The fascinating story of the MoonPie and how East Tennessee played a role
My first experience with the idea of a MoonPie didn’t involve tasting one. As a youngster who loved music and comedy, I had a Dr. Demento tape of silly songs that I listened to repeatedly with the same reverence I would for the Beatles or the Stones. I loved that music.
And there on that tape next to “The Cockroach that ate Cincinnati” and the song about “roly-poly fish heads” was Larry Groce’s folkie one-hit wonder “Junk Food Junkie,” a song that came out in 1976 and has been stuck in my head for at least 44 years.
All anyone has to do is mention Fritos Corn Chips, a Dr. Pepper or an Ole’ MoonPie and the tumblers in my brain will unlock “genuine junk food high” like somebody pulled the lever and got all cherries on a slot machine.
And so, I was aware of MoonPies long before I ever had one. And then, finally, I moved to East Tennessee as a teenager and saw the treat available quite affordably in the lunchroom and had to have it. Reader, it did not disappoint. After all those years, I finally knew what old Larry was singing about.
IN THIS ARTICLE
What is a MoonPie?
The traditional MoonPie is two soft graham cracker discs sandwiching a thick layer of marshmallow dipped in a chocolate crust. It’s about four inches in diameter and maybe an inch or so thick. Over the years there have been additional flavors including banana, vanilla, strawberry and more. They also come in seasonal flavors as well as smaller and double-decked options. They’re kind of gooey, a little messy and wonderful.
Just a note, I like my sweet confections to be dippable with milk but not the MoonPie. The chocolate coating and marshmallow are somewhat dipping repellent. And while Larry Groce likes his with Dr. Pepper, it was frequently part of a Southern Man’s work snack with an RC Cola. In fact, in Bell Buckle, TN there’s an RC Cola and MoonPie festival.
How did it come into existence?
The lore, according to the MoonPie folk, is that back in 1917 a traveling salesman for a Chattanooga Bakery asked a Kentucky Coal Miner what kind of snack he would like. Well, coal mining is hard work, and our guy needed to carb up. He wanted something as “big as the moon. ”Earl Mitchell, the salesman, took that answer back to the home office, and the snack was born. Per the MoonPie people, the snack was filling, affordable, fit neatly in a lunch pail and had a nice boost of sugar and carbs for the second half of the workday. A star – or I suppose a moon – was born.
The MoonPie took off. According to the MoonPie people, by 1929, the factory was boxing up hundreds every day. The size – and I’m guessing relative durability – proved useful in the days ahead as well. MoonPie was a favorite item in care packages sent to soldiers in WWII. When those soldiers returned and the Baby Boom, well, boomed, the MoonPie was a favorite snack for the younger generation as well.
While there have been several new flavors introduced over the years, a MoonPie today – more than 100 years after old Earl got the idea from a Kentucky coal miner – is essentially the same as it was all those years ago. It’s become an American institution.
Where to find it today?
Well, if I’m being honest here in East Tennessee, they’re ubiquitous. You can be walking down the street, feel a twinge of hunger and holler out “MoonPie” and Earl’s great, great grandson will magically appear with MoonPies in both hands. But MoonPies are available through a variety of major retailers as well. Walmart and Kroger have them as well as regional grocery chains like Ingles, Food City and Piggly Wiggly. If buy an RC Cola and MoonPie from a Piggly Wiggly, that’s the Southern version of pulling Excalibur from the stone. You immediately become royalty for at least the next two counties.
Other places with a national presence where you can find MoonPies are Bass Pro, Walgreens and Cracker Barrel. You can also order them – in a wide variety of flavors – online. Don’t be worried about them going bad in shipping. I’m pretty sure the shelf life on the first MoonPies made in 1917 is just now expiring. According to the MoonPie website, the shelf life is 120 days.
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