About that Cheerios smell: Don Dodd shares his General Mills stories

Spilling Grain

DON DODD Longtime General Mills worker “It's like walking next to a jet, that's how loud they are.... That thing was just whistling and screaming.” Don Dodd got his start at General Mills in 1969 and worked there for decades, taking on all sorts of roles. For a time, he was a gunner - literally shooting Cheerios out of a pressurized chamber that created a deafening sound. In the early days churning out breakfast cereal and cake mixes, there were distinct roles for men and women at the plant. And, even though work there could be hot, noisy and grueling, Don and his coworkers often managed to find time for a break, sometimes dashing across the bridge for a 25 cent "adult beverage" at nearby Swannie House.