Evergreen Community Advantage Magazine February 2023

The

Origins of the Tater Tot

A Tasty Oregon Invention

By Robert Matsumura, Contributing Writer

The Tater Tot. It’s hard to resist these crunchy golden-brown potato morsels piled high in a basket, or nestled on a plate accompanying our favorite burger or sandwich. For many of us, “Tater Tot” and “comfort food” go hand-in-hand. It’s ingrained in our culture—at least from a food perspective!

But did you know that these world famous potato nuggets were invented in Oregon, and that they were the creative byproduct of potato scraps originally used as cattle feed? The story of the Tater Tot traces back to two young Mormon entrepreneurs named Nephi and Golden Griggs who came of age during the Great Depression. Originally from Idaho, the Griggs brothers were potato farmers like most of their neighbors. Throughout the Great Depression and World War II, the Griggs survived by growing and selling potatoes, but during the postwar years as Americans increasingly turned to convenience foods—frozen foods in particular—the Nephi brothers were certain that their road to riches lay in servicing this growing demand.

Convinced that the future of produce resided in the frozen food section, the two brothers mortgaged their farms to purchase a flash-freezing plant in Northeastern Oregon for $500,000 (approximately $4.5 million today). As the factory was located on the border between Oregon and Idaho, they chose to name their new company Ore-Ida.

Corn and potatoes were Ore-Ida’s mainstay and the company soon became the largest distributor of sweet corn in the country, but the real profit lay in french fries. French fries, though immensely profitable, posed certain production problems. Nephi (the leader of the two brothers) described their challenge as follows: “We had a problem separating the fries from the slivers and small pieces of

potatoes that occurred when slicing the irregular shaped potatoes.” Instead of wasting the scrap pieces, the brothers had been feeding it to their cattle and other livestock.

Despite the fact that their potato scraps were being utilized as feed for farm animals, Nephi Griggs—always focused on efficiency and profit maximization—was bothered by their inability to derive any revenue from the constant flow of potato byproducts. In a letter to an OreIda colleague, Nephi vented his frustration at not putting to better use “product that has been purchased from the grower, stored for months, gone through the peeling process, gone through the specking lines and trimmed off defects, only to be eliminated into the cattle feed.”

An unexpected visit by a representative from an equipment manufacturing company, however, proved to be serendipitous. Although the company representative was there to demonstrate a prune sorter, Nephi and his plant superintendent envisioned utilizing the equipment in a different manner. Instead of sorting prunes, could the machinery be refashioned to sort irregular potato pieces from french fries? To their delight, it could.

It wasn’t long before the Griggs and their people at Ore-Ida devised a creative use for the supply of potato scraps. By smashing the bits together using new machinery, then blanching, forming the crushed potatoes into nuggets, and cooking them in oil, a completely new product was

created. These potato nuggets could subsequently be frozen, bagged, and distributed. Although the original idea was for the nuggets to be fried, it was soon discovered that baking them produced equally good results. According to Nephi, a man on their research committee who “traveled the markets playing a ukulele and demonstrating our product,” came up with the name. Unfortunately, the man’s name has been lost to history, though his talent for creative alliteration lives on. The name “Tater Tot” is iconic across the world for fun, palate-pleasing, potato goodness.

Nephi remarked in his notes (which are now housed at the J. Willard Marriott

“new product has about a three year

the “Tater Tot” name, purchased additional machinery, and began mass producing their tasty invention.

Despite the success of the Tater Tot, the process to create them was a bit of a sticky mess—literally. New equipment had to be fashioned to deal with the starchy potato product. Steel drums the diameter of a human torso rotated continuously filling tot-sized molds with potato. These molded potatoes would then be ejected onto a conveyor belt and sent down a line for seasoning and subsequent freezing.

Ore-Ida’s commitment to the Tater Tot, in spite of production difficulties, proved a gamble worth taking. The Griggs brothers’ promotion of their new product at the 1954 National Potato Convention was a huge hit, garnering interest in Tater Tots throughout the industry. The media was also quick to embrace Tater Tots as a convenient

new food for snacks and meals that was tasty and easy to prepare. So successful was the Tater Tot that Nephi referred to it as their “hero profit item,” and cited it as responsible for making Ore-Ida a household name. By the end of the 1950s, Ore-Ida had captured 25 percent of the domestic frozen potato market. A second plant was opened in 1960, and by 1961 Ore-Ida had gone public.

