Sheridan Lawrence & Sons New Home Flour Sack

Sheridan Lawrence and his family left the Lawrence Ranch in 1937 after years of hard work had taken their toll, relocating to Peace River. In 1939, Lawrence purchased a half interest in a new business venture: a start-up flour mill in High Prairie, where his daughter, Hester Reykdal, was living. By the following spring, he had bought out the other owner, and for the next two years Sheridan and his wife lived in High Prairie while he oversaw the mill’s operations.

Sheridan hired workers to help get the mill running. The mill produced flour and also gristed wheat for porridge. Local farmers brought in wheat to be ground, sometimes paying cash for the service, but more often giving a share of the flour as payment. Many residents purchased flour from the mill, but over time the operation proved not to be economically viable, and the mill closed after only a brief period in business.

This sack is one of several in the museum’s artifact collection from the Sheridan Lawrence & Sons mill. It once held 98 pounds, or 45.5 kilograms, of New Home Flour. Other sacks in the collection include a 10-pound Breakfast Cereals sack and a 24-pound North Star Flour sack made from spring wheat.