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January 2025-Flos Funnel Cakes
FLO'S FUNNEL CAKES RAIL CAR #80
Always a carnival favorite, this cousin to the simple donut always had a mystic appeal about it. And Flo's funnel cakes were no exception. Funneling her special mix into the hot oil by Flo was a sight to behold. Her funnel cakes were truly a work of art, but the eating was even better. First would be a powdered sugar finger lick. Then the challenge to uncoil the delicate tubes of cake would begin, followed by the savoring of each bite. It had been rumored for years that there was a secret ingredient in Flo's batter that made it heads above all others, but it was never proven, or admitted to by Flo. True or not, it didn't matter, her funnel cakes were the best.
MEADOW MUFFIN
Flo's funnel cake recipe wasn't actually a funnel cake recipe, nor was it Flo's, nor was Flo her real name. The recipe and name traces back to her grandmother Florence Finley of Fargo. One day while gathering up the ingredients to bake a cake, Florence accidently grabbed a funnel instead a bowl. Being a bit senile, Florence proceeded to mix the batter in the funnel.....and you already know.....the batter was slowly draining out onto the counter top. Being a thrifty farm wife, and not wanting to waste the pile of dough, she scooped it up and tossed it into an iron skillet of hot oil. And there it was. A MEADOW MUFFIN (cow patty)...... At least it looked like one. Sharing it with the family and friends, it became a hit, and the name stuck. And to this day, the MEADOW MUFFIN is still a Midwest County Fair favorite......TRUE
MEADOW MUFFIN'S DEMISE
With Grandma Florence's passing, the family sold off the original recipe and name, but with no right to the usage or image of a funnel. The food service corporation quickly found out the population at large didn't get the Midwest 'MEADOW MUFFIN' joke, greatly hurting sales, so they quickly re-branded the MEADOW MUFFIN calling it a CINNIBON......ALSO TRUE CAKE
A generation later, the funnel was passed on to granddaughter Betty Finley , also of Fargo, who went into the bakery business, changing the MEADOW MUFFIN recipe by adding her 'secret ingredient', which gave the finished product an almost indeterminable green tinge, being rumored as fennel. Legally unable to call it a MEADOW MUFFIN, she simply called it a 'FUNNEL CAKE'......The rest is history.
EPILOGUE.
Now famous, Betty Finley, from Fargo, married Charles Crocker, owner of the General Mills Flour Co. becoming Betty Crocker......go figure......which explains the bigger than life lady, funnel cake in hand, that appears at every funnel cake shack.
CATCH PHRASES
FLO'S 'statue', has generated many monikers through the years, some are; SHE'S A PILLAR OF SUCCESS, A TRUE HEAD ABOVE ALL OTHERS, A GIANT IN HER FIELD, SIMPLY OUTSTANDING, A DOMINATING FIGURE......I'll stop there.
