08/24/2026
A while back Linda Hayes shared this wonderful picture of her as a young girl in about 1942. The picture has much to tell us. First of all her grandfather had purchased a bag containing bread and party flour made at the Stockdale Mill, which is nearly as big as she is. James Deck's name can be seen on the bag. The second thing this brings to mind is the fact that during the 1930s and 40s frugal women often made children's clothing from these bags, especially for girls. Women found a way to get rid of the advertising on the outside and turn them into dresses. In fact, some bag companies began to print bags with floral and other designs on them especially to be repurposed. I'll bet some of you can remember having such a dress. The Stockdale Mill is open (check their facebook site first) for tours so you can see how the flour was made. Chris Kugler adds “the mill tour is so interesting. They said that even though the ladies used the flour sacks they weren’t allowed to shop or go with the men to the mill.” And should you like a short day trip you can visit the Old Bag Factory at Goshen, Indiana, where bags of all sorts were made from 1910 to 1982. You can see some of the old works and there is a small museum there. However, since 1984 it has become the home of not only a small museum about the factory but full of boutique shops, artisans creating their work and restaurants. Thanks, Linda for sharing this picture which captures a part of our county's history. Georgia Thieme recalls “Great Grandma made me dresses and skirts from these bags. She made dish towels from the dresses when they started to wear out.” Kathy L McClure remembers “My mom used flour sacks for kitchen towels because they didn't leave any lint on the glasses.” Marlene Losure Huffaker recalls she “wore patterned flour sack dresses as a child and mom made aprons for herself and kitchen curtains. You had to get two sacks with the same pattern to have enough for curtains.” Lecretia Swan adds “I can remember picking out the flour sack for my dresses!” Carol Meyer recalls “I wore them too! Still have a skirt that my grandmother sewed. Marlene Losure Huffaker says she “still have one uncut flour sack in my stash—pink &!yellow check with sombreros.” Linda Hayes further shares “Mike Rife, a former student of mine, just made me aware of this posting. As I told him, I now know the ‘rest of the story’. Wow! My love of history stems from my dad, Merlin Finnell, who not only taught history, but he also researched our family history by going to Ireland 3 times. When I taught 4th grade we took field trips to places in Wabash County to make them aware of the history of their area. Now this piece highlighting Roann that you posted of this sack, my G’ma’s dog, Poochie, and me will always be a very special one!”
