5. During and following the Columbian Exhibition the Aunt Jemima legend expanded
With the success of Aunt Jemima as a marketing character, Davis Mills embellished her fictional back story. As a loyal cook to the fictional Colonel Higbee, she defended him when he was attacked by Union soldiers during the war. She remained loyal to her former master after the war, continuing to prepare “the best pancakes in the South“, attracting many visitors to his plantation. Advertising executive James W. Young provided much of the backstory, often illustrated by Newell Convers (N. C.) Wyeth. According to their tales, Aunt Jemima couldn’t be persuaded to sell her “secret recipe” for her pancake flour until after the death of Colonel Higbee.
The backstory and its imagery of southern plantations filled with happy slaves, loyal to the White’s they served, were part of the lore of the Lost Cause. Davis Mills, the manufacturer of Aunt Jemima’s pancake flour, was located in St. Joseph, Missouri, which had been a hotbed of Confederate guerilla activity during the Civil War. Post-war, anti-Union sentiment continued to be strong, and former Confederate guerrillas emerged as roving bandits, including the infamous James brothers, Frank and Jesse. The fictional stories of the “Happy South” and the racist imagery portrayed by Green as Aunt Jemima drew protests from civil rights leaders almost immediately. But her popularity at the Columbian Exhibition led to plans to exploit her appearances wherever Aunt Jemima Pancake Flour was sold.
