Businesswoman. Long before women became regulars in the corporate world, Mrs. Cubbison — Sophie Huchting Cubbison — parlayed her knack for baking and her home economics degree into a successful company that still bears her name. “Mrs. Cubbison’s” pre-packaged stuffing and dressing mixes are a fixture in grocery stores throughout the western United States. Cubbison, born in 1890, learned to cook growing up on her family’s ranch in San Marcos, California. After graduating in 1912, Sophie Huchting married Harry Cubbison, and the couple took out a $300 loan and opened a bakery in Los Angeles. He delivered the bread and built up sales accounts; she did the baking and in-store demonstrations and giveaways in markets and delicatessens. In 1925, the couple launched “Mrs. Cubbison’s Melba Toast and Zwieback.” The dried bread products boomed after being linked with movie star weight loss diets. As her company grew, Sophie Cubbison continued baking at home. Friends raved about her stuffing, and she decided the company should launch a pre-packaged poultry stuffing line. The male sales staff in her company didn’t think the idea would work and advised staying in the melba toast market, but Sophie Cubbison prevailed. The stuffing line was launched in the 1950s, and Mrs. Cubbison’s stuffing is in grocery stores and kitchens across the West. She took pleasure in visiting stores, just to see her stuffing mix on display. Cubbison died in November 1982, ironically just before Thanksgiving. (bio by: Harry Martin)