CHECKERS AND CHOWS

When it came time to "make the world safe for democracy" during WWI, Danforth wanted to do his part. Thus in 1914, he left his burgeoning business and went to France as YMCA secretary for the troops of the Third Army Division.

Though running Purina was temporarily out of his hands, it wasn't out of his mind. After noting the enthusiastic way soldiers responded to the word "chow," he replaced the word "feed" with "Chow®" on all Purina animal rations. It was hard at first for Purina people to change a lifelong habit and say Chow® instead of feed. Danforth speeded the process by charging a 25-cent fine to anyone who slipped. The fine then went to charity.

While visiting England after the war, Danforth was introduced to a form of feed that contained several ingredients pressed into small cubes. In 1921, he tried the cube form in Purina® Chows, and the innovation caught on. Soon the entire American feed industry was manufacturing pellet-form feed. Danforth insisted on a distinctive name for his, and "Checkers" entered the Purina vocabulary.