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.

Tacoma Grain Co. (Tacoma); Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Grain industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Laboratories--Tacoma--1930-1940

ca. 1931. Employees of the Tacoma Grain Company work at what appear to be belt driven grain grinders, to make flour from grain.

Tacoma Grain Co. (Tacoma); Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Grain industry--Tacoma--1930-1940;

ca. 1931. Testing bakery at the Tacoma Grain Company. A woman hold a fresh loaf of bread as she stands next to a testing oven. There is a line of seven loaves of bread on the shelf behind her. A bag of Centennial Silk-Sifted Flour is prominently displayed on the shelf next to the oven.

Tacoma Grain Co. (Tacoma); Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Grain industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Bread--Tacoma--1930-1940;

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".

Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Grain industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma Grain Co. (Tacoma); Bags

ca. 1931. An older male employee at the Tacoma Grain Company stands next to a large, belt-driven piece of machinery.

Tacoma Grain Co. (Tacoma); Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Grain industry--Tacoma--1930-1940;

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.

Tacoma Grain Co. (Tacoma); Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Grain industry--Tacoma--1930-1940;

ca. 1931. An employee at the Tacoma Grain Company apparently bagging grain for the Washington State Grain Inspectors.

Tacoma Grain Co. (Tacoma); Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Grain industry--Tacoma--1930-1940

ca. 1931. Tacoma Grain Company, Pyramid Flour plant taken from a boat on Puget Sound.

Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Grain industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma Grain Co. (Tacoma); Pyramid Flour (Tacoma)

ca. 1931. Tacoma Grain Company, Pyramid Flour plant in Tacoma photographed from a boat on Puget Sound.

Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Grain Industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma Grain Co. (Tacoma); Pyramid Flour (Tacoma)

Tony Ricono posing with various food service products.

Nalley's Inc. Marcus Nalley, on the right, and officials from the Milwaukee railroad company inspect "insulated compartmentizer" freight cars on the rails outside of the Nalley plant. On the left is Robert Montgomery, city freight agent, and in the center is Ray Powels, Milwaukee agent. Marcus Nalley was a Milwaukee chef 40 years previously and is at the time of this picture the Chairman of the board for Nalley's, Inc. The railroad car is a new type being built in Renton and the Nalley shipment is its first cargo. (TNT 7/1/1956, pg. A-7)

Nalley's, Inc. (Tacoma); Food--Tacoma--1950-1960; Food industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Nalley, Marcus; Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Co. (Tacoma); Railroad freight cars;

Twelve salesmen are photographed in the National Biscuit Co.'s Tacoma office on October 2, 1954. Sixth from the right in the center of the photograph is branch manager, H.A. Messick. Messick had been with the company for twenty years and his promotion to district sales manager of the special products division was announced later that month. Messick and his sales staff are standing behind an array of Nabisco products, including Ritz crackers, Ginger Snaps, Fig Newtons and Snowflake Saltines. The Nabisco motto, "Be Sure...Buy Nabisco!" is prominently displayed. (TNT 10-28-54, A-9)

National Biscuit Co. (Tacoma); Messick, H.A.; Merchandise displays--Tacoma--1950-1960; Crackers; Signs (Notices);

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.

Flour & meal industry--Tacoma; Grain industry--Tacoma; General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma); Banners--Tacoma;

Meat being loaded aboard a ship, the "Pacificus", from Carstens. Ordered by Carstens Meat Packing Co. Carstens was the largest independent meat packing company on the west coast, with plants in Tacoma, Spokane and Seattle. TPL-8355

Carstens Packing Co. (Tacoma); Meat;

ca. 1953. General Mills-Sperry Division employees. For several years, the employees of General Mills, Inc.'s Sperry Division posed behind "C Day Parade" banners. Presumably, this was some sort of parade held annually; the "C" may have stood for "cereal." In 1953, 25 men were grouped behind the large banner apparently representing the Seattle-Tacoma District. Famous General Mills cereal brands were listed on the banner, including Cheerios, KIX, and Wheaties. All these brands are still in existence today.

Flour & meal industry--Tacoma; Grain industry--Tacoma; General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma); Banners--Tacoma;

Nalley's created three separate bags of candies for Halloween in 1952: a mixed trick or treat selection of individually wrapped candies, candies in Halloween shapes of pumpkins, ghosts and bats for 39 cents a bag, and spiced gum drops. The bags' labels have Halloween images of a black cat and a witch's and a pirate's mask.

Food industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Nalley's, Inc. (Tacoma)--Products; Packaging; Candy--Tacoma--1950-1960; Holidays--Tacoma;

A shopping cart has been filled to the brim with Nalley's candies with posters for "Nalley's Trick or Treat Candies" for Halloween.

