GUM: An American Dream

Is there anything more insignificant than chewing gum? I mean in the grand scheme of things does gum really matter? And how is it that one could imagine gum having anything to do with the American Dream? You might be surprised.

Welcome to our “docu-site” about the fascinating world of chewing gum. We call it a docu-site because what began as a traditional documentary wasn’t able to find needed funding, in spite of how everyone we told our idea to said it was such a great concept! So, undaunted we decide to “self-publish” all the stories and people we met over the past couple of years.

GUM: An American Dream is packaged into unique “pieces”. Each one revealing a tale of how chewing gum has had an unexpected place right along side of modern history. Stories that often relate directly to the “American dream” in ways far beyond the obvious tales about Wrigley, Chiclets and Dubble Bubble.

You’ll meet some pretty amazing people, hear stories about changing fortunes and discover that believe it or not, chewing gum is a much bigger deal than you ever imagined it could be!

We sincerely hope you’ll enjoy exploring, as much as we enjoyed curating this eclectic collection of stories. Keep coming back because there will be new stories developing all the time.

- John & The American Dream Team

In the Beginning

Since the beginning of time man has chewed on all kinds of resins and saps. The Wise Men brought the baby Jesus the gift of Myrrh. The ancient gum diggers of Australia chewed on the resin of the Kauri tree and in Chios Greece or the Isle of Gum the resin from the Mastic (the word masticate comes from here) tree was so valuable that it was worth more than gold.

And then there were the ancient Aztecs and the resin from the Manilkara zapota or Sapodilla tree, which grows only in the Yucatan Peninsula. This resin was called chicle, and through one coincidence and another, became the base for the chewing gum of the Americas.

Tales from Quintana Roo

The Yucatan Peninsula is the only place in the world where the Sapodilla tree grows. Known for its succulent fruit, herbals teas, remedies and hardwood, its latex sap, or chicle, is its real claim to fame. Chicle, once the basis of all modern era chewing gum, has been harvested in the rainforests of Mexico and Guatemala for over 100 years. Here you will meet several elder “chicleros” as they reminisce with their stories of danger and life.

Watch

Music Pairing: "El Chiclerito" by Policarpo Aguilar

Former Chiclero turned folk singer, Policarpo Aguilar accompanies himself on his original song “El Chiclerito”. Shot on the back steps of his Yucatan home, it’s a song that speaks to the often hard and lonely life of the Chicle tapper. In our journey through the Peninsula we also met some other retired Chicleros and have included them in Policarpo’s video.

Return to the Rainforest

Although chicle is no longer the main ingredient used in most modern day chewing gum, there are those who recognize the biodegradable qualities of chicle and how, through working cooperatives, fair wages and through sustainable techniques have learned to be guardians of the rainforests of the Yucatan.

Watch

The Creators

With the creation of modern day chewing gum in the late 1800’s, several names rose quickly to become the most recognized brands in the world. First Adams, then Wrigley, Arkell and Fleer to name a few. Each in their own ways, contributed to the fame and fortunes of what one might call a most unlikely industry.

From Chicle to Chiclets

A cornerstone of the American spirit comes in one simple phrase
“Remember the Alamo”.

The Texian defenders of the Alamo Mission in San Antonio were all killed in the battle of independence against the Mexican troops led by President General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. It was Santa Anna’s cruelty that led to the famous battle cry that led the Americans to revenge their defeat one month later on April 21, 1836.

Exiled by Mexico for this loss, General Santa Anna found himself in Staten Island, NY of all places, where he would surreptitiously meet up with small time inventor Thomas Adams.

The rest as they say is (gum) history.

Watch

Master of Marketing

There is no one name in the history of chewing gum bigger than William Wrigley Jr. A soap salesman turned entrepreneur, Wrigley personifies the very meaning of the American Dream. Arriving in Chicago with 32 dollars to his name, he quickly became one of the wealthiest people in America. All this from a product that cost a mere 5 cents a pack. He owned buildings, baseball teams, hotels and even Catalina Island. Considered by many to be one of the greatest marketing minds, Wrigley once said, “Anyone can make gum. Selling it is the problem.”

