IDAHO, USA — Today is National Potato Day, and this being Idaho, a day for celebration. According to the Idaho State Museum, 1860 was the year of the first recorded potato planting in Franklin County. Further, settlers started using irrigation to mix with the soil, creating huge increases in potato production.
"J.R. Simplot, the founder of the J.R. Simplot Company, played a vital role in Idaho’s potato industry. During World War II, the company became the largest shipper of fresh potatoes. In 1945, Simplot established a canning and dehydrating quick-freeze plant, where employees tested frozen potato products, which pioneered the first commercial frozen French fry. His agreement with McDonald's in 1967 to supply frozen fries solidified his impact on the industry," the museum stated on social media.
Potatoes were first harvested in Idaho in 1882. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the first harvest was 2,000 acres. The acreage grew to 33,000 by 1915.
People love potatoes. They are filling, fairly nutritious and Marilyn Monroe even wore an Idaho potato sack as a dress in Twin Falls in 1951. There are two stories that circulate about the origins of the picture. One is that Monroe wore the dress because a journalist had called her clothing style cheap and trashy, like a potato sack. The other story is she wore it following a comment where someone said she could even make a potato sack look good. Either way, the photograph became iconic. Much like the russet potatoes grown throughout the state.
