A new service for shoppers who needed a little direction was launched at the Dhahran Family Issue (the forerunner of the Commissary) in the mid-1950s.
Mrs. Bertha Robertson, left, information clerk at the Dhahran Family Issue store, discusses preparation of a Danish broiling chicken with Mrs. Max Carter, while Mrs. Carter's son, Clark looks longingly at the cookie counter.
From the 1955 edition of the Sun and Flare:
A shopping experiment was initiated in Dhahran's Family Issue store last week when Mrs. Bertha Robertson was temporarily hired as information clerk. The purpose of the roving information bureau, explained Bud Stewart, superintendent, food and retail service division, Dhahran, is to improve communications between the employees and the operators of the service.
The need for such a link was made evident by the results of a survey conducted a year and a half ago on the community services. Many people had suggestions concerning the Family Issue stocks (groceries), but had no way of submitting their ideas to the proper authorities.
Cheerful Mrs. Robertson is well qualified for the job of assisting housewives and employees. The wife of Barney Robertson, Dhahran's fire marshal, she has been in Saudi Arabia since July 1946. She is originally from Aberdeen, Wash.
As helpful hints for better meals, Mrs. Robertson recommends slower methods of cooking, marinating meats and baking vegetables. This will bring out much of the latent flavor in our food -- which should be cooked by these methods -- since it is not of quick-cooking type, Mrs. Robertson explained.
— The Arabian Sun: November 16, 2022