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LEHI - In the milling world, Utah's Lehi Roller Mills is small, producing only about 100,000 pounds of flour a day, one-tenth the average of larger mills.
Yet, this Utah County landmark has outlasted many a wheat-grinding giants.
It turned out its first batch of flour in April of 1906 and will mark its 100th anniversary Saturday by offering free public tours, a pancake breakfast and discounts in its retail store.
Besides getting a lesson on how wheat becomes flour - and seeing where Paramount Pictures filmed its 1984 movie "Footloose" - guests will learn what the Lehi mill has in store for the future.
President Sherman Robinson, whose grandfather purchased the mill in 1910, said within the next year the Lehi mill wants to expand its processing business to include soybeans. Preliminary drawings will be on site for viewing.
Soy is a growing food product in the U.S., used to make everything from milk to tofu. Currently, there are no soy processing plants west of the Mississippi River, Robinson said. The mill, on three acres just west of Interstate 15, is working with the Utah Department of Agriculture on the project.
The Lehi mill also wants to expand its retail store where it sells pre-made mixes for pancakes, muffins, cookies and hot cereals. The store presently is housed in a 700-square-foot building once used as an office.
Over the last decade, retail sales have become a growing part of the business. Besides the store, the mill sells its products online at http://www.lehirollermills.com.
Adapting, said Robinson, is one reason the mill is among the country's oldest continuously operating flour mills.
Luck had a bit to do with it, too.
In 1952, Robinson's father began selling flour to local restaurant owner Pete Harmon - and his partner Col. Harland Sanders - for what would become the first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant.
Today, KFC is the Lehi Roller Mill's largest customer. The mill continues to make the restaurant's corn bread mix and its chicken coating, with its 11 secret herbs and spices.
The mill sells flour to dozens of other customers, large and small.
When Crumb Brother's Artisan Bread was starting in Logan, brothers Bill and David Oblock were looking for a certified organic flour made locally. While the Lehi mill wasn't making the flour at the time, it was small enough to alter its operations and accommodate the niche product. The Oblocks signed on.
"They were a small producer and paid attention to detail," said Bill Oblock. Although the Logan bakery buys relatively small amounts of flour compared to KFC or food giant Sara Lee, he added, the mill "works with me and makes me feel like I'm one of their most important customers."
And then there are the local bakers such as Gayle and Ted Maxwell, who travel from Centerville for the mill's freshly ground flour, made from hardy red winter wheat.
"We don't buy flour in the grocery store," said Gayle Maxwell. "This makes better bread."