April 1, 2012

Hudson, Kansas is the home of the Stafford County Flour Mills Co., which is perhaps more famous (if at all) for making Hudson Cream Flour. Hudson is also next to the Quivira National Wildlife refuge.

Kansas

Nickerson, Kansas for a late morning breakfast.

The best route to Hudson is by the county road just south of Sterling (south of the river). It's sometimes called the Artesian Well road.

A view of part of the Quivira wetlands. Depending on the time of year, there will be quite a number of smaller pools of water and sometimes what looks to be a large lake (although nothing very deep). Birds love it.

That's Hudson, on the right.

Hudson, Kansas. Probably all of these cars belong to people who are here for Sunday lunch at the cafe. I'd guess that the other six days out of the week, this street will be nearly empty.

I already had breakfast not all that long ago, so I just had a dish of ice-cream and a glass of ice tea.

The Stafford County Flour Mills Company has been in Hudson since 1904 when Gustav Krug started the Hudson Milling Company. Evidently, Hudson Cream Flour is well known in circles that care about which flour is best. The wheat used is all locally grown.

From the company:

We're located in Hudson, Kansas (pop. 125) and are now one of the last independent flour mills remaining in the U.S. While we've made a few improvements over the years, added a couple of flour bins and put in more roll stands, our purpose has stayed the same: produce the best quality flour possible at a fair price.

Hudson Cream flour is made using a "short patent" milling process, a method that was much more common a century ago than today. The difference is that in short patent milling the wheat is ground more times and sifted with finer-meshed sieves than in standard milling. Also, the short patent process sifts away more by-product, leaving only the heart of the wheat kernel to make Hudson Cream flour. The result is a flour that is smoother in texture and produces baked goods that are consistently light and fluffy.

Our specialty is flour for the home baker. We're recognized by the distinctive cow logo, and we're often asked: how does a cow symbolize flour? In the early 1900s when the mill was built, many people owned their own cows for milking and it was commonly believed that the Jersey cow produced the best milk and cream. The mill's founder chose the Jersey cow and the word "cream" to symbolize the white richness, smooth texture, and high quality of the flour.

The dog was fierce for a while. Leroy uses a scroll saw to make these motorcycles. I think he'd like to sell them, but Hudson isn't the sort of town where you're going to find a lot of buyers.

The one on the ground is what it is, but that Buell is remarkable for having the strangest look (pods?) of any bike of the last twenty years. Buell Motorcycle Company is now out of business.