General Mills produced over 12,900 barrels of flour per day, their output had doubled in just five years. They were one of the oldest flour mills in the Pacific Northwest. The Tacoma plant handled most of the international exporting. Interior view of storage building with thousands of sacks of Sperry flour stacked up.
Great Northern Box Car being loaded by Sperry Flour Company at Ocean Dock, DFPA, Edith Leik. A view inside the box car. Bags of flour are being moved by a forklift to fill the upper spaces in the box car. The interior of the freight car is lined with plywood and paper to protect the flour and meal being shipped. TPL-10457
Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Great Northern Railway Co. (Tacoma); General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma); Railroad freight cars--Tacoma; Railroad tracks--Tacoma; Flour & meal industry--Tacoma; Hoisting machinery;
General Mills supervisors, Mr. Meinecke, Sperry Flour Division. Eight men from the Sperry Flour plant in their work clothes and one men in a business suit in this photograph taken on May 3, 1948. All but one of them wears a hat. At the far left is John W. Geddis. Mr. Geddis was a management trainee in 1948 which involved rotating through various training and supervisory assignments. He later became head of all General Mills Production and Distribution west of the Rocky Mountains. (Additional identification & information provided by a reader)
General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma); Flour & meal industry--Tacoma; Mills--Tacoma; Employees--Tacoma--1940-1950; Geddis, John W.;
The Bechtel Corporation from California was the company working on the General Mills Sperry Division flour mills expansion project. The project was approved in 1947 and was expected to be completed in 1948. Exterior view of Sperry plant, Bechtel sign advertising their services is on top of office building. The safety signs indicates building construction is in progress.
Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Building construction--Tacoma; Construction industry--Tacoma; Engineering--Tacoma; Remodeling--Tacoma; General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma); Bechtel Corp. (Tacoma);
Interior view of General Mills Sperry Division plant in Tacoma. In 1947 the company had decided to expand their facilities. Sperry Flour products were exported throughout the world and shipped throughout the United States, the company was producing over 12,000 barrels of flour per day in order to fill the world's needs.
Special order for special edition, Studio, by Tacoma Times, George Beckingham. Two men are reviewing the quality of the ground material being loaded onto a railroad freight car at the General Mills-Sperry plant. The mill produced all white flours, whole wheat, pancake and cake flours, cereals and mixed feed.
A White tank truck for Larro Feeds is parked in the parking lot of Gereral Mills Inc., Sperry Division, along Schuster Parkway near Sixth. Sperry Mills grain storage elevators are seen in the background.
General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma); White trucks--Tacoma; Trucks--Tacoma--1950-1960; Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Shipping--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Twenty-two employees of the General Mills Inc., Sperry Division, pose behind a large "C Day Parade '54" banner on April 2, 1954. The brand names of several General Mills cereals are listed on the banner, including Cheerios, Wheaties, Kix, and a new cereal, Sugar Jets. Nearly fifty years later, Cheerios, Wheaties and Kix are still being devoured by the hungry public.
View of construction workers working on the General Mills Sperry Division expansion project. The men appear to be measuring, cutting, reviewing plans and getting the building materials ready for the flour mill. The expansion project was approved in 1947 and should be completed this year.
General Mills Sperry Flour Division had experienced an increase in business, because of the Centennial fire. The company had steadily expanded throughout the years, but experienced a boom last year. Sperry was able to corner the market in national sales and international exports. Interior view of Sperry Flour plant, modern equipment allows them to process more of their products to fill the higher demands.
A group of workmen load 100 lb. bags of flour into a Southern Pacific railroad freight car at the Sperry Flour-General Mills plant on Tacoma's waterfront in February 1948. The company's facilities, on what is now Schuster Parkway, was ideally located between the railroad tracks and the "Ocean Dock". The company's products included all white flours, whole wheat, pancake and cake flours, cereals and mixed feed. Sperry's cereals were sent to Portland for packaging. The flour operations at the mill ceased in 1965, and the last of the mill buildings was demolished in the late 1980s. (Special order for special edition, Tacoma Times, George Beckingham)
General Mills supervisors, Mr. Meinecke, Sperry Flour Division. Nineteen men from the company, all but one wearing overalls and hats for their work with two policemen. One of the men wears a suit and hat. Several of the white hats say, "GMI, Safety First" on them.
