IV 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 418 
Honoring the 100th anniversary of the creation of Wonder Bread in 
Indianapolis, Indiana. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 20, 2021 
Mr. CARSON (for himself, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. BANKS, Mr. MRVAN, Mr. PENCE, 
and Mrs. WALORSKI) submitted the following resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring the 100th anniversary of the creation of Wonder 
Bread in Indianapolis, Indiana. 
Whereas Wonder Bread became a staple for the people of the 
United States, becoming synonymous with lunch time for 
school children, diners on highways, and cafeterias in our 
factories and military bases, and it is part of the collec-
tive experience of living in the United States; 
Whereas Wonder Bread was developed by the Taggart Bak-
ing Company; 
Whereas Wonder Bread was founded in 1905 by brothers 
Alexander and Joseph Taggart and Alexander’s son, 
Alexander Jr.; 
Whereas the company’s main factory was located at 18–28 
North New Jersey Street in Indianapolis, Indiana; 
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Whereas Alexander and Joseph were immigrants from the 
Isle of Man, located in the Irish Sea, and their company 
became the largest bread bakery in the State of Indiana, 
producing over 300,000 loaves of bread per week; 
Whereas people in the United States were turning away from 
home baked bread and purchasing their bread due to its 
convenience and affordability; 
Whereas ‘‘soft’’ bread was desirable, leading the company to 
develop a bread with an even texture, soft crust, and a 
resiliency that enabled butter, jam, and peanut butter to 
be easily spread upon it; 
Whereas Elmer Cline, the Taggart Vice President for mer-
chandising development, came up with the name ‘‘Won-
der Bread’’ and the colorful balloons on the packaging 
after watching a hot air balloon race at the Indianapolis 
Motor Speedway; 
Whereas Wonder Bread was sold to the Continental Baking 
Company in 1925, and subsequently combined the stand-
ardized 1.5 pound loaves with the Otto Frederick 
Rohwedder invention for slicing newly baked bread in the 
factory and the Henri Sevigne machine that wrapped the 
loaves in waxed paper to ensure freshness, expanding the 
Wonder Bread identity, deliverability, and storage capa-
bility; 
Whereas Wonder Bread’s popularity greatly expanded after 
World War II, leading to a Government request to en-
hance Wonder Bread with vitamins and minerals to en-
able the company to advertise its nutritional qualities as 
well as its convenience; 
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Whereas Wonder Bread became a major sponsor of renowned 
children’s television shows, and as a result, children from 
across the country embraced the bread even more; 
Whereas the creation and rising popularity of Wonder Bread 
coincided with a new industrial era where factories pro-
duced food with uniform size and weight, and its pre- 
sliced convenience and being wrapped in resealable pack-
aging made Wonder Bread an icon in the United States; 
and 
Whereas Wonder Bread was not associated with a particular 
ethnic group, religion, or region of the country and was 
something new that all people of the United States were 
experiencing together as something that symbolized the 
collective experience of the post-war United States and all 
its possibilities: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) while the Wonder Bread brand has been 
purchased by multiple companies in the last century, 
it will always be associated with Indianapolis, Indi-
ana, where the Taggart brothers first developed it; 
(2) the influence of the production, packaging, 
and advertising of Wonder Bread set a standard for 
an entire industry; 
(3) Wonder Bread’s story of being created by 
immigrants, combining with other innovations to 
create something entirely new, and embracing new 
means of advertising and distribution all combined 
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to make the story of Wonder Bread unique to the 
United States; 
(4) Wonder Bread, and its immediate associa-
tion with childhood, is a touchstone for all people of 
the United States, a product that is iconic to our 
culture, and a symbol of the age in which it was de-
veloped; and 
(5) the 100th anniversary of the launching of 
Wonder Bread is a moment to celebrate United 
States heritage and the innovation of the people of 
the United States. 
Æ 
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