August 19, 1944, Milltown, WI. The Stokely Canning Factory, and the men and women of Milltown, received the “A” award and flag from the War Food Administration. Employees from the plant also received “A” pins to recognize their hard work and dedication.

Lt. Colonel L.O. Whittaker, U.S. Army Chicago Quartermaster Depot, shakes hands with Thomas Riedl, representing Stokely employees, and W.A. Miskimen, Stokely Foods Vice-President in charge of production

Mort Johnson, the plant manager during WWII, recognized the department discontinued giving out the awards soon after Stokely received their award due to the ending of the war emergency. Mr. Johnson stated this award should be a source of pride for the workers at the Milltown Stokely plant because there were only five other canning plants in Wisconsin who received this honor. Stokely Foods in Plymouth, Wisconsin was one of the other plants to receive the award.

The War Food Administration, which cooperated with the War and Navy Departments, established the Achievement “A” Award to bestow on food processing plants whose production records merit high honors. When endorsing the award, President Roosevelt said: “Food is a decisive weapon of war. Victory depends as much on our ability to produce food as on our ability to manufacture guns, planes, and ships. Our army of farmers and processors are fighting an important battle on the food front. Working diligently and skillfully, they are speeding this Nation and our Allies on to Victory.”

The flag’s background was green, symbolizing agriculture. The center design consisted of a head of wheat and a gear, which signified full production. The “A” was blue, symbolizing outstanding achievement. The white star denoted an exceptional record for the current year. Each succeeding year an additional star was added for production that equaled or surpassed the previous year.