James Dewar (baker)
James Alexander Dewar was the Canadian inventor of the Twinkie.Biography
James Dewar was born on February 5, 1897, in Pugwash River, Nova Scotia
As a young man, Dewar worked on boats shipping timber and limestone, arriving in Chicago on a laker. Dewar worked at the Continental Baking Company that later, through a series of mergers and acquisitions, became Hostess Brands. He started as a delivery boy in 1920 by delivering pastries by horse-drawn cart. Dewar eventually rose up through the ranks to be a plant manager.
In 1931, Dewar's plant was making strawberry shortcakes, but only during strawberry season. Dewar came up with an idea to create a shortcake with cream on the inside instead of strawberries. Having seen a billboard for a shoe company called the "Twinkle Toe Shoe Co.", he was inspired to call his shortcake invention a "Twinkie".
Dewar rose to be regional vice-president at Hostess and held that position until 1972.
Dewar died on June 30, 1985, in Downers Grove, Illinois, at the age of 88.
