08 September 2019

Designer of the Oreo Cookie is Buried in SLC

William A. Turnier 1952.
From Ancestry user marife42

Did you know that the designer of the modern Oreo cookie is buried in SLC?

Nabisco introduced the Oreo cookie in 1912 (a blatant knock-off of Sunshine Biscuits's Hydrox cookie) and in 1952 Nabisco employee William A. Turnier (1908-2004) was tasked to change the design of the Oreo making it more complex. 

Turnier kept the cookie’s name in the center but replaced wreaths with an array of four-petal flowers and surrounding the word “Oreo” was an emblem with circle with two crossed lines at the top.

Turnier worked his way up from the mail room of Nabisco to the engineering department. He also created the waffle pattern on the Nutter Butter and worked on other Nabisco products.

In 1973 Turnier retired from Nabisco and in 1981, at the age of 73, he relocated to Salt Lake City to be closer to his daughter. Turnier died in 2004 at the age of 96 and is buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery in the Avenues neighborhood of SLC. An engraved Oreo adorns his headstone.

Source of text: Mental Floss, IndyWeek.

Detail of Oreo cookie design. From Ancestry user marife42

    Detail of William A. Turnier's headstone. Aug 2019.

Irene & William Turnier's headstone in
Mt Calvary Cemetery SLC. Aug 2019.


05 September 2019

Futurism in the Midvale Sentinel

The Midvale Sentinel Fri June 3 1949

In 1949, a syndicated feature named "Can You Imagine" by artist Arthur Radebaugh (1906-1974) ran in newspapers throughout the United States. In Salt Lake County, only the Midvale Sentinel newspaper ran the feature. Pretty neat illustrations!

The Midvale Sentinel Fri June 3 1949

The Midvale Sentinel Fri June 24 1949

The Midvale Sentinel Fri Aug 12 1949

The Midvale Sentinel Fri Aug 5 1949

The Midvale Sentinel Fri Sept 2 1949

The Midvale Sentinel Fri Sept 9 1949

The Midvale Sentinel Fri Sept 23 1949

The Midvale Sentinel Fri Sept 30 1949