The History of Kool-Aid Remember that TV ad? Well, Kool-Aid got
its start right here in Hastings, Nebraska. This internationally
known soft drink mix, now owned by Kraft Foods, actually started
out as a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack, invented by
Edwin Perkins. Edwin Perkins was always fascinated by chemistry
and enjoyed inventing things. When his family moved to southwest
Nebraska around 1900, a young Perkins experimented with home
made concoctions in his mother’s kitchen. His father opened a
General Store in Hendley, Nebraska, and it was in that store
where Edwin became entranced with a new dessert mix introduced
by a childhood friend (and future wife) Kitty Shoemaker. The
popular powdered dessert came in six delicious flavors and was
called Jell-O. Edwin convinced his father to carry the dessert
line in his store. It was at this same time Edwin sent away for
a kit called “How to Become a Manufacturer.” During the
following years, Perkins graduated from high school, published a
weekly newspaper, did