Last week we talked about increased storage capacity at the mill after Crowther Brothers built four large continuous-pour concrete tanks with a capacity of nearly 100,000 bushels.  The tanks were built in 1936. Gordon Crowther writes in his history:

“With sufficient storage and added milling capacity, Crowther Brothers could bid on government contracts to supply flour to army and navy bases throughout the country and overseas. With Hitler on the move, the U.S. began preparing for the possibility of war. Then came Pearl Harbor. Troops had to be fed, and the little flour mill on Spring Creek was running to capacity twenty-four hours a day. Boys coming back from the war in the Pacific told that often when assigned K.P., they saw sacks of Big “C” Flour in the kitchens. They became so homesick they felt like resting their heads on the sacks because the flour in the Big “C” sacks was something from home.” 

Ronda Crowther shared the following story by Boyd Thomas which illustrates that Big “C” was not just in the Pacific but also in Europe:

“Boyd was inducted into the United States Army in 1942 after graduating from Malad High School in 1941. He served in North Africa, Italy, and southern France in the Signal Corps as a radio operator and technician. One night when he was on KP duty in Livorno, Italy, he came across a stack of large tins of flour – all marked with the distinctive “Big C” symbol of Crowther Brothers Mill. He said that seeing those cans of “Big C” flour was just like getting a letter from home. 

“Years later when visiting the Oneida Pioneer Museum, Boyd told this story to Fay Cottle when he saw a can of “Big C” flour in the back room of the Museum. Even after nearly 65 years, he became emotional while telling the story.”

Life is Good when home can be found in the middle of a war, and you realize FDR’s Freedom from Want doesn’t just refer to food on the table. “Big C” filled bellies and hearts!