Walter E. Diemer

Walter Diemer

Accountant by day, and bubble gum inventor by night, Walter E. Diemer is a hero because he made something that brought happiness to the people of America during the difficult times of the Great Depression.

Born 1905 in Philadelphia, he was raised there as well. There is not a lot to say about his childhood, because it was no different than the childhood of any other child of the 1900s. He married a girl by the name Adelaide, and they had two kids together.

Once he had a family, he now had to consider how he was going to support it. He got a job as an every day accountant for Fleer Chewing Gum factory. It looked like he would live an ordinary life, waking up each day go to work, coming home to have dinner, going to bed around 9:00 p.m. However, in his spare time, he was trying to invent bubble gum. So while he was working to perfect the recipe, he accidentally came across the right one. I’ll bet my money that you want to know how old Walter knew that it was the right recipe. You see, he noticed that it was less sticky, and that it stretched longer more easily than regular chewing gum. He was so excited. He snatched up a big blob of the stuff, took it to a saltwater taffy wrapper machine, and sold it at a local candy store, pricing it at a penny a pop. He called this creation Dubble Bubble. For some reason, he did not patent his wonderful creation. His wife thought he did not get as much credit as he should, but she was proud of him. Nevertheless, he made half a million dollars by selling his gum at one cent a piece.

He died in 1998, on his 93rd birthday. He may be gone, but his bubblicious creation is still with us. He showed the American people that there could be joy in dark times, and that is why he is considered a hero to me. My connection with him is that I chew bubble gum almost every day.