John Crosby Interview, 1955.
A typewritten transcript of an interview between John Crosby and Lucile Kane of the Minnesota Historical Society. John Crosby briefly describes his father’s business relationship with William D. Washburn, C. C. Washburn, and William H. Dunwoody; the formation of the Washburn-Crosby Company; the investment by the British Syndicate in the company; and the Dunwoody Institute.
MNHS call number: See finding aid in the library (P2381).
James Ford Bell and Family Papers, 1861-1961.
Business and personal correspondence (1861-1961), newspaper clippings (1920-1961), print materials, scrapbooks, and miscellany of a Minneapolis flour-milling executive who was an active participant in public affairs, and papers of other Bell family members.
MNHS call number: Digital Finding Aid
Leslie L. Anderson and Family Papers, 1883-1981 (bulk 1883-1930).
Papers documenting several generations of a Minneapolis family including papers of daughter Ruth G. Anderson from her work in the General Mills Test Kitchen (1930s-1950s).
MNHS call number: See finding aid in the library (Anderson, Leslie L.).
Harry A. Bullis Papers, 1898-1963.
Primarily scrapbooks of articles, speeches, public statements, letters, reports, clippings, photographs, and memorabilia of Bullis, an engineer, Minneapolis milling executive, and active participant in political, governmental, business, religious, educational, social, civic, and cultural organizations. There is information on his career (1919-1963) with the Washburn-Crosby Company, which in 1918 became General Mills, and correspondence with James Ford Bell.
MNHS call number: See finding aid in the library (P290).
Donald N. Gregg Flour Milling Collection, 185?-198?.
Subject files, including photocopies, photographs, and printed items, related to flour mills and milling in Minnesota and other Midwestern states (ca.1850s-1980s). The largest group of materials consists of files arranged by Minnesota city, with individual files for each mill within a city. There are also files containing background material on milling technology and the milling industry in general, files arranged by state (mostly Minnesota, but also including North Dakota and Wisconsin, with a few items from other states), files arranged by county and city (including large files on the many Minneapolis milling firms), biographical files on individual millers, and files of postcards and other graphic material. Individual files typically include photocopies of news, notes, and advertisements from the Northwestern Miller magazine and other printed sources; notes derived from various directories; and (in some cases) photographs and other original advertising materials.
MNHS call number: Digital Finding Aid
Richard Ferrel Flour Milling Industry History Collection, mid 1800s-1900s.
Items produced by Minnesota-based millers form the core of the collection, but it also includes material from companies in neighboring states, the Pacific Northwest, and Canada. Among the approximately 3,000 three-dimensional objects are flour bags, barrels, advertising broadsides, company premiums, toys, and marketing displays, as well as many items featuring that company's celebrated advertising icon, Poppin' Fresh/Pillsbury Doughboy.
MNHS call number: Digital Finding Aid
General Mills, Inc.: The World's Largest Producer of Flour.
New York? N.Y. : National City Co., 1929.
Descriptive and illustrated material including a history of General Mills to 1929, a map of its mills, daily capacity charts, and earnings information.
MNHS call number: HD9009.G46 G46 1929
Company Reports
Company Publications
Employee Newsletters
Company Guidebooks
Oral History Interview with Charles H. Bell, 2 sound cassettes (60 min. each)
Produced by Minnesota Historical Society. Interviewed by James E. Fogerty at the Minneapolis Club. Minneapolis, Minn.: October 2, 1998.
Bell is the retired chairman and president of General Mills, Inc. He recalls the various positions he held at the company and the people with whom he worked. He discusses the Company’s creation by his father, James Ford Bell, its growth and development, and both structural and management changes over the years.
MNHS call number: Digital copy of the transcript; Digital recording of the interview: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Oral History Interview with E. Robert Kinney, 4 sound cassettes (60 min. each)
Produced by Minnesota Historical Society. Interviewed by James P. Shannon. St. Paul, Minn.: 2009.
E. Robert Kinney talks about his early life in Maine, his crab canning business, the acquisition of the business by Gorton’s, his term as a leader in Gorton’s and its merger with General Mills, his tenure as president, chairman, and CEO of General Mills, and his impressions of life in Minnesota.
MNHS call number: Digital Finding Aid; Digital copy of the transcript; Digital recording of the interview: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Oral History Interviews of the Mill City Museum Test Kitchens Oral History Project, 5 sound cassettes (90 min. each)
Produced by Minnesota Historical Society. Interviewed by Linda Cameron. St. Paul, Minn.: Aug.-Sept. 2002.
Interviews were conducted as part of the interpretive program development for the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis, operated by the Minnesota Historical Society. The primary purpose of the interviews was to gain insight into the work of the test kitchens of the two leading flour milling companies with roots in the Minneapolis milling district. Five women, who had been employed as home economists for General Mills or Pillsbury, were interviewed: Marcia Copeland, Barbara T. Lockwood, Sylvia Ogren, Barbara Jo Davis, and Ralcie Ceass. They were asked about their educational backgrounds, job responsibilities, product development, work environment and careeer opportunities at each company, company promotions, and public tour programs.
MNHS call number: Digital copies of the transcripts: Barbara Jo Davis, Ralcie Ceass, Marcia Copeland, Barbara Thornton Lockwood, Sylvia Ogren; Digital recording of the interview with Barbara Jo Davis: Part 1 ,Part 2; Ralcie Ceass: Part 1; Marcia Copeland: Part 1, Part 2; Barbara Thornton Lockwood: Part 1, Part 2 ; Sylvia Ogren: Part 1, Part 2
Flour Milling District of Minneapolis, Minn.
Publisher of original map: Walter I. Fisher. Minneapolis, Minn.: June, 1911.
Surveyed by General Inspection Company ; Guy W. Wilson, inspector.
MNHS call number: Digital copy of the map
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