Franklin D. Roosevelt articulated four basic freedoms in his 1941 State of the Union address. They are Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear. They promoted universal human rights and became a guide for the Allied Nations at the end of WWII. When our Museum Window Committee, aka Janice, Sharon and I, were brainstorming ways to meld our community and America 250, we decided Crowther Brothers Milling Company was a perfect example of American ingenuity which fit under FDR’s Freedom from Want.

Let me tell you a little about the Edward Crowther Family in the early 1900s. Edward and Mary Crowther lived in Laketown, Utah, where they were in business with Edward’s brother running a flour mill. Business wasn’t great for many reasons, so Edward started looking around for a better fit for his family. The Malad Roller Mill was for sale.

Now the Malad Roller Mill was in a rather “rundown condition” but was well-situated in a thriving grain section and near the railroad. Edward determined the family wasn’t afraid of work and they needed a place where they could grow and create careers for his three sons. Edward bought the roller mill for $8,000 in 1912, packed up, came to Malad and hit the ground running. Immediately they invested around $7,000 in new equipment and several thousand more over the next year enlarging the plant, adding bins, warehouse space, and storage facilities. This upgrade to the mill filled a need in the valley providing a modern place for farmers to sell and store their harvest.

This first step of getting the mill physically ready for business was instituted because Edward knew his sons. The oldest son, also named Edward, returned from a mission in Australia about the time the family moved to Malad. Young Edward was good with the public and with employees. Norman, the second son, who would soon return from a mission planned to take business and chemistry classes in Salt Lake City. He enjoyed the office and bookkeeping. Junius, the youngest son was still at home with college and a mission ahead of him. He was blessed with mechanical and inventive skills that would serve the company well. So, you had Father Edward to oversee, guide and manage. Young Edward to work with the people. Norman to balance the books. And finally, Junius who truly was an inventor and had a great creative mind. 

This was the beginning of a major business in the valley that lasted until 1973. In the next few weeks, we’ll cover more of the Big C story. In the meantime, take a few minutes and walk by the Museum window and look at pictures and a timeline that focus on a business that grew to serve Malad, the intermountain west, the country and the world. 

Life is Good when you find fascinating stories right in your own community involving ancestors of friends and people you admire. And it is particularly good when you realize these people helped you and your community enjoy Freedom from Want.

• “History of the Crowther Mill,” by W. Gordon Crowther, November 30, 1997.