4. Nancy Green won the role to portray Aunt Jemima
Nancy Hayes Green was born near Mount Sterling, Kentucky. By the time of the American Civil War, she had already lost her husband and two of her children, and sometime after 1863, she moved to Covington, Kentucky. There she worked as a nanny and cook for Charles and Amanda Walker. The Walkers relocated to Chicago in the early 1870s, and Nancy went with them, settling into a large home on Ashland Avenue. It was the Walkers who learned of the search for someone to portray Aunt Jemima during the upcoming Columbian Exhibition, and they encouraged Nancy to try out for the part. Charles Walker also wrote to Davis Milling, recommending Nancy for the role, as she resembled (according to Walker) the image depicted in the company’s advertising.
Nancy had no prior experience acting, nor singing before an audience, nor entertaining, beyond amusing the children in her charge. Nonetheless, she won the role. Advertising for the exhibit at the upcoming fair altered the image of Aunt Jemima to more closely resemble Nancy. A new slogan “I’m in town” appeared on posters and in magazines, with the dates of her appearance at the exhibition. Nancy turned 59 years old two months before her first appearance as Aunt Jemima before an audience. She became an immediate success, and her popularity at the fair, as well as that of the pancakes she prepared while entertaining the audience, led to huge orders. Over 50,000 barrels of Aunt Jemima pancake flour were sold at the Exposition. Davis signed Nancy to a lifetime contract to portray Aunt Jemima.
