WKU News & Events

Kentucky Museum Exhibit To Celebrate Life Of Duncan Hines

July 18, 2007

Bowling Green, Ky. - “Recommended by Duncan Hines,” an exhibit celebrating the life of perhaps one of the best known Kentuckians, will open Aug. 3 in Western Kentucky University’s Kentucky Library & Museum.

Located on the first floor of the Kentucky Library & Museum, “Recommended by Duncan Hines” will be the centerpiece of a renovated and expanded gallery. The exhibit will include eight sections featuring the life and work of the Bowling Green native.

The exhibit features artifacts along with state-of the art media tools so visitors will learn about Hines’ career as a writer on travel, dining and entertaining, as well as his transition to a “name brand” icon and pioneer in the world of packaged food. Each area takes you on a journey into Hines’ life.

The first vignette recalls American life in the early 1900s. Along the way, visitors will be introduced to Duncan Hines, the man, with a brief biographical overview of his life, including his birth and upbringing in Bowling Green. They will learn about his family, his career and how what started as a hobby, turned Duncan Hines into an American icon.

Visitors will see the Duncan Hines kitchen filled with items from Hines’ own kitchen – his stove, base cabinet and kitchen sink. The cabinets are filled with branded artifacts and objects – mixes, cookware, Stetson dinnerware, and cookbooks. It not only exhibits the familiar, nostalgic trappings and artifacts of mid-century America, it represents the central themes of Duncan Hines’ work. Just as the kitchen is the heart of a home, this kitchen is at the “heart” of the Duncan Hines story. These are only a few of the artifacts on exhibit at “Recommended by Duncan Hines.”

OPENING CELEBRATIONS
As part of the exhibit opening, the Kentucky Library & Museum will be hosting events Aug. 3 and 4, including Duncan Hines Festival events. Festivities include:

Duncan Hines Festival Recipe Contest, Aug. 3, 4 p.m.
Festival Art Awards and Silent Auction, Aug. 3, 5 p.m.
1950s Theme Party, with antique cars, 50s rock ’n’ roll and cocktails, Aug. 3, 7 p.m.
Country Breakfast with presentation by Jonathan Jeffrey, Aug. 4, 9 a.m.
Duncan Hines Festival Children’s Pageant, Aug. 4, 10 a.m.
“Adventures in Good Eating: A Taste of Duncan Hines,” a presentation of the Kentucky Historical Society, written and performed by Mike Thomas, Aug. 4, 3 p.m.

MAKING THE EXHIBIT POSSIBLE
“Recommended by Duncan Hines” is made possible through several gifts.

The Bowling Green Area Convention and Visitors Bureau provided a $35,000 cash gift in addition to a large collection of artifacts, from postcards of restaurants and hotels from the 48 contiguous states bearing the Duncan Hines seal of approval to a seven-piece cookware set that was still in the box.
The Park Foundation has contributed $50,000. Hines and Roy Park formed Hines-Park Food Corp. in 1948 to develop and market the Duncan Hines line of food products.
Pinnacle Foods, which now owns the Duncan Hines brand, has donated $20,000.
The Hines family is supporting the exhibit with a gift of an undisclosed amount.
WKU has supported the exhibit with an $80,000 appropriation from the University Enhancement Fund.

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

For information, contact Timothy Mullin, Library Special Collections Department Head, at (270) 745-6261, or Cindy Troutman, Marketing Coordinator, University Libraries, at (270) 745-4502 or (270) 282-3064.

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