuckled and
gripped his arm tighter around McGinty’s neck. The stranger’s face was starting
to turn purple.
Rosemary cocked the gun and closed her right eye to line up the
sight with her left the way she had practiced with Jack. Without hesitation she
fired, the kick from the weapon knocking her backwards with a scream. As she
scrambled to her feet, Hector was howling, but Mr. McGinty had managed to free
himself.
Alvin ran toward them with a lopsided gait, huffing and
sweating. He might be young, but he acted like an old man.
Mr. McGinty grabbed a shotgun from his horse and aimed the
firearm at the two prospectors.
“She shot me!” Hector wailed.
Rosemary remained where she was, a terrible trembling
overcoming her. Good Lord, I did shoot
him.
Alvin bent down to examine his friend’s leg, wheezing as he
spoke. “Now, Hector, she barely grazed you.”
“She shot my foot off!”
Alvin shook his head, his mouth buried in the mop of
whiskers that hung from his chin. “Nope. The bullet’s in the ground, not yer
foot. She made a hole in your trousers, that’s all. I see a tiny speck of
blood, but I’m not sure since you’re a mite filthy.”
“Grab her!” Hector insisted. “We’ll take her to Wildcat
Ridge and have her arrested.”
“I don’t think so,” Mr. McGinty finally chimed in. “You were
chasing her. What did you plan to do
when you caught her?”
Hector’s expression turned incredulous. “Who the blazes are
you? And how do you know she’s not my wife? Or somethin’?”
Mr. McGinty looked at her and the full brunt of his
attention stilled her breath. Before she turned purple herself, she gulped air
into her lungs. He was tall and strong and … how on earth did the likes of Hector
best this man?
“Are you his wife?” he asked. “Or somethin’?”
Copyright ©
2019 K. McCaffrey LLC
Read now at Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited
Would you like a Rosemary bookmark?
Add your info here and I'll get one in the mail to you.
8 comments:
I haven't had Juicy Fruit gum in years, but always enjoyed it as a child.
It's definitely timeless.
I'm still a Juicy Fruit fan! I enjoyed the except for your book and will add it to my TBR list.
Thank you, Ruthie! I keep Juicy Fruit in my desk drawer while I'm writing. It hits the spot.
What a fun post! Being a Chicago girl I especially enjoyed it. In fact, one of the last texts I got my my husband was a shot he took on his phone of the Wrigley Building which is gorgeous. I am laughing that there was a time that free Baking Soda would be an incentive to buy anything, LOL! And I don't know why I never thought of the gum being fruit-flavored despite it being called Juicy Fruit. Duh. Now I think about it, it does taste like bananas and pineapple. Great excerpt!
Love Juicy Fruit gum and this post is so fun, Kristy! Thank you for sharing it with us!
Patti,
I was surprised by the flavors too. You don't really think about what's actually in it LOL.
Thanks, Shanna. I love it too!
Post a Comment