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Golden Valley, Minnesota, expands by day and shrinks by night. The city’s population swells to about 30,000 each workday when non-residents commute to their Golden Valley jobs, and adjusts down to normal—roughly 21,000—when 5:00 p.m. comes. A western suburb of Minneapolis, Golden Valley is home to several gigantic corporations, the largest being General Mills’ World Headquarters.

General Mills needs no introduction. Practically every toddler in America is introduced to General Mills Cheerios at some point. In all, the company produces eighty-nine recognizable brands, such as Betty Crocker, Yoplait, and Pillsbury.

General Mills employs about 39,000 workers worldwide, with 5,500 of those in Golden Valley. The company grew out of the Minneapolis Milling Company, which was acquired by the Washburn brothers. In 1866, the Washburns built a mill next to Saint Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River, outside of Minneapolis, and then a second one. In 1877, they partnered with John Crosby to form the Washburn-Crosby flour brand. The brand won the gold medal (and the silver and bronze medals, too) at the Miller’s International Exhibition, and Gold Medal Flour was born.

In 1928, Washburn-Crosby merged with twenty-six other mills, and the resulting conglomerate was called General Mills. Since then, General Mills has had its fingers in a lot of pies, or so to speak. Here is some surprising trivia about the company:

– A General Mills engineer created the “puffing gun” in 1930; the tool inflates cereal pieces and was used to created Kix cereal.
– During the Depression, people wrote letters—up to 7,000 a day—to a fictitious Betty Crocker. A team of two dozen experts answered the letters.
– General Mills thrived during the Great Depression; its stock has paid dividends without interruption since it debuted on the NYSE in 1928.
– General Mills sponsored the radio show The Lone Ranger from 1941 to 1961.
– The company developed the tear strip so that packages could be opened quickly.
– The company’s mechanical division developed the “jitterbug” torpedo, which could pass its target and then return to it.
– General Mills created an aeronautical research division that developed high-altitude balloons with the U.S. Navy Office of Naval Research.
– An electronics division developed a submersible vehicle that was used to view the wreck of the Titanic.
– The company bought Red Lobster when it had only five restaurants.
– General Mills acquired the maker of Play-Doh (Rainbow Crafts), Star Wars figures (Kenner), and Monopoly (Parker Brothers).

General Mills uses its position as a leading food company to promote causes like education. For over twenty years, it has run the “Box Tops for Education” program, which has donated nearly $800 million in funding for schools. Since 2002, it has distributed nearly 80 million children’s books through its Cheer on Reading program. General Mills, and your Golden Valley tutors, know that literacy is a foundation for lifelong success. From its headquarters, General Mills funds programs that tutors in Golden Valley and around the world agree have made a huge difference in student performance.