Albert C. Loring Diary and Other Material

Albert C. Loring was President of the Pillsbury Flour Mills Company from 1908 until 1931. Born on August 31, 1858, he was the only son of Charles M. Loring, a merchant and miller. Two years after his birth his parents moved to Minneapolis where he lived and received his early education. In addition, he married for the first time while living in Minneapolis. However, his wife Ida Eastman died sometime before the late 1870s.

In 1876 he traveled east across the U.S. and decided to attend a preparatory school in West Newton, Massachusetts. He returned to Minneapolis in 1877 to attend the University of Minnesota and was one of the first students to receive an education there. Furthermore, he began his first job in the milling industry during this period. He became the secretary-treasurer of the Minnetonka Milling company which his father owned. In 1883, Loring married his second wife, Adelaide Maria Ingalls.

This would begin his long career in the milling business. In addition to working for Minnetonka Milling, he also helped organize Galaxy Milling. Here too he held the position of secretary-treasurer, and later would become its president. Loring was involved in the day-to-day operations of the mills, and he was instrumental in moving to modern milling practices including the use of steel rollers, better strains of wheat, and the use of chemistry to improve flour quality.

In 1893 the mills where Loring worked were combined into the Northwestern Consolidated Milling Company. At the time of its formation, he was made vice-president, and by 1900 he was made its president.

In 1908 Loring became president of Pillsbury. He was responsible for implementing new quality standards and many improvements. The mills more than doubled their output under his control. Furthermore, he was able to negotiate the return of British owned properties in 1923. This brought the operation back under full domestic control for the first time since 1891.

In addition to his work as a miller, Loring had other interest. He was a director of the Great Northern Railway and made frequent trips along the lines with the members of its board. He was a director of the First National Bank, the First Minneapolis Trust Company, and the First Bank Stock Corporation. He also kept a hobby farm where he raised cattle and had one of the most advanced dairy operations in the country. Loring was also involved in the early business organizations in Minneapolis. He helped to form the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce and the first Minneapolis board of trade.

Loring died in 1932 after a three-day battle with pneumonia. He was survived by his third wife, Mary Shenehon (whom he married in 1925), as well as his children and grandchildren.