Good old government cheese - was legit “American Cheese!
My parents and grandmother’s main cheese in the 1950’s to 1960’s was the plain old American cheese you cited.
They made grilled cheese sandwiches with local bread and butter on the bread, grilled in a frying pan.
My wife grew up in the midwest, and her parents and grandmother made similar grilled cheese sandwiches to kill for.
They bought potato chips in the 5 gallon can and got home delivery.
A pan grilled American cheese sandwich with grilled buttered bread and the chips made a full meal or a really good snack.
In the winter time, they and my family heated some tomato or mushroom soup for an incredible lunch or dinner.
A local diner on Friday’s, for students only. had a grilled cheese 1/2 sandwich, a cup of soup, your choice of tomato or mushroom and chips for a $, and that included a dime tip for the waitresses.
Finally, the high school cafeteria offered the same thing for 50 cents with free refills. On rainy or snowy days, we stayed and had that special.
Charles’ chips?
Forgot about them!
We had “Wise” chips in the huge cans in upstate NY. They were good.
But, I have to admit, there are now lots of smaller chip makers who turn out really good product.
We were at a neighbor’s Christmas party and he had a can of chips. I hadn’t see the big can in decades.
Another example of subsidized government entities killing private initiative.