Watch

Pennies from Heaven

In upstate New York, more than 100 years ago, a roofing salesman by trade, Ford Mason and his father W.N. Mason, a Baptist minister, re-invented the gumball machine. In the process they revolutionized the vending industry. What became know as the “Chew For Charity” program raised tens of millions of dollars for charities across the United States, one penny at a time.

Who doesn’t remember the familiar red machine of colorful Ford branded gumballs with the familiar charity “flapper” top?

Watch

GUM Pairing: "The Dum-Dot Song" by Frank Sinatra

Give a listen to this perfect Pennies from Heaven musical pairing from Frank Sinatra singing “The Dum-Dot Song” (I Put A Penny In The Gum Slot).

The Mayor of Flavor-Town

COMING SOON!

Founded by Bartlett Arkell in 1899, The Beechnut Packaging company moved far beyond baby foods when it launched its first pack of gum in 1910. Nestled in the Mohawk River Valley, Arkell had his own vision of America and it was reflected in everything he did, from advertising by Norman Rockwell, to Gum Girls and even a travelling circus.

GUM Goes to War

The popularity of chewing gum was increased on a global scale by war. It was something that was easily carried by American service men. It provided comfort relieving tension, improved concentration and relieved thirst. It also brought the American way as soldiers circled the globe distributing gum to people who had never seen or tasted it.

It may have been small in size, but the role gum played in the war effort was enormous.

The GUM Beneath My Wings

Meet Col. Gail Halverson. A farm boy, who growing up in rural Utah, yearned to become a pilot. In 1942 “Hal”, as he became known to his friends, joined the Army Air Corps. At the end of WWII Hal was assigned to the Berlin Airlift in Germany. It was there on one fateful day in 1948 when, in his own words, “two sticks of gum changed my life forever”. Indeed it did.

Today Hal is not only one of the most highly decorated airman with the USAF, but he is also honoured as an Eagle, which puts him in the same rarified air as Chuck Yeager, John Glenn and Neil Armstrong.

On a life mission of service above self, “Uncle Wiggly Wings”, as the children of the Berlin Airlift came to know him, Col. Gail Halverson might just be the epitome of the American Dream.

Watch

GUM Pairing: "To Fly" Suite: Parachute Hankies by The USAF Band

The United States Air Force Band pays a stirring tribute to Col. Hal Halverson in this touching original composition.

Signs of the Times

What do you do with the world’s largest neon sign in Times Square during WWII? If you're P.K. Wrigley you tear it down and send all the scrap metal to be used in the war effort. Come back soon to see more signs of the unique role gum played in the war effort.

COMING SOON!

Culture of GUM

By definition “culture” means the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time. Outside of art itself, there are many other aspects that contribute to the overall make-up of modern day society, which as you may have already guessed, gum finds its way into. Dare we call it pop culture?

A Question of Taste

For this piece of gum we went looking for a piece of advice. In Burlington Vermont, we find the home of The Post Institute, named after Emily Post, long regarded as the authority on all things etiquette. Her granddaughter Lizzie, fills us in on a few of the do’s and don’ts about chewing gum in today’s society.

Watch

Gum Pairing: "Chawin' Chewing Gum"
by The Carter Family

GUM Pairing: "Chawin' Chewing Gum" by The Carter Family

The first family of folk music, the Carter Family, recorded this humorous song from the turn of the century about the social improprieties of chewing gum.

I took my girl for a buggy ride, And to watch the setting sun,
Just as I bent to kiss her, She chawed her chewing gum,
I turned the buggy right around, And straightaway home we come,
I might have been a married man, If it hadn’t been for gum!

Lyrics:

Lyrics:

I took my girl for a buggy ride,
And to watch the setting sun,
Just as I bent to kiss her,
She chawed her chewing gum,
I turned the buggy right around,
And straightaway home we come,
I might have been a married man,
If it hadn’t been for gum!

Seeing Double

There are ad campaigns, and then there are ad campaigns that become part of the cultural lexicon. Beginning in 1939 Wrigley’s started using depictions of twins in stylized print advertisements by famed Wrigley artist Otis Shepard.

In 1959, the Doublemint Twins became a household name with the first identical twins in the TV commercial that told us to “Double your pleasure, double your fun”.

