It's a good thing for our whole community to celebrate free enterprise success that is widely beneficial to many people in our area, and beyond.
That's why we salute McKee Foods as it marks half a century of producing its famed "Little Debbie" brand snack cakes.
Many years ago, the late O.D. McKee as a young man took the back seat out of his Whippet car (who remembers Whippets?) and set out to sell 5-cent snack cakes. He later had his own bakery on Main Street, then on Dodds Avenue, and then as success expanded, he developed a big bakery in Collegedale.
Mr. McKee was joined by his enterprising wife, Ruth, and their eager descendants in building a family company that offered lots of good jobs to aspiring students at Southern Missionary College -- and made excellent snack products.
In addition to McKee's local operations, the company developed other bakeries in Gentry, Ark., and Stuarts Draft, Va. The bakeries have hired 6,000 people to meet the nationwide demand for the tasty products.
Many have enjoyed McKee Bakery products, the company's job creations and McKee philanthropy. So many Chattanoogans join the McKee family and employees in celebrating 50 years of tasty success.