Hoosier Histories
Clabber Girl
By Amanda Getchel
If you’re a baker, you’ll recognize the name of this Indiana company – Clabber Girl.
Clabber Girl Baking Powder grew out of the manufacturing business of Hulman and Co., a wholesaler of general merchandise and grocery products.
The original Hulman family-owned wholesale grocery business opened in 1849 and had six floors that shoppers could walk around and buy products. In 1869, the business expanded with the addition of a storeroom and spice mill. In September 1893, the company went through another expansion, and Clabber Girl Baking Powder opened in its current location at the corner of Ninth and Main streets in Terre Haute, IN.
The grocery business closed in 1995, but Clabber Girl wanted to celebrate its history and contributions to the state of Indiana. In 2000, plans got under way for a museum, Clabber Girl Bake Shop and a general store.
Today Clabber Girl is not only the leading manufacturer of baking powder in the country, a leader in the food industry and a valued Indiana company, it also became a major tourist destination with the opening of its new ventures in 2002.
Walking into the Clabber Girl Baking Powder Museum on Wabash Avenue in Terre Haute, instantly transfers visitors back in time. When the Terre Haute building opened in 1893, there were no electric lights, telephones or city water works. Only 31 states were in the union.
The area for today’s contemporary museum has been renovated, but visitors still walk on the building’s original wood flooring. Displays show a replica of the Victorian parlor with the founders’ original furniture. Old products from the business’ early days line the walls.
A 1940s kitchen with an old refrigerator and stove take a spot on the floor. The original green, yellow and red Clabber Girl carriage from 1905 also is on display.
In another corner of the museum, visitors will find a 1931 Indianapolis racecar. Why a racecar? Tony Hulman Jr., a descendant of Herman Hulman, founder of Clabber Girl, bought the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1945 as a venue to promote Clabber Girl. The Hulman family continues to own the Speedway today.
In addition to taking a step back in time when visitors first enter the museum, they are greeted with the smells of fresh baked goods, such as doughnuts, muffins and other pastries. As tourists begin their visit of Clabber Girl, the museum with pictures of the original warehouse and company and other memorabilia is on their left. To their right is the Bake Shop and a demonstration kitchen, which is Clabber Girls’ newest attraction. The state-of-the-art demonstration kitchen has stadium seating and counters for note taking and sampling food.
A country store called Antonia’s gives shoppers the opportunity to buy an array of products made in Indiana, as well as many items of interest to the home cook. Selections include hard-to-find gourmet items, Doughmaker’s bakeware, regional cookbooks and reprints of cookbooks from the Hulman archives.
Gary Morris, Clabber Girl president and chief operating officer, said when he first started his position in 2001, Clabber Girl mostly focused on selling retail baking powder. He said throughout the years, retail baking powder became a declining market because the younger generation did not bake as often.
Because of that, Morris said he wanted to diversify the business into a wholesale, industrial market and export business by selling cornstarch, gelatins and specialty industrial products. He also wanted to renovate the building and expand the collection to make it more of a tourist destination, he said.
“When I came here, it had a few display cases,” he said. “It was depressing and there was asbestos on the floor. Everything in here is from the [Hulman] family to show how it started and its progression.”
The chef for Clabber Girl is Eddie Wilson. Chef Eddie has earned a well-deserved reputation in the Indianapolis area as chef for the Indy Racing League. Another major accomplishment is that he has cooked dinners for United States presidents.
At Clabber Girl, Chef Eddie offers cooking demonstrations and teaches cooking classes. Cooking demonstrations take place at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Classes are open to the public and are held at least once a week. A reservation is required and can be made by calling Clabber Girl, 812-232-9446. Each class is limited to 12 people.
Because the classes always offer recipes that use Clabber Girl products, it can sometimes be difficult to come up with new ones to teach, Chef Eddie said.
Baking powder can be found in almost any baked good and tortillas, and biscuits are best known for their use of baking powder. Chef Eddie has greatly expanded Clabber Girls’ baking powder heritage. “It’s nice here, though, because most of the people are ‘foodies’ so I ask people for ideas,” Chef Eddie said. “I have no problem getting input.”
Chef Eddie said the one food quote he always shares with his classes is “When you’re cooking, it’s best not to pay attention to the ingredients.” He explained: “You learn the process and take those ingredients to make what you want. If you don’t know how the dish is made, you can’t change it to what you want.”
Chef Eddie said this was one of the best jobs he has had, and he hoped it was the last job he would have to apply for. He said he and the other 200-plus Clabber Girl employees spent everyday looking for new items to create. Chef Eddie said when Clabber Girl employees come up with a new ingredient, he tests it to see how it works with other ingredients and products.
One of the newest editions to Clabber Girl Baking Powder’s products is a sugar replacer. The company also is creating cheesecake mixes, oil stabilizers, flan and mousse mixes. “The commitment we have brings that Midwest hospitality and community feel,” Wilson said. “Food brings people together, and if we contribute to the community, it makes us better, too.”
Enhancing its role in its community is the fact that Clabber Girl has been a family-owned business and headquartered in Terre Haute for more than 150 years. Few companies can make such a statement.
