Aunt Susan (born Edna Vance; March 24, 1893 – September 27, 1972) was an American journalist and radio personality active in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

from the early to mid 20th century. She was raised in Oklahoma City and ran the "Aunt Susan" column for the ''

Daily Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circulation) lists it as the 59th larg ...

'' from 1928 to 1943. After leaving the ''Oklahoman'', she worked for ''

McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly United States, American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. The publication ...

''. She also published a cookbook in 1951: ''Aunt Susan's How-to-Cook Book''.

Early life and education

Edna Vance was born on March 24, 1893, to Asa Jasper Vance and Annie Russell in Missouri. Her family moved to

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

after 1900 and her father ran a small vegetable farm. She attended Oklahoma A&M College, but left before graduation to accept a teaching position in

Yale, Oklahoma Yale is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,059 at the 2020 census, a decline of 13.6 percent from the figure of 1,227 in United States Census, 2010, 2010. History Yale's founding in 189 ...

. She married Martin Adams in 1920.

Career as Aunt Susan

Vance started working at the ''

'' after the retirement of Susan Abercrombie in 1928 and took over her "Aunt Susan" cooking column. From 1928 to 1942, she wrote under the name Aunt Susan for one of Oklahoma's largest newspapers. Her recipe for "Aunt Bill's Brown Candy" became a holiday favorite in the state reprinted for at least 15 years. In the 1930s she hosted a five-day-a-week show on

WKY WKY (930 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, owned by Cumulus Media. It is the oldest radio station in Oklahoma and among the oldest in the nation. WKY airs a sports ...

. In 1933, her husband died. She later moved to New York and was the food editor for ''

''. In 1943, she married Harold L. Mueller, an associate editor for the ''Daily Oklahoman'' and ''Oklahoma City Times''. In 1947, she worked for

General Mills General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...

editing precursors to what would become the ''

Betty Crocker Cookbook The ''Betty Crocker Cookbook'' is a cookbook written by staff at General Mills, the holders of the Betty Crocker trademark. The persona of Betty Crocker was invented by the Washburn-Crosby Company (which would later become General Mills) as a femi ...

''. In 1951 she published her own cookbook: ''Aunt Susan's How-to-Cook Book''.

Later life and death

She retired in the 1960s and moved to Colorado to be closer to family. She died on September 27, 1972, in

Evergreen, Colorado Evergreen is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated town, a post office, and a Census-designated place, census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Jefferson County, Colorado, Jefferson County, Colorado, U.S. The CDP is a part of th ...

. She was a member of the Christian Science Church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aunt Susan 1893 births 1972 deaths American Christian Scientists Journalists from Oklahoma People from Missouri Radio personalities from Oklahoma