Food industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Nalley's, Inc. (Tacoma)--Products; Merchandise displays--Tacoma--1950-1960; Candy--Tacoma--1950-1960; Holidays--Tacoma;

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;

Visiting teachers from Oakland munch on potato chips as they tour the Nalleys plant.

Nalley's, Inc. (Tacoma); Food--Tacoma--1950-1960; Food industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Potato chips; Teachers--Oakland--1950-1960;

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.

Flour & meal industry--Tacoma; Grain industry--Tacoma; General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma);

Nalley's float in the 1952 Daffodil Parade makes the turn from 9th onto Pacific Ave. Nalley's won the second place award in the commercial division. Royalty is well represented on this float because the 1952 theme was "Alfred in Wonderland, " with reference to the King Alfred Daffodil- Puyallup Valley's most famous export. More than 1,000,000 blossoms were used in the parade which took more than four hours to complete from starting point in Tacoma until its termination in Sumner. (TNT 4-5-1952, pg. 1)

Nalley's, Inc. (Tacoma); Parades & processions--Tacoma--1950-1960; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1952 : Tacoma); Festivals--Tacoma; Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Exposure of Nalley's 1952 Daffodil parade float with posing attendants at Nalley Valley. The Nalley float was titled "A Kings Castle," in keeping with the 1952 "King Alfred" theme. In 1923, The US Department of Agriculture suggested replacing the Puyallup Valley's dead and diseased hop crop with commercial bulbs and the reign of King Alfred began. Puyallup Valley soon became the world's top producer of daffodil bulbs. "Bulb Sunday" was born in 1926, when socialites were invited to go from field to field viewing the different varieties of daffodils. The tradition was going strong by 1932 when 80 - 100,000 people thronged the roads on "Bulb Sunday." It was discontinued in 1934 due to traffic congestion and the parade was suggested by Tacoma photographer Lee Merrill to take its place. ("A History of Pierce County, Washington" Vol. 1)

Nalley's, Inc. (Tacoma); Parades & processions--Tacoma--1950-1960; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1952 : Tacoma); Festivals--Tacoma; Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1950-1960;

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.

Flour & meal industry--Tacoma; Grain industry--Tacoma; General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma);

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;

A worker moves barrels with a dolly outside of Nalley's warehouses in Nalley Valley. Marcus Nalley began his one man operation in 1918; by the fifties his company was marketing 49 different products. In 1953, the company processed 10 million pounds of cucumbers into Nalley pickles and 11 million pounds of potatoes into potato chips. Their payroll and purchasing power helped fuel the Tacoma economy.

Food industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Nalley's, Inc. (Tacoma);

Group of four men for General Mills.

General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma); Flour & meal industry--Tacoma;

Twelve Nalley's employees smile and pose in a group picture taken on September 23, 1950. For years Nalley's had a large display booth at the Western Washington Fair; presumably those in this photograph took their turn assisting customers and demonstrating Nalley's large variety of products. The seven women in the group all seem to wear crispy white uniforms; several have name tags: Ann Murray, Vivian Stebbins and Hilda Willis.

Nalley's, Inc. (Tacoma); Western Washington Fair (Puyallup); Fairs--Puyallup--1950-1960; Group portraits;

Nalley's exhibit booth attracted many interested Western Washington Fair visitors in 1950 eager to view and sample tasty products. The large crowds that flocked to the fair were helped by courteous Nalley employees who smilingly sought to affirm the company's motto, "If It's Nalley, It's Good." Large lettering advertised Nalley's Beef Stew as being the "meatiest stew you ever tasted" and cutouts above the booth listed many of Nalley's products: golden Lumberjack Syrup, Nalley's Mayonaise; Shoestring Potatoes and Tang Salad Dressing.

Nalley's, Inc. (Tacoma); Western Washington Fair (Puyallup); Signs (Notices); Exhibit booths--Puyallup;

Nalley's invited friends and family to help celebrate their 31st anniversary with a tour of the facilities followed by a buffet of Nalley's foods. Guests are mingling and enjoying Nalley's fine foods in this section of the buildings. (T.N.T., 8/25/49, p. 34).

Food industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Food--Tacoma; Celebrations--Tacoma--1940-1950; Anniversaries--Tacoma--1940-1950; Nalley's, Inc. (Tacoma)--Commemoration;

Mayor C. Val Fawcett commended Nalley's and he stated he knew Marcus Nalley when he was selling his potato chips to housewives from a basket. By 1949 the company employed more than 600 people. View of visitors touring the Nalley Valley facilities; they are seeing a Nalley's employee work with the assembly-line method used in manufacturing the famous potato chips (T.N.T., 8/25/49, p. 34).

Food industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Potato chips; Spectators--Tacoma--1940-1950; Assembly-line methods--Tacoma; Anniversaries--Tacoma--1940-1950; Nalley's, Inc. (Tacoma)--Commemoration;