This July, Spam will be 75 years old. Yes, that’s Spam as in the canned precooked meat product made by Hormel.
Since our family has been passing a can of Spam between our respective houses over the last several years, I thought it would be a good time to honor that illustrious product.
The name results from combining “spiced” and “ham”. Classic Spam is chopped pork choulder meat, with ham meat added, as well as salt, water, modified potato starch, and sodium nitrite.
Believe it or not, 3.8 cans are eaten every second in the United States. It is sold in 41 countries, on six continents, and has a trademark in over 100 different countries.
During World War II since fresh meat was difficult to procure, soldiers ate Spam or as they fondly called it, “ham that didn’t pass its physical” and “meatloaf without basic training”. The Hormel Girls promoted Spam from coast to coast in through a musical venue. From 1948-1953 these women performed and in their heyday had 60 members.
Some of the advertising paid off and Spam is a staple in Hawaii and Guam.
Today in Hawaii is it sometimes referred to as “the Hawaiian steak”: and it is on the menus at both McDonald’s and Burger King. During the last week of April they even celebrate with a Spam Jam, a carnival type celebration.
In our own modest way, we Rohloffs, celebrate Spam by passing our token can secretly from house to house.
Through most of this last winter the Spam lay dormant with us as we waited for an opportune moment to share it with the Anthony and Elisabeth’s clan.
The perfect opportunity came during Karl’s 9th birthday celebration. Russ was able to sneak out to their chicken coop and, complete with a picture of an egg and the saying “Spam and egg” attached, hide it in a nesting box.
Two days later Elisabeth found the can while cleaning the coop. She called the kids' in and said, “One of you needs to put your hand in that box. You won’t believe what’s in there.”
“What is it?” they fearfully chorused.
“I can’t tell you. But you won’t believe it.”
After a bit of jostling, Karl bravely strode forward, reached into the box, raised the Spam high, and cried, “Bad Paacha! Look what he did! He spammed us!”
The other three were delighted and erupted into cheers. Throughout the day they would chorus, “Bad Paacha! I can’t believe he did that!”
On Hannah’s 32nd birthday Elisabeth surprised her by visiting her in Boston. Russ and I babysat and the sisters had two whole days together. What Hannah didn’t know until three weeks later is that her loving sibling had tucked the Spam into the sheets of her massage table. Such a gift!
We enjoyed a recent weekend visit from Peter and Rebecca. This included visiting with Elisabeth and her family, gathering bedded plants to transport to Boston, enjoying good conversation, and savoring a delicious leisurely dinner at a local inn.
After Peter’s return to Boston he called to say again what a good time they had. They were safely home, the plants had survived the transport, and Hannah had taken good care of their felines. He added, “Guess what I found in the freezer? A carton of Ben and Jerry’s Spam.”
“What? Spam?”
“Yeah, it was an empty cart
“It was a pretty good hiding place and we were glad to see it. It had been so long that we were beginning to feel a little left out. “
What can I say? 75 years old and tucked into a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream carton, you never looked so good, Spam.