In this photograph from September of 1947, workers at the Sperry Flour Company use sewing machines to sew 100 pound bags of flour closed after filling. The unidentified worker in the foreground weighs a bag on a scale with the sewing machine head next to his left hand. The line of work stations continues into the background. The Sperry Flour Company was on the waterfront in Tacoma on what is now Schuster Parkway. The flour operations at the mill ceased in 1965, and the last of the mill buildings was demolished in the late 1980s. TPL-8721
Equipment installations, General Mills. A workman is ready to place another bag at the filling machine. One bag that has already been filled with Egg Mash and sewn shut is seen on the conveyor belt to the left of the sewing machine. Ordered by Mr. Meinecke.
Group shot of about 20 men at General Mills. The men are standing & kneeling behind a banner advertising General Mills cereals Cheerios, Kix and Wheaties.
Mechanization could relieve men from heavy labor in the loading dock at the Sperry Mill. One man moves bags of flour from a rotating delivery platform to a wooden pallet. A man with a fork-lift can transport the flour directly to the loading dock at the Sperry Ocean Dock. Ordered by General Mills.
Sperry Flour Co. Flour milling is one of the oldest industries in the Northwest. Sperry Flour Division in Tacoma was just one plant of the many throughout the West. The Tacoma plant did most of the international exporting. The company celebrated its 92nd anniversary this year. Exterior view of plant.
Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma);
ca. 1931. A male employee at the Tacoma Grain Company holds a large filter that is used in the nearby grain sifter. This photograph was taken circa 1931.
ca. 1931. Two men in the quality control lab at Tacoma Grain Company do chemical tests on the flour being produced. A bag of Centennial silk-sfted flour sits on the lab bench.
In 1900 Puget Sound Flouring Company was turning out flour on the waterfront between North 8th and 10th Streets. Later in the century General Mills (Sperry Division) bought up the Puget Sound company and maintained the main mill on the waterfront. A farm service division was located at 5446 South Washington. Here large bags of flour are being loaded onto a ship at the Sperry Ocean Dock. Ordered by General Mills. (TNT, 2/14/1950, p.A-14)
Flour & meal industry--Tacoma; Hoisting machinery; Grain industry--Tacoma; General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma); Sperry Ocean Dock (Tacoma); Shipping--Tacoma--1950-1960;
The Board of Directors of General Mills honored Tacoma with a visit on April 22, 1957. After a board meeting, attendees were given a tour of the local plant. Plant officials answered questions from the board as they surveyed machinery used to package the flour. John W. Geddis, Sperry Mill plant superintendent, (left foreground) escorted a board member around the mill. Harry Bullis, General Mills Chairman of the Board, spoke at the meeting; he is believed to be the man to the furtherest left in the background. Tacoma's Sperry Flour Mill had a capacity of 8400 hundredweight of flour daily. The mill employed 250 local residents. Photograph ordered by General Mills, Inc. (TNT 4-22-57, p. 20)
General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma); Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Geddis, John W.;
General Mills Sperry Flour Division was located on Tacoma's waterfront near Sixth Avenue. The company's officers were: Paul A. Folquet, District Coordinator, and Willard H. Meinecke, Plant Supervisor. Interior view of plant, new machinery and equipment has been installed. Sperry was planning to increase their production to fill the demand for their products.
General Mills Incorporated Sperry Division were the leading manufacturers of flour, cereal, poultry and dairy products in Tacoma. The flour company had first been the Puget Sound Flouring Mills, this company was absorbed by Sperry Flour then General Mills merged with Sperry. In 1947 General Mills decided to expand their facilities, interior view of new plant.
General Mills Sperry flour plant was one of the oldest businesses in Tacoma, and had been in the flour and grains industry for over 97 years. The plant was conveniently located in Tacoma's waterfront area by Commencement Bay, this gave the plant easy water and railroad access. Interior view of plant; view of dock in warehouse featuring an 18 inch turntable and hydraulic hoister; photo ordered by Mathews Conveyor Company of Seattle.
ca. 1931. A line of men employees work at the flour bagging machines at the Tacoma Grain Company. A supervisor in white shirt, vest and tie oversees their work. The machines are used to fill a number of different bags. Bags are marked "Centennial - Silk Sifted - Family Flour"; "Cross Spears - Wong Sui Yuen"; and "Seattle - 100% Entire Whole Wheat Flour".
Port of Tacoma for Times Special Edition, studio stock, B of R. The interior of the Sperry Division mill of General Mills, Inc. The Sperry division had five flour mills, in Ogden, Utah; Spokane and Tacoma, Washington; and Vallejo and Los Angeles, California. As of 1963 General Mills, Inc. was the largest milling company with 17 flour mills in the United States. It was one of the chief producers of breakfast cereals, flour mixes and refrigerated doughs. Washington state was foremost in flour production among the Pacific and Mountain states as of 1963. Two workmen check the status of the processing.(Flour Milling in America, Herman Steen)
