Guide to the Unifine Milling Company Records 1950-1999
Cage 787

Summary Information

Repository
Washington State University Libraries, Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Title
Unifine Milling Company Records
ID
Cage 787
Date [inclusive]
1950-1999
Extent
.5 linear feet of shelf space., 
Language
Collection materials are in English.
Abstract
This collection consists of selected records of the Unifine Milling Company.

Preferred Citation

[Item Description] Unifine Milling Company Records, 1950-1999

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

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Biography/History

The Unifine process of milling flour was the idea of an Englishman, John Wright. This process of milling flour produced a whole wheat flour with a lengthier period of rancid-free storage than ordinary whole wheat flour. Moreover, the flour had baking properties similar to enriched white flour. Wright approached the Washington State College Division of Industrial Research with his idea in the late 1940s, and period of experimentation with the mill soon began. The mill could not be patented, but Washington State College controlled the registration of the name "Unifine" until 1975.

One commercial application of the unifine technology was the Unifine Milling Company of Pullman. In 1981 this company began producing flour for sale to the public under the name "Flourgirls." This firm continued in operation until about 1995.

(Note: this information is from the guide to a related collection of Unifine records in MASC, Cage 691.)

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Scope and Content

This collection consists of selected records of the Unifine Milling Company collected and preserved by Beverly McConnell, one of five women who owned and operated the company from 1985 until it ceased operations in 1995. It includes recipes, sales and marketing documents, reports, financial information, product information, mill records, documents related to an attempted private placement stock offering, and photographs.

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Arrangement

The collection is arranged in a single series.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections  © 2012

http://www.libraries.wsu.edu/masc/

Terrell Library

P.O. Box 645610

Pullman, WA, 99164-5610 USA

509-335-6691

mascref@wsu.edu

Restrictions on Access

This collection is open and available for research use.

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions apply.

Acquisition Information

Steven McConnell donated this collection to the Washington State University Libraries in 2012 (MS 2012-25).

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Cheryl Gunselman.

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Related Materials

Related Material

Unifine Milling Company Records, 1949-1996 (Cage 691)

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Names and Subjects

Corporate Name(s)

Subject(s) :
  • Unifine Milling Company -- Washington (State) -- Pullman

Subject(s)

  • Flour mills -- Washington (State) -- Records and correspondence
  • Unifine flour
  • Flour
  • Businesses and Corporations
  • Washington (State)

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Detailed Description of Collection

box folder

Flourgirls recipe books, 1987. 

1 1

Unifine recipes, circa 1953-1994. 

1 2

Flourgirls recipes for bread machines, undated. 

1 3

"Let's Get Cooking" radio show (correspondence, program information, and station information), 1994. 

1 4

Flourgirls papers (board of directors minutes, news clippings, historical sketch of Unifine Milling Company, correspondence), 1981-1989. 

1 5

News articles about Unifine, 1985-1995. 

1 6

Flourgirls flour flyers, undated. 

1 7

Unifine letterhead (blank). 

1 8

Wheat (article and pamphlet about wheat), circa 1990s. 

1 9

Correspondence about stock certificates, 1984-1994. 

1 10

Correspondence, 1986 and 1994. 

1 11

Articles of incorporation and amendments, bylaws and amendments, 1981-1995. 

1 12

Mill records (advertising statements, drawings, labor analysis), circa 1993-1994. 

1 13

John and Tricia Rapp (correspondence and notes about sale of Unifine assets), 1999. 

1 14

Bev McConnell file (undated news article about mill closure, 1985 and 1995 stock offering prospectus, correspondence, 1984 Unifine historical sketch, tax documents, and published 1950 report on Unifine flour), 1950-1998. 

1 15

Photographs, 1995 and undated. 

1 16-18

Flourgirls 5-pound flour bag. 

1 19