Turkey Talk with the Butterball Ladies of Plymouth Place
Jean Schnelle and Marge Klindera know turkey, as both were an integral part of the infamous Butterball® Turkey Talk-Line®.
In all started in 1981, the very first year of the Talk-Line. That’s when Jean received a call from a neighbor who worked for Swift & Company which, at that time, owned the Butterball brand. The neighbor told Jean they were looking for home economists to staff an experimental public relations project to help Butterball alleviate an ongoing problem. After every Thanksgiving, they were flooded with calls and letters from people complaining they had roasted their turkeys incorrectly – despite the full-color instructions accompanying every bird.
“People were using methods that dated back to their grandmother and ignoring the instructions,” Jean said. Swift wondered if offering a toll-free phone call with a live person would solve the problem. Thus, the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line was born.
Jean and six other Talk-Line staff members attended “Butterball U” in the Hinsdale test kitchen. Five phone desks were set up with alphabetized rolodexes containing answers to anticipated questions. Posters were put on the wall with timings for roasting and thawing. Even with all their preparation, they wondered if people would call.
Turns out, the Talk-Line was a huge success. The first year they fielded 11,000 inquiries. “We didn’t believe anyone would call on Thanksgiving because they would think we were closed,” she said. “We only had three people working that day and I was thinking ‘those poor girls at the office with nothing to do. They must be bored to death.’” Jean called her friends that afternoon. “I heard this gasping voice saying, ‘we are swamped!’” According to Jean, they burned out the entire phone system in Hinsdale from the call volume on just that day!
The next year the Talk-Line grew to 10 people answering calls, but they still couldn’t keep up. By year three, they added even more staff. Jean was now the director of the project and hired her friend Marge Klindera – who also had a home economist degree – to join the growing team.
Celebrity Status
For Jean and Marge, the Talk-Line was more than a job. It was an adventure. They received media training to handle the barrage of attention from local and national press.
Celebrities like Martha Stewart and Stephen Colbert popped into their office to answer calls. “Our favorite was Irma Bombeck who acted like just one of us girls, took some calls and ate a sandwich at her desk,” noted Jean.
Marge flew to New York and stuffed a turkey on air with Conan O’Brien. Jean did an interview with PEOPLE® Magazine and was photographed surrounded by a flock of turkeys in a field in Arkansas.
Click HERE to watch Marge on the Conan O’Brien show.
“We became party fodder,” said Jean. “People would call asking crazy questions like ‘can you thaw a turkey in a toilet?’ hoping their question would get mentioned on air.”
Over the years, the Talk-Line eventually moved to larger offices in Naperville, built up to a staff of 50 and fielded 100,000+ calls a year. Jean worked for the Talk-Line for 20 years. Marge became assistant director and worked there for 38 years.
According to Marge, the team members were paid well. “We started in October with some training and worked all the way through December,” she said. As technology changed so did the Talk-Line. Eventually they used computers and added tips on microwaving and deep-frying turkeys.
Jean Schnelle preparing her own turkey dinner in 1968.
Sage Advice
Marge’s best advice is don’t wait. “Buy your turkey a week ahead of time to start the thawing process.” As far as cooking tips, Marge and Jean stress that it all depends on how the turkey is prepared and if it is stuffed. For specific questions, it really is best to call the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line at 1-800-BUTTERBALL, text 844-877-3456 or visit butterball.com/how-to.
This Thanksgiving, Jean and Marge will not be roasting a turkey. They will be enjoying a beautifully prepared meal at Plymouth Place. However, Marge will be pulling out the roasting pan and preparing a turkey for her family at Christmastime. “I really love turkey,” she said. “My biggest issue will be trying to get 10 people around my dinner table.”
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