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In 1790, George Washington was elected the first U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson became the country's first secretary of state, and flour imported to Boston from England marked the beginning of the King Arthur Flour Company. The King Arthur Flour Company, now more than two hundred years old, produces the flour of choice for millions, from beginning home bakers to the world's top chefs, and has evolved into a one hundred percent employee-owned company. King Arthur Flour Company illustrates the history of America's oldest flour company (and New England's oldest food company). King Arthur Flour was founded in Boston not far from Long Wharf, where the flour was unloaded from merchant ships. Five generations of the Sands family headed the company for almost two centuries until the Employee Stock Ownership Plan was initiated in 1996. Marketing at King Arthur Flour has always revolved around the icon of the lone knight on his horse, and in 1896, a lone rider dressed as King Arthur rode through Boston's streets atop a black stallion to advertise the product. Another creative marketing campaign featured a white sound truck, complete with a large pipe organ and an eight-foot statue of King Arthur, roving through New York City streets.

William E. Aubuchon Sr. immigrated to the United States from Canada in 1900 at the age of 15, speaking no English and armed with only a fifth-grade education. Through hard work and perseverance, he established a hardware store in 1908 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. One hundred years later, there are over 130 Aubuchon Hardware stores located throughout Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, employing about 1,100 people. This remarkable growth by Aubuchon Hardware can be attributed to the company treating its customers as friends and always making them number one. As William E. Aubuchon Sr. once said, "The business was founded on the principle of buying economically. We give our customers what they want--high-grade hardware at a price everyone can afford." Aubuchon Hardware never lost track of where it started, and today it still remains "all in the family" with over 20 family members currently employed, including the fourth generation. In Aubuchon Hardware, family members were an invaluable resource for photographs and historical information.