The Morton Salt Girl




Morton Salt Factory
Dayton, Ohio

 
I wish I knew who drew the Morton Salt girl. She is my favorite iconic figure. There is something so soothing and appealing about her. I love the rain and umbrella, her yellow dress, the dark blue packaging behind her, and her joyful step as she carries a carton of salt. But in my mind, I often replace that salt carton with a book.

When I see the picture of the Morton Salt girl, I am almost overwhelmed with the sensory image of being a young girl myself, curled up next to a window reading a book while it rains. I feel sure the Morton girl is headed home from the library with her favorite volume of the 1960's Best of Children's Books series. I feel certain that whoever drew her was, or would have been, a fantastic children's book illustrator.

I never could figure out what she had to do with salt, and I always feel like she should be wearing rubber galoshes. (Didn't she once?) I buy Morton's salt because of her picture anyway. I rarely salt my food; a container could easily last me a decade. But I like having the Morton Salt girl's picture tucked away in my cupboard. Every time I see it, I am transported again to being a girl reading a book while it rains. Such a simple pleasure in life.