In 1964, despite generating an annual profit of $31 million, problems within the family necessitated the sale of Ore-Ida. The Griggs sold the company to H.J. Heinz in 1965 for $30 million. The Heinz purchase of Ore-Ida was the company’s first foray into the frozen food market. By the time Heinz merged with Kraft in 2015, the Tater Tot was so common of a product that few people realized the name was still trademarked to Ore-Ida. An advertising campaign was even created to differentiate OreIda tots from the competition. The campaign warned, “Don’t be fooled by Imi-taters,” because Ore-Ida Tater Tots were the “original and only.”

Today, as one of America’s cherished food items, Tater Tots have been incorporated in multitudes of home recipes and even elevated to culinary feature items at certain restaurants. There is no end of possibilities when it comes to something as versatile as the Tater Tot! So, next time you find yourself reaching for a crispy golden Tater Tot, think of the Griggs brothers and the Oregonian ingenuity that transformed cattle feed into a delectable treat enjoyed by millions.

Nephi Grigg was the inventor of the Tater Tot

Off-Leash Livin’

Dog parks a safe, natural space for dogs

By Angie Helvey, Contributing Writer

Nothing beats a relaxing afternoon outside with your best furry friend, but it can be challenging to find a place to let your fur baby run free and have the opportunity to socialize with other canines in a safe space. This is precisely the experience DOGPAW Off-Leash Dog Parks strives to provide to dogs and their owners in the Clark County community.

DOGPAW, a nonprofit organization founded almost 20 years ago, boasts four off-leash dog parks. Ike Park was the first and is the largest of the four parks, featuring 10 acres of open fields and tree-lined hills, a 0.71-mile gravel and dirt trail, and a small dog area with a separate entrance.

“All the parks are big; there’s so much room for everyone to hang out, run, walk, and play fetch,” says vice president Jan Fogg. “Lucky Park is one of our smaller parks, but it’s next to a huge wilderness reserve, so you can leash your dog and walk on a nature trail that goes through the forest and is fun to explore. Dakota Park is our most popular park because of its convenient location directly off N.E. 164th in Vancouver.” Dakota also offers on-site restrooms, benches, shady areas, a dog rinse-off area, and seasonal drinking fountains.

DOGPAW Parks would be impossible to maintain without the help of volunteers dedicated to keeping the parks clean. “Many people who come to the dog parks have been coming for years and see it as an extension of their home,” explains Jan. “We call them our ‘poop angels’ because they walk around the park picking up poop without being asked. We go out to the parks several times a year to rally our volunteers. They scoop poop, mow the grass, weed, and pick up fallen branches.”

Park volunteer days are the third Saturday of every month, rotating through the parks. The next one will be held at Dakota Park on Saturday, March 18 at 10 a.m.

The funding for operations comes from business sponsorships, grants from the city and county, and $25 yearly memberships — not required to use the parks. This allows DOGPAW to provide waste bags and disposal stations at the parks, plus support the development of more dog parks and special events for dog owners. “We are helping the City of Washougal to set up a dog park in their new civic area, and we’d like to pursue a location within Battle Ground State Park,” says Jan. “Last year, we did a dog supply swap, and we’ve also held free educational programs with a certified dog trainer.”

DOGPAW is currently fundraising to complete a new fence for Ike Park. Originally made of posts and chicken wire, the fence has become worn and ineffective over the years. You can donate to the project on the DOGPAW website.

If you’re looking for a welcoming space to let your fourlegged friend run off-leash, stop at any of the DOGPAW Parks for a play date. Come walk at your own pace while your dog gets their “zoomies” out and has the chance to play with other dogs.

DOGPAW Parks in Vancouver: Dakota Memorial Dog Park (Pacific Community Park), 1515 N.E. 164th Ave. @ N.E. 18th St. (entrances on 164th and 172nd Ave); Ike Memorial Dog Park (Ross Park), 5167 N.E. 15th Ave.; Kane Memorial Dog Park (Hockinson Meadows Community Park), 10910 N.E. 172nd Ave. Brush Prairie: Lucky Memorial Dog Park, 10100 N.E. 149th St.

TOP LEFT: Tiberius at Ike Memorial Dog Park in Vancouver. ABOVE: A Paws Down Pets trainer rallies the dogs for lesson time.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY DOGPAW

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