Both of Rueben Moore’s sons, Franklin (I) and Charles, and their descendants were very involved with the Diamond Crystal Salt Company for over a century, beginning with the company’s founding in 1886. Franklin, and his older brother Charles, along with three others made up the first board of directors of the company. One of the initial investors pulled out within months of the founding and, in early 1887, Charles Moore took over as president with Franklin (I) as treasurer.
Franklin Moore, Jr. (II) left high school after his sophomore year and joined the company where he