Laura Scudder, the woman behind ‘the noisiest chips in the world,’ remembered at Balboa Island Museum event
In honor of Women’s History month, three grandsons of Laura Scudder, the woman behind the eponymous food brand famous for its potato chips and peanut butter, addressed a members-only event at the Balboa Museum Thursday night.
The museum was packed to hear John, Craig and Kent Scudder share not only their grandmother’s accomplishments but their memories of her.
“I’m interested in hearing the whole Scudder family story as told by the three brothers,” said Balboa Island resident Dennis Bress, one of the crowd enjoying the festive party held in advance of their talk. Another resident of the island, Lisa Jimenez, concurred with Bress, adding that she wanted to support the Scudder family legacy and to acknowledge women’s accomplishments.
To her grandsons, who are now all in their 70s, she was “Madre,” while to everyone else she was Laura Scudder, creator of the crunchy snack that carried a marketing slogan pronouncing them “the noisiest chips in the world.”
John Scudder recalled for the Daily Pilot a special afternoon he once spent with “Madre.”
“I was about 10 years old, and I asked if I could take her to lunch. I had just received my first wallet, and I had $5,” John said. “We went to a real swanky restaurant and we looked at these long menus, and I could see my $5 evaporating very quickly.”
When young Johnny ordered a hamburger, Madre did the same, respecting his modest means.
“She was over 70 years old and she was so sweet she didn’t want to embarrass me,” said John, who lives on Balboa Island. “And we just sat there together the two us and we had our hamburgers.”
Laura Clough was born July 19, 1881, in Philadelphia. After attending nursing school, she worked as a nurse at Mercer Hospital in Trenton, N.J., where she met a patient named Charles Scudder. They became a couple, and in 1908 they were wed. In time, they became the parents of four.
The Scudders lived briefly in Seattle, where they struggled to survive, not even having a nickel to buy Christmas gifts. Upon moving to Ukiah, Calif., Laura took an interest in law and studied for the bar exam while she and Charles ran a restaurant.
Laura passed the exam and became the first female attorney in Ukiah, although she never practiced. In 1920, the couple then moved to Monterey Park where they ran a gas station. The station was attached to a brick building and, in 1926, Laura decided to use the building to manufacture potato chips, later adding peanut butter and mayonnaise to her line. She became a widow in 1928.
At the time she started her business, potato chips were sold in barrels or tins, which didn’t keep them fresh. Laura, wanting to preserve quality, taste and freshness, discovered the advantages of wax paper to improve potato chip packaging. The process began when she asked her female employees to take home sheets of wax paper and hand iron them into the shape of bags that could be sealed, allowing customers to enjoy crisp chips. Competitors later picked up on her idea.
Notably, Laura Scudder was also the first company to place freshness dates on its food products.
As a female entrepreneur during the Great Depression, Laura faced her share of obstacles. When she searched for a policy to insure a delivery truck, she was told by male insurance agents that a woman would not reliably pay premiums. A female insurance agent got the job done and insured the company’s fleet as it grew.
By 1953, with 1,000 employees, she had cornered 50% of the potato chip market.
Laura, who died March 13, 1959, at the age of 77, earned a well-deserved place in history as a pioneer for her many accomplishments that paved the way for women in business. But it was her deep devotion to her family and to those who worked for her that forever endeared a place in their hearts. So much so that when she sold the company in 1957 she ended up settling for less money to an agreeable buyer in order to secure jobs for her employees.
“Being the youngest of the four Scudder brothers, I had the shortest period of time to get to know Madre before she became ill,” recalled Kent Scudder. “However, there are memories that still stick with me, most of these were at her 50-plus acre ranch/farm in La Puente.
“We went there for Thanksgiving one year, and I remember bolting through the front door, trying to get ahead of my brothers, and I ran through the living room and dining room and into the kitchen and was swallowed up in Madre’s apron as I tried to wrap my arms around her to hug her, and she giving me an even bigger hug. I can still smell the turkey and the stuffing that was roasting in the oven.”
His brother, Craig, chimed in, “She was a really good cook, and we still use her dressing recipe today.”
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