“Robert J. Vlastic Dies at 96; Made a Fortune Making Pickles” ran the Times obit (NYT, 5/22/22). One thing is certain, he didn’t get into a pickle which is a turn of phrase Mr. Vlastic might not have cottoned to since in addition to profiting from his product, he, according to the headline in the daily Times, “Had Jokes by the Jarful.” “He loved pickle jokes and eventually collected them in a pamphlet, ‘Bob Vlastic’s 101 Pickle Jokes,’ the cover of which featured a gunslinging, cowboy-hatted gherkin and this salty knee-slapper: ‘Who’s the tough pickle in Dodge City. Marshall Dill.” Clearly Vlastic was a “Man For all Seasons” or seasonings if you want a soubriquet that carries on his legacy and conveys a feeling for the force behind the welcoming bottle with its mysterious green condiment (that looked like a creature out of “War of the Worlds”). “Once a pickle no longer a cucumber,” one of the favorites of the recovery movement was not one of Mr. Vlastic’s jokes. Mr. Vlastic's son, Bill, apparently didn't follow his father into the pickle business, instead becoming Detroit bureau chief for The Times.
Read "Diasporic Dining: Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" by Francis Levy, HuffPost
and listen to "Bile 'Em Cabbage Down"by Buck Owens
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.