DR. JACKSON, ROMAN MEAL BREAD AND VALLEY HALLA
ABOUT ROMAN MEAL BREAD AND ITS LINK TO DR. JACKSON:
From the Roman Meal website and the content ‘Our Story’, written in the voice of the Matthaei family.
Bread was the Matthaei family's calling when they opened a bakery in Marburg,
Germany, in 1686. In 1872, master baker Henry Matthaei moved to Kansas City where he opened a bakery. And, following family tradition, his son, William, also became a master baker.
When the Kansas City bakery merged with others, William struck out on his own — moving to Tacoma, Washington. There he built a bakery that eventually became the most dominant in Southwest Washington.
Around 1912, an ailing physician named Robert Jackson moved from Victoria, British
Columbia, to Tacoma to seek medical care. An avid historian, Dr. Jackson was fascinated with accounts of the legions of ancient Rome. He discovered that on a daily ration of two pounds of wheat or rye, these foot soldiers had the strength and stamina to conquer the world. Following the example of these early empire builders, he set out to improve his health by modifying his diet and conditioning his body, so based on the early diet of the Roman legionnaires, he developed Dr. Jackson's Roman Health Meal. It was a hot breakfast cereal of whole grain wheat, rye, bran, and flaxseed.
Not only did it correct his vitamin and mineral deficiency, but the cereal provided an effective prescription for many of his patients. The demand became so great, Dr.
Jackson had to set up a small factory in Tacoma just to keep up. In 1927, William
Matthaei purchased the Roman Meal Company from Dr. Jackson, keeping its headquarters in Tacoma. Combining his baking skills with Dr. Jackson's formulation,
William Matthaei developed Roman Meal bread with its outstanding quality and nutritional value. Since then, people across the nation —and the world—have become familiar with Roman Meal.
Today, the Roman Meal Company is still owned and run by our family. We are actively involved in ensuring that our products maintain the highest standards of quality and nutrition. The appreciation from customers of our strong commitment to family health and well-being has allowed us to retain our business and tradition of quality for almost
100 years. Roman Meal has grown to partner with more than 90 bakeries in the United
States and internationally. These partners bake and distribute quality Roman Meal breads locally, assuring you that the product you're purchasing is the freshest possible.
ABOUT DR. JACKSON:
From Oddbooks.c
o.uk, in an overview of one of Dr. Jackson’s books “How to
Always Be Well”.
Born in Edwardsburg, Ontario, Canada in 1865, he was apparently a sickly individual until middle age when he conceived his combination of a diet of “natural foods” coupled with a rigorous program of physical exercise. This approach was so successful that he achieved an undeniably athletic physique and - he claimed - perfect health.
Jackson wrote a number of books in which he set out his philosophy of health, including
How to be Always Well . His fundamental idea is that civilization threatens the wellbeing of the human race as unnatural foodstuffs poison the insides, clothing inhibits the proper

functioning of the skin and sedentary habits cause the muscles to atrophy. Hence, if you want to be healthy, reject the evils of civilized living and follow Jackson's way to a better life.
In writing of his daily regime, he specifically noted, “I sleep in an unheated room
(unheated at night), year round, windows open top and bottom, bed screened from draft, and wear no night clothes (pyjamas or nightshirt), but always sufficient bed coverings to keep me comfortable.
”
That would be interesting with what we know of a Toronto winter!
ABOUT VALLEY HALLA: from a printed history of the house that is held in the Rouge Park office, author unknown
The magnificent country estate house of Valley Halla, in the valley on the west side of the Little Rouge Creek, was built by Dr. Jackson on 275 acres of land purchased from
Reuben Pearse i n the 1930’s.
It lies in the valley below the old Pearse barns. The house can be seen from October to
April from the Cedar trail because of the loss of leaves to obscure the view. Nowadays, the house, barns and property are part of Rouge Park/TRCA under the management of the Toronto Zoo, and are off limits to the public. The Pearse family barns and carriage shed, in the vicinity of the venerable old Pearse farmhouse (now the Rouge Valley
Conservation Centre), continue to serve in the operation of the Zoo as special holding and breeding areas (another reason we should stick to the trails!).
The house was designed in the mid1930’s by C. Wellington Smith and reflects the wealth and social position of its owner, since Dr. Jackson became a millionaire from the success of his health foods.

As the building neared completion, a fire destroyed it as a result of oily rags combusting.
Not deterred, Dr. Jackson personally oversaw the building of the new Valley Halla. He personally trade-tested each workman and even hired Italian craftsmen. It was finished in 1936 in the Norman-French Petit Chateau style, and highlights are the red tile roof, warm fieldstone chimneys and stained glass windows depicting a variety of images from a pilgrimage to a hockey star!
Other highlights: Inside the house, which contains 23 rooms, is a two-storey, panelled living room with fine plaster carvings in the ceiling of local wildlife. Above the huge stone fireplace is carved the Ontario coat of arms, flanked by stained glass windows depicting winter sports. Dr. Jackson raised orchids in the conservatory.
The gatehouse, which is more easily seen from Meadowvale Road, is a miniature of the main house in terms of architecture, so you should not need to follow an urge to see the real thing up close and personal.
Dr. Jackson died in 1941, and the property was sold to the Miller family and then the
Crothers family (perhaps the same family as in Crothers Woods in the Don Valley?). The last owner was John Regan, who lived there until 1962 – he operated the gravel pit in the area we now know as the Beare Wetlands.
Valley Halla is recommended for protection under the Ontario Heritage Act, but is not yet an officially protected building or site.
Picture yourself as Dr. Jackson on a warm summer day, sitting by the Little Rouge Creek with your country house behind you. This scene would make anybody feel that they were living in a very special place.