Editing C. W. Post (section)

==Career==
[[File:cw post marj.jpg|thumb|Post holding his only child, daughter [[Marjorie Merriweather Post]]]]
Post suffered a [[mental breakdown]] in November 1885, the result of the [[stress (psychological)|stress]] and overwork which accompanied his job as a farm implement manufacturer. Post made a break with his previous life, moving to [[Texas]] in 1886, where he came into association with a group of [[Real estate development|real estate developers]] in [[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth]], who were attempting to establish a new community on the eastern outskirts of a town called Riverside. In 1888, Post began a real estate development of his own in Fort Worth on {{Convert|200|acre|ha}} that he had obtained, [[plat]]ting the land for streets and homes and constructing two mills.<ref name=TSHA />

The stress of this work again proved too much for Post's constitution, and a second breakdown followed in 1891.<ref name=TSHA/> Post began a period of extensive travels in search of a cure, coming to take particular interest in the chemistry of [[Human gastrointestinal tract|digestion]].<ref name=NAM /> After a period traversing Europe, Post visited the [[Battle Creek Sanitarium]] of [[Battle Creek, Michigan]], a facility operated by [[John Harvey Kellogg]] (brother of [[Kellogg's|Kellogg Company]] founder [[Will Keith Kellogg]]). Post has been accused of stealing several of Kellogg's recipes, including Kellogg's Caramel Coffee Cereal (Post's [[Postum]]), [[Corn flakes|Cornflakes]] ([[Post Toasties]]), and Malted Nuts ([[Grape-Nuts]]).<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Oxford encyclopedia of food and drink in America|date=2013|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|editor-last=Smith|editor-first=Andrew F.|isbn=9780199734962|edition=2nd|location=New York, NY|pages=536|oclc=781555950}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Kelloggs: the battling brothers of Battle Creek|last=Markel|first=Howard|publisher=[[Pantheon Books]]|date=2017|isbn=9780307907271|edition=1st|location=New York|pages=139|oclc=964294340}}</ref>

In 1895, Post founded [[Post Foods|Postum Cereal Co.]], with his first product, Postum cereal beverage.  Post's first breakfast cereal premiered in 1897, and he named the product Grape-Nuts cereal because of the fruity aroma noticed during the manufacturing process and the nutty crunch of the finished product. In 1904, he followed up the Grape-Nuts label with a brand of [[corn flakes]], which was first called Elijah's Manna before being renamed [[Post Toasties]] in 1908.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nilsen|first=Alleen Pace|date=1994|title=Why Big Businesses Break Spelling Rules|jstor=820410|journal=The English Journal|volume=83|issue=5|pages=51|doi=10.2307/820410}}</ref> The British government refused to allow Post to market his cereal in the United Kingdom using the name Elijah's Manna, stating that it was sacrilegious.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nilsen|first=Alleen Pace|date=1994|title=Why Big Businesses Break Spelling Rules|jstor=820410|journal=The English Journal|volume=83|issue=5|pages=48–53|doi=10.2307/820410}}</ref>

In 1906, Post invested some of his substantial earnings from his food products manufacturing into Texas real estate, purchasing a massive {{Convert|225,000|acre|ha|adj=on}} tract in [[Garza County, Texas|Garza]] and [[Lynn County, Texas|Lynn]] Counties. Post platted a new town, which he called [[Post, Texas|Post City]]. Shade trees were planted, farm parcels laid out, and a hotel, a school, churches, and a department store were constructed for the new Garza County seat.<ref name=TSHA />

In 1907, ''[[Collier's]] Weekly'' published an article questioning the claim made in advertisements that Grape-Nuts could cure [[appendicitis]]. Post responded with advertisements questioning the mental capacity of the article's author, and ''Collier's Weekly'' sued for libel. The case was heard in 1910, and Post was fined $50,000. The decision was overturned on appeal, but advertisements for Postum products stopped making such claims.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pendergrast |first=Mark| year=2010 |title= Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World |location=New York, NY |publisher=Basic Books |pages= 101–102|isbn=978-0-465-01836-9}}</ref>

Post was a staunch opponent of the trade union movement and was remembered by the [[National Association of Manufacturers]] as one who "opposed bitterly [[boycott]]s, strikes, [[lockout (industry)|lockouts]], picketing and other forms of coercion in the relations between employer and employee". Post was also a leading public advocate of the open shop system.<ref name=NAM />  However, as compensation, Post paid the highest wages, and provided bonuses and benefits. Near Battle Creek, he had model homes built that were sold to employees under certain conditions.<ref name="benefits">{{cite web |title=Post, William Charles |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/post-william-charles |website=www.encyclopedia.com |access-date=11 March 2022}}</ref>