# James Marker

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**James Marker** (June 27, 1921 – May 2, 2012) was an American-born Canadian businessman who invented [Cheezies](/source/Cheezies), a brand of [cheese curl](/source/Cheese_curl) [snack food](/source/Snack_food) popular in Canada.[1] Marker also established the [Belleville Aerodrome](/source/Belleville_Aerodrome), a private airport, in 1961.[1]

Marker was born in [Dayton, Ohio](/source/Dayton,_Ohio).[1] Marker, who was originally a farmer, worked within the confectionery industry in [Chicago, Illinois](/source/Chicago,_Illinois), for many years.[2] However, Marker invented a new machine used to process [cornmeal](/source/Cornmeal).[1] The machine caught the attention of Marker's [business partner](/source/Business_partner), W. T. Hawkins.[1] Together, Marker and Hawkins moved to Canada and founded the W. T. Hawkin Company in 1949, which manufactures the Cheezies snack.[1] Marker and Hawkin originally started their new company in [Tweed, Ontario](/source/Tweed,_Ontario), to take advantage of the areas railroads to ship their Cheezies.[2] A fire destroyed their original Tweed factory in 1956, and they relocated to their company's current location in [Belleville, Ontario](/source/Belleville,_Ontario).[2]

They concentrated exclusively on Cheezies after dropping other snack foods from their portfolio.[1] Marker designed the machine used to create Cheezies, which shaped the snacks, cooked them in [vegetable shortening](/source/Vegetable_shortening), and coated the snacks with aged [cheddar](/source/Cheddar_cheese).[2] No two Cheezies pieces are exactly alike.[1] Marker's original machine is still used to manufacture Cheezies at the company's plant, as of 2012.[1] Marker remained Vice President of the W. T. Hawkin Company until his death in 2012.[1] He last visited the Cheezies factory for a surprise inspection in March 2012.[1]Outside of the snack food industry, Marker established the [Belleville Aerodrome](/source/Belleville_Aerodrome) in Ontario in 1961 and in 1972 established a flying school and air charter business, Loyal Air Ltd.[1] He frequently used the airport to fly his Apache plane.[1]

Marker died on May 2, 2012, at his home in [Belleville, Ontario](/source/Belleville,_Ontario), at the age of 90.[1] The W. T. Hawkin's Cheezies factory closed for the remainder of the day upon news of Marker's death.[1]

## References

1. Ciarula Taylor, Lesley (May 3, 2012). ["Cheezies inventor dies in Belleville, Ont., at 90"](https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/cheezies-inventor-dies-in-belleville-ont-at-90/article_11f359bb-dbee-577e-a78b-9f3cf6f7bd0b.html). *[Toronto Star](/source/Toronto_Star)*. Retrieved 2024-09-02.

1. ["Canadian inventor of Cheezies snacks dies"](http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2012/05/canadian-inventor-of-cheezies-snacks-dies.html). *[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation](/source/Canadian_Broadcasting_Corporation)*. May 2, 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-15.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [James Marker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Marker) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Marker?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.