Archives West Finding Aid

David Leslie Stidolph (1923-2004) was a pioneer in creative marketing for fresh produce from the 1950s to the 1990s. He received his B.A. from the University of Idaho in 1947, and his M.A. from Washington State University in 1948. He served as a Perishable Air-Cargo Consultant for Transworld Airlines, which introduced air transport of fresh fruit and vegetables. In 1982, he joined Mann Packing, a large agribusiness enterprise based in Salinas, California, first working as the Director of Food Service and then as Director of Creative Marketing. Recognized as an innovator in branding and developing fresh portions in produce for mass-marketing, he was known in agribusiness as the "father of the broccoli florette." In 1993, he was named "Produce Man of All Seasons" by the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association.

John Dennis McCallum (1924-1988), whose correspondence with Stidolph comprises much of this collection, was Stidolph's classmate at Washington State College in the 1940s. He was a sportswriter, columnist, and author of nonfiction books. McCallum received his M.A. from Washington State University in 1947. He published hundreds of articles and over thirty books, including Pac-10 Football: The Rose Bowl Conference (1982), several other major football conference histories, The Tiger Wore Spikes (a biography of Ty Cobb, 1956), Everest Diary (1966), and Crime Doctor (1978).