Bob of Bob’s Red Mill is a mythic figure in my world. His ubiquitous branding and his always striving to make the world healthy through his food has inspired me. Going to the Bob Red Mill Store in Milwaukee had me reflecting further. In my notes on the way I scrawled, “one of my favorite Bobs, benevolent, saintly, keeping the world healthy.” Later it inspired a Top Ten Bob list in no particular order: Bob Barker, Uncle Bob, Bob Stinson, Bob Dylan, Bob Neuwirth, Bob Newhart, Bob Redford, Bob Smilely, Bob the Rock in Bend, Ore. and Bob of Bob’s Red Mill.
I’m a quarter of a mile away and jittery. There’s a tourist sign. So, so close!! Then, there it is, a newfangled, red barn building with a turning mill, a bronze statue out front and a hard to miss sign. Take a lesson from that Dave’s Killer Bread. Sadly, there wasn’t time or space in the blogosphere to see both Bob and Dave in one day.
We head into the various rooms of what turns out to be a giant grain gift shop with a restaurant attached. In the t-shirt room, you can see the other side of the mill wheel turning through a huge window. I hear a Dad telling his daughter how the mill wheel operates. Hating to miss an educational opportunity, I pause to eavesdrop, an ear on their conversation, an eye on the Bob’s Red Mill t-shirts. It’s something about the water turning the wheel which turns the grinding stones that crush the grains. Really, it will remain a mystery but all that matters is that grains get ground so Bob can sell them.
Bob is everywhere. He’s in photos, a possible life sized statue in the store and a bronze one on the lawn outside. There was some debate, though, about Bob being taller than the statues indicate. Above the restaurant area is a giant Diego Rivera style mural with Bob peering out of a grain field.
A trip to the bathroom offers more history. Above the baby changing station are illustrations of the interiors of flour mills. There’s a kind of beauty in Bob’s attempts to educate the public about the milling process wherever he can.
We order food and I find myself ordering oatmeal despite the presence of raisins and walnuts. Bob is enticing me to eat healthy and I trust him. From there it’s a kaleidoscope of sights and sounds. There’s that Dad again, this time talking about, what else, grains! There are customers carrying around giant sacks of flour. There are Christmas ornaments for sale right off the tree and hearty food. There’s everything I could possibly ask for except a real life Bob sighting. Rumor has it he’s a frequent visitor to the store. But it’s from my food court balcony eating area that I realize I had not made it to the world headquarters of Bob’s Red Mill and that I am in fact a mile away. I was told the tours had been cancelled since the pandemic so there probably is no real reason to go there. I take another bite of oatmeal with a raisin in it and I ponder what it means when Bob says we should eat whole grains at every meal.
Bag or box?
Floor ads!!
Sacks!!
Can you stomach Bob’s Bar?
Here’s to a healthy New Year.
The wheel on the store keeps on turning.
Portland Orbit 