Flour Power | Full Documentary

So this is like the beginning of processed foods

My late father was an executive with Pillsbury for 30 years. He was with them from 1950 to 1980. Between high school and college I worked in the consumer correspondence dept and used to sign the outgoing letters as Ann Pillsbury - no relation. Loved the job and the people. My dad was dedicated to the company and helped build it in his own way for 30 years. Now Pillsbury is part of a conglomerate that includes its former competitor General Mills -- both great companies. The Pillsbury family were very nice people - a great place to work back in the day.

Who knew that flour could be so interesting and entertaining! There is something here for everyone: American history in the northwest, sports and the creation of Wheaties, glamour and style in creating Betty Crocker, marketing and creating Cheerios, music and the creation of radio jingles, and much more! A delightful little film you will love! Thank you, youtube!

It is fascinating to hear how the flour industry got started in Minnesota. As someone from Rochester and tapped into the history of our city, the beginnings of your Flour industry is a carbon copy of ours. Coincidently, your rise to Flour Power is the reason for our fall. Thankfully we moved on to other industries, but it is fun to think of the possibilities if Minnesota wasn't so fertile for growing cereal grains and had the rivers to create the mills.

As a Minnesota native I was so excited when I saw this video. I was born in 1945 and remember all the advertising and jingles. I grew up on Cream of Wheat in the winter months. I always knew Minneasotans were a hardy stock, my mom lived to be 93. Thanks PBS for this wonderful History lesson.

I only turned this on for some background while doing other things, but I kept returning to watch the video. I know about Kellogg and Battle Creek, but nothing about flour. As a home baker and a person who loved puffed rice as a child, and watches the little kids eat Cheerios in church, I learned a lot I didn't know about this aspect of food in America.

That feeling when you already know you’ll enjoy it before watching… Thank you, TPT!

As a Farmer, Historian, and Minnesotan this documentary gives me chills and excitement. I grew up as a child in the Minneapolis area, my mothers side of the family was rich with history in the Minneapolis heritage of the Mills and industry. My fathers step father was a farmer, and for a time was a laborer in the Minneapolis industrial economy while maintaining the family farm in Miltona, Minnesota. I can feel my deep roots and heritage to the Milling in Minneapolis and the wheat farmers of the surrounding communities. I especially felt connected to the philanthropy aspect being highlighted. The milling families set a great precedent, one both my grandfathers instilled on me. Investing into you environment and investing into others was never considered optional, even though we came from poor roots. Hard work paid off for my great grandparents, my grandparents, and my parents. They all share into the communities, and now my turn is here and I work towards the same. I strongly support education beyond the school, encouraging kids to learn about our heritage. Children who grow up knowing their families heritage, feeling their roots build better, and stronger communities.

I am now 71 and was a kid back in the 1950's. I grew up with Cheerios, Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes ( Kellogg's of course...LOL..!! ), Cream of Wheat, and the rest. I would eat Cheerios and Rice Krispies right out of the box, like a snack. I also grew up with white sandwich bread but later switched over to whole wheat sandwich bread. This was a very interesting and historical video...thanks..!!

My mother took a clerical job at GeneraI Mills during World War II. When she left that job she went down the street to Pillsbury, but they didn't hire her. She jokingly speculated that they suspected her of being a corporate spy. I find it an interesting coincidence that my grandmother's maiden name was Mueller, and she spent the bulk of her life in Minneapolis. I've gained a new appreciation for the old console radio that sat in my grandparent's' parlor on Fremont Avenue North in Minneapolis. Perhaps they listened to those first commercial jingles on that same radio.

Well done, Twin Cities PBS. This is one of the finest documentaries I've watched this year.

I worked for the Pillsbury company for years making a variety of different types of biscuits & cinnamon rolls. All it was was flour, water and flavoring. They made billions of dollars from those 3 items. Local 33

As one of the last flour millers in Minneapolis, this makes me very happy. Hooray for wheat!

What a great Documentary! I learnt so much about the history of the twin cities, I wish this was taught in every Minnesota High School!

PBS rules so hard. Every state has a dope PBS.

This is one of the best history programs i have ever seen or heard

What an interesting and educational success about milled flour and how it reshaped our country as we see it today thank you

Not from Minnesota, but I found this fascinating. I think the most interesting aspect of the documentary is the current standing of these companies. I believe they will have to change to meet the nutritional needs of America today, but. These companies provided our country and the world with economical food at a time when most of the country was still doing daily heavy labor. For many of us, that has changed. But for other areas of the world, not so much. I truly hope they will find a way to provide nutritional food to those of us with a more sedentary lifestyle while allowing the developing world an economical and filling food source. Thank you for this production.

This was like reading a history novel. Each chapter is a fascinating segment of time and just as engaging as the last. Thanks MN PBS for this history lesson on the origins of the Twin Cities.

I'm from Ohio and it's cool to watch this regional thing and how well it's told. I definitely have a more appreciation of the twin cities apart from the juicy lucy. Thanks!!