GOLD MEDAL Babes!

A vintage cookbook from 1916. Gold Medal is manufactured by General Mills, which was not always called General Mills:

The company can trace its history to the Minneapolis Milling Company, founded in 1856 by Illinois Congressman Robert Smith, which leased power rights to mills operating along Saint Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River. Cadwallader C. Washburn acquired the company shortly after its founding and hired his brother, William D. Washburn to assist in the company's development. In 1866, the Washburns got into the business themselves, building the Washburn "B" Mill at the falls. At the time, the building was considered to be so large and output so vast that it could not possibly sustain itself. However, the company succeeded, and in 1874 he built the even bigger Washburn "A" Mill.

In 1877, the mill entered a partnership with John Crosby to form the Washburn-Crosby Company. In that same year, Washburn sent William Hood Dunwoody to England to open the market for spring wheat. Dunwoody was successful and became a silent partner. Dunwoody would become immensely wealthy and went on to endow a Minneapolis hospital, Dunwoody Institute (now Dunwoody College of Technology), and a charitable home in Pennsylvania, Dunwoody Village.

In 1878, the "A" mill exploded. There was a flour dust explosion that resulted in the deaths of 17 workers and also destroyed five nearby buildings. Construction of a new mill began immediately. Not only was the new mill safer but it also was able to produce a higher quality flour. The old grinding stones were replaced with automatic steel rollers. These new rollers were the first used throughout the world. These new rollers also were capable of producing more nutritious flour. Winter Wheat Flour was replaced by this new flour.

In 1924, the company stepped in to take over a failing Twin Cities radio station, WLAG, renaming it WCCO (from Washburn-Crosby Company). General Mills itself was created in 1928 when Washburn-Crosby President James Ford Bell directed his company to merge with 26 other mills. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

And so it goes. I'll have to go through it and see if there are any interesting recipes to post.

Click on any image below to see it larger. I think it's a hoot!