After nearly 50 years and 11 sets of twins the concept was finally retired in 2008. It was a pleasure. It sure was fun.

Watch

GUM Pairing: "Gum" with Rufus Wainwright

Wrigley’s had some of the most iconic, stick in your mind advertising jingles ever created. Double your pleasure with Rufus Wainwright III as he chews up the scenery in his “Funny or Die” musical tribute to GUM!

GUM Art

Chewing gum would likely be the last thing in the world most people would think could be an art form. However, numerous artists around the world use gum in various ways as an expression of how gum makes a statement about society.

Case in point, the work on this page is called “Gumhead” by renowned Canadian author and artist Douglas Coupland. People are meant to stick their used gum on his likeness. The artist says “It’s eight pieces in one: a self-portrait, a still life, a landscape, social sculpture, performance art, conceptual art and time-based art.”

But wait! There’s more . . .

Artist: Douglas Coupland
Photo Courtesy: John Clinock, Vancouver

The Chewing GUM Man

Environmental or “Outsider” artist, Ben Wilson of Muswell Hill England, had a dilemma. He realized that while he could not stop people from covering the pavement or “floor” with discarded gum, he could make a statement by making it look a lot more pleasant. And so began an extraordinary journey that has seen Ben paint more than 10,000 miniature works of art throughout England and Europe.

Meet “The Chewing GUM Man”.

Watch

Spitting Image

What one might call the perfect example of “Pop” art, Jason Kronenwald’s collection “Gum Blondes” is definitely a head turner.

From Britney to Lindsay, Avril to Paris, his portraits of the blonde icons society loves to chew up and spit out when the flavour is gone, are stunning. Check out Jason’s gum in cheek world and see for yourself how 500 sticks of gum can truly become a thing of beauty.

For more about Jason visit:

gumblondes.com

Watch

GUM Pairing: "Chewing Gum" by Annie

Give a listen to this perfect "Gum Blondes" musical pairing from Annie singing "Chewing Gum".

Spots Before My Eyes

In the GUM Art section of our docu-site we learned how “Outsider” artist Ben Wilson has become well known for his miniature and intricate paintings on the gum splotches that cover our sidewalks.

The problem is a big one for almost every city in the world and it has many people, from environmentalists to entrepreneurs, working on solutions to what has become a multi-million dollar sticky situation.

Black Mark on Society

Look down and you will see that our walkways are covered in black splotches. They’re everywhere and most people don’t even realize that this is discarded gum. Airports, transit systems, public places and sidewalks. It’s all gum someone has just carelessly tossed away and it adds up.

Now we’re not sure when it became acceptable for people to throw their germy old gum away in such an Indiscriminate fashion, but it has become a major headache for cities all over the world as they grapple with the huge expense of cleaning the sticky mess up. When it gets right down to it we are all part of the problem, so let’s be part of the solution. BIN YOUR GUM!

Watch

Please GUM Again

The amazing thing about most chewing gum is that it can be successfully recycled into many useable everyday products.

We travel to London and Gumdrop Ltd., the brainchild of Anna Bullus, to discover how changing our bad habits could have a positive impact on the issue of gum litter.

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Food for Thought

Can chewing gum really make you smarter? Believe it or not, scientific researchers have been studying the subject for years and they’ve unwrapped some pretty solid evidence that gum chewing might give you super powers. Have a look at our test results.

Watch

GUM on the golf course

Phil Mickelson’s explanation for why he chews gum on the course is vintage Phil Mickelson.

Source: Golf, Mar. 15, 2019

GUM Extras

While working on this project we came across lots of things related to gum, from interesting books, to cool music and some amazing facts. Things that didn’t really have a home on our other pages, but we thought you might enjoy some of these items just as they are!

Good Reads

These are some GUM books we found along the way and we also interviewed some of the authors!

Chewing Gum

In Chewing Gum, Michael Redclift deftly chronicles the growing popularity of gum in the U.S. alongside a fascinating history of peasant revolution led by charismatic Indians in the jungles of southern Mexico.

By: Michael Redclift

Chicle

Although Juicy Fruit® gum was introduced to North Americans in 1893, Native Americans in Mesoamerica were chewing gum thousands of years earlier. And although in the last decade “biographies” have been devoted to salt, spices, chocolate, coffee, and other staples of modern life, until now there has never been a full history of chewing gum.

By: Jennifer Mathews

Chewing Gum, Candy Bars, and Beer

Veterans of World War II have long sung the praises of the PX—a little piece of home in far-flung corners of the world. Though many books on that war tell of combat operations and logistics in detail, this is the first to tell the full story of the Army Exchange System.

The AES was dedicated to providing soldiers with some of the comforts they had enjoyed in civilian life—candy, beer, cigarettes, razor blades, soap—whether by operating an exchange close to where they were fighting or by sending goods forward to the lines, free of charge. The beer may have been only “3.2,” but it was cheap and, unlike British beer, was served cold, thanks to PX coolers. And a constant supply of cigarettes and chewing gum gave GIs an advantage when flirting with the local girls.

By: James J. Cooke

Candy Bomber

A moving and true story of life after war. In 1945 Germany fell to the Allied powers at the end of World War II. The United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union divided up the country, and likewise the capital city of Berlin, into four occupation zones. The Soviets decided to distance themselves from the Allied forces. They blocked off West Berlin and stopped all food shipments in the hopes of driving the Allies out of Berlin altogether. But the Allies dropped supplies by plane into the city. One pilot, after a brief encounter with several German children living in war-torn Berlin, began to drop candy and gum into the city, bringing the children not only a little joy, but a great deal of hope. He was known to the children as “Uncle Wiggly Wings,” because he’d signal their treats by wiggling the wings of his plane when he flew over with supplies.

What began as a one-time gesture of compassion turned into an official U.S. Air Force operation. “Operation Little Vittles” grew, as more and more pilots volunteered to drop the parachutes, and donations of candy and cloth poured in from all over. This inspiring story of one man’s contribution to the rebuilding of a country after war is a unique look at history.

By: Michael O. Tunnell

The Great American Chewing Gum Book

An illustrated history of chewing gum and its uses combines technology and lore in accounts of its worldwide popularity.

By: Robert Hendrickson

In the News

These are some GUM news stories that are making headlines around the world. Check it out!

CNN anchor counts Trump's false claims using gumballs

CNN's Victor Blackwell uses gumballs to represent The Washington Post's count of President Donald Trump's false and misleading claims since taking office.
Source: CNN, Mar. 9, 2019

Music To Chew By

These are some of our favorite chewing GUM songs. Take a listen!

One might say by the 1930’s gum was riding high up on the bubble of success. Even the “Queen of Swing” was singing it’s praises.

"Chew Chew Chew" was a popular
song in the 30’s. This version by
The Smoothies is a favorite.

If the American Dream had a theme song it might be folk singer/songwriter Woody Guthrie’s classic, “This Land is Your Land”. With a strong love of alliteration, he also penned many children’s songs including parody of his iconic song.

If your were around in the early 60’s
you couldn’t miss this monster
hit by revered British skiffle artist
Lonnie Donegan. Skiffle was the musical
root that a little band
named the Beatles grew from.

Chewing Gum inspired an entire pop musical genre of it’s own called “Bubble Gum” music. Aimed at young teens in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Other bands included The 1910 Fruit Gum Company, was the genres biggest hit reaching number one on Billboard in 1969.

This world-wide hit song by R & B group
Tha Heights is actually a modern take
on another gum song “Choo’n Gum”
recorded by many artists over
the years including Teresa Brewer
and Dean Martin.

Credits

A project like this could never have come this far without the enthusiasm and support of many people, from all walks of life, and from almost every corner of the globe.

Listed here are the names of those who helped us cook up the recipe for GUM: An American Dream.

We are truly grateful for their kind participation.

Roll 'Em

Own a piece of

GUM: An American Dream

Like we said in the introduction, we pretty much lost our shirts making this, but now you have a chance to own one. We love our retro inspired logo so much, we thought it would look great on a t-shirt! All proceeds go towards helping the American Dream Team maintain the docu-site.

For ordering and more information on the GUM t-shirt, please email us at

contact@gumanamericandream.com

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