Jessie Young (born Jessie Susanka; February 7, 1900 – September 12, 1987)Howes, Durward, ed. (1937). American Women : The Official Who's Who Among the Women of the Nation, Vol. II (1937-38). Los Angeles, CA: American Publications, Inc. p. 763. .Birkby, Evelyn (1991). "Jessie Young". Neighboring on the Air : Cooking with the KMA Radio Homemakers. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. pp. 52. . was an American radio commentator and magazine publisher, widely acknowledged as the first of the radio homemakers.Birkby, op. cit., pp. 38–39.Zanger, Mark (2003). The American History Cookbook. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press p. 386. .Stern, Jane & Michael. "Neighboring." The New Yorker, vol. 67. Issue 8, April 15, 1991, pp 84-85. .
Early life and career Born in Wahoo, Nebraska, Young grew up in Essex, Iowa,Gale, Eleanor (October 31, 1971). "Lifestyle: Jessie Young at 71; Broadcast in Print Reaches Every State; First Radio Homemaker?". Fort Collins Coloradoan. p. 14. the youngest of four daughters born to John Susanka and Rosa Cuhel.Birkby, op. cit., p. 42."Mrs. Rose Susanka Dies in Lincoln". North Bend Eagle. July 27, 1950. p. 1. She attended Penn School of Commerce in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
In 1926, after the bank at which she had been employed as head bookkeeper for several years failed, Young began working at KMA-AM in Shenandoah.Stern, Jane; Stern, Michael (2006). "Jesse Young's Radio Cake". Two for the Road: Our Love Affair with American Food. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 111. . Hired initially as a singer, she had, by year's end, become the host of a new program, The Stitch and Chat Club,Puckett, Susan (1988). A Cook's Tour of Iowa. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press pp. 12–13. . later renamed Jesse's Homemaker Visit. Described by food writers Jane and Michael Stern as "the archetype of the radio homemaker show," the program not only covered "the niceties of housekeeping," but "also created an easygoing radio companion listeners could depend on every day." As fellow radio homemaker/author Evelyn Birkby acknowledged in 1985:
In May 1936, Young was elected president of the Iowa Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, having served the previous two years as recording secretary."Iowa Business Women Elect; Mrs. Jessie Young to Head Clubs". The Des Moines Register. May 17, 1936. p. 15."B.P.W. Names New Officers". The Des Moines Register. May 13, 1934. p. 14."New Officers". The Des Moines Register. May 20, 1935. p. 12. Later that year, Young used her platform to stress the importance of women exercising their hard-won franchise in the upcoming presidential election.
On June 1, 1942, Young became the first host of WFIL's Kitchen Club in Philadelphia."Behind the Mike". Broadcasting. June 1, 1942. p. 35."Jessie Young to WFIL". The Billboard. June 6, 1942. p. 7. The following year she and her family moved to Nebraska (first Lincoln and later Greeley), from whence Young broadcast her program for approximately twelve years,Woodworth, Betty (July 13, 1975). "Jessie Young: 'They Know My Voice'". Fort Collins Coloradoan. p. 9."Radio-TV Programs". The Lincoln Star. February 19, 1954. p. 22. initially on KFAB and, beginning in 1950, on KLMS."Good News! Jessie Young is Back!". The Lincoln Star. June 7, 1943. p. 12."Jessie Young is Back!!". The Lincoln Star. September 3, 1950. p. 40.
From 1946 through 1980, Young published the magazine Jessie's Homemaker Radio Visit, which, as of 1971, had approximately 10,000 subscribers scattered across all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico and Canada.
Personal life and death From 1918 until his death in 1966, Young was married to Floyd S. Young,"Red Feather Man, Floyd Young, Dies". Fort Collins Coloradoan. February 9, 1966. p. 3. with whom she had four children, one adopted.Birkby, op. cit., pp. 42–43.
In June 1987, Young had a stroke from which she never recovered, dying on September 12, 1987, in Fort Collins, Colorado.Birkby, op. cit., p. 52.
References
Further reading "Manufacturers: WFIL, Kitchen Club". Radio Showmanship. March 1943. p. 105.