Many people know the “Kool-Aid Man” as a smiling, animated glass pitcher full of the drink Kool-Aid. But did you know that the original “Kool-Aid Man,” Kool-Aid inventor Edwin Perkins, lived in River Forest? In fact, it wasn’t until Perkins retired that the character of the Kool-Aid pitcher was introduced.
Perkins was born on January 8, 1889, in Lewis, Iowa, and grew up in Hendley, Nebraska, where the Perkins operated a general store. He often said that his inspiration for pre-packaged food was Jell-O, which he persuaded his father to carry in the family store.
After high school, Perkins published and edited a weekly newspaper, while also being the village postmaster and running a mail-order business to sell the products he was developing. His Perkins Products Company would manufacture and sell more than 125 different items. The original “Kool-Aid” was drastically different from today’s product. It was called “Fruit Smack,” a liquid concentrate sold in small glass bottles. Consumers added water to make a pitcher of the drink. But glass bottles were expensive to ship and prone to breaking and leaking. In 1927, Perkins reworked the product into a powder that could be packaged in a paper envelope, giving rise to today’s “Kool-Aid.”
As demand increased, Perkins moved his manufacturing plant to Chicago and shortly after, he and his family would move to 814 Ashland Avenue in River Forest—the second largest estate home in the suburb. During the Great Depression, Perkins cut the cost of Kool-Aid in half and started off-shoot products such as pie fillings and ice cream mixes. Those never became quite as popular, particularly as rationing during World War II made ingredients harder to obtain.
By the 1950s, the Perkins Products Company employed hundreds of workers around the clock to meet demand for Kool-Aid, producing around half a million of packets every day. Perkins retired in 1953 and sold his business to General Foods in exchange for stock so he would still have a vested interest in the future of both companies.
After Perkins retired, he and his wife divided their time between River Forest, and Miami Beach, where their daughter lived. But they retained their River Forest home until his death; it is still fondly remembered as a gathering place by their friends and family. Edwin Perkins passed away in Rochester, Minnesota, at the age of 72 on July 6, 1961. While he lived in River Forest, his invention became a staple summer-time drink across the country, enjoyed to this day.
Submitted by Joshua Antos, November 2024
Sources: “Edwin Perkins and the Kool-Aid Story” Historical News, Vol. 31 No. 4, Adams County Historical Society, 1998. In Edwin Perkins Bio File, Oak Park River Forest Historical Society.
“Edwin Perkins Obituary.” Oak Leaves (Oak Park,. IL), July 13, 1961. In Edwin Perkins Bio File, Oak Park River Forest Historical Society.
“Inventor of the Week Archive – Edwin Perkins: Kool-Aid,” 2001. In Edwin Perkins Bio File, Oak Park River Forest Historical Society.
“Kool-Aid – Products” Kraft Heinz. Accessed 11/26/2024. www.kraftheinz.com/koolaid/products.