Creamettes Macaroni Icon Dies at 89

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The New York Sun

Margaret Linstroth, whose childhood image still graces boxes of Creamettes macaroni and spaghetti after 60 years, died Sunday at Bloomington, Minn. She was 89.


She was the daughter of the company’s founder and eventually led the family foundation.


The “Creamettes Girl,” with big dark eyes and black hair decorated with a bow, grew up to serve as a member of the Creamette Co. board of directors and as a trustee for the family trust. The cartoon image remains on the green and yellow boxes of pasta on store shelves to this day.


Linstroth’s father, James Williams, bought a Minneapolis macaroni manufacturer in 1908 and renamed it Creamette.


The company was sold in 1979 to Borden Inc.


Linstroth’s son Peter said his mother, who was primarily a homemaker, participated in the company’s decision-making process.


“No major decision was made at the Creamette Co. without her blessing,” Peter said.


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