The Sophie Cubbison Story
In September 1892, Sophie Cubbison was born in San Marcos, California, as Sophie Huchting. (Her father was of German descent, and her mother a Californian of Mexican descent.) She tells her story as follows:
"My career began on my father's ranch in San Diego County where I was born. At the age of 16, I started to cook for my father, brothers, and their lima bean ranch laborers during the summer and early fall (in order to earn money to put myself through college, where I earned a home economics degree in 1912)."
"With one assistant, I cooked and baked for forty men in two mobile kitchens. As the harvest progressed through the day, the mobile kitchens were horse drawn, once or twice a day to keep in proximity of the harvester. This was for the convenience of the laborers at meal time, which occurred five times a day. Breakfast was served at 5 A.M...coffee break with a sweet snack at 9 A.M...dinner at 12 o'clock...coffee break with sweet snack at 4 P.M. and supper at 8:30 PM."
"Since the wholesale bakeries were not equipped to make country deliveries in those days, I baked all necessary cakes, doughnuts, cookies, cup cakes, etc. The sweet goods were served along with a sandwich and coffee in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Pies, puddings and stewed fruits were served for dessert for dinner and supper."
"I did not have mechanical kitchen equipment in those days. All the mixing was done manually. "The bread I baked was referred to as 'black bread,' made from 100% whole wheat flour. You see, my father was born in the Old Country.... My grandmother Sophie Huchting had taught my father as a young man while still at home in Bockhorn, Germany, how to make this delicious, nutritious Black Bread, and in turn, my father taught my mother and I how to make it."
"In 1913, I met Harry G. Cubbison. He used to drive down from L.A. to our ranch in San Diego County once a month to visit me. In 1916, Mr. Cubbison and I were married. Mr. Cubbison was supporting his invalid father and his mother on $12 per week, and I was supporting my mother on $30 per month, my father having passed on. "Necessity became the mother of invention."
"Mr. Cubbison was a fine salesman and I was capable of baking. It was absolutely necessary for us to earn more money."