Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread. The Hyattstown Mill. In operation since 1798, Hyattstown Mill was known for its “fine stone-ground white and yellow cornmeal." Destroyed by fire in 1918, the new mill was quickly rebuilt on the old foundation and remained a crucial local business until the mid-1930s. . . The New Patented Marvel Process . While continuing to utilize water propelled stone buhrs to grind Corn, proprietors Frank. Mortimer and Charles Luhn also outfitted their new facility with the Midget Marvel, a self-contained gasoline operated roller mill distributed by the Anglo-American Mill Company. This new machinery allowed for more efficient processing of wheat flour. Using this equipment also resulted in a more sanitary operation, as “no hands but yours” , that of the consumer , touched the final product. Due to the public health movement, the quality of flour had to achieve “perfect cleanliness” in manufacturing and packaging. . . The Mark of Quality . By 1922, over a quarter of all flour mills in the United States used the Midget Marvel. Hyattsown Roller Mills became one of more than 1,300 American facilities to advertise and sell “FLavo FLour.” Known for its distinctive nut-like flavor, FLavo was . “often buttered, never bettered” . . White of Whole Wheat? . In the 1913 national publication, Economy Administration Cookbook, Montgomery County resident Mrs. Townsend supplied a recipe for Steamed Brown Bread that utilized 5 cups of “graham” flour. The coarse-textured whole-wheat she suggested was healthier option to white flour, because,it aided in better digestion and'overall vitality. Nutritionists believed the milling milling process stripped white flour of essential vitamins necessary for a balanced diet. Hyattstown Mill sold “graham whole-wheat,“ identifying this commodity as “the health giving flour” All three components of the wheat kernel -- bran, germ, and endosperm are ground separately, and then mixed back together to make this product. . This historical marker was erected by Montgomery Parks. It is in Clarksburg in Montgomery County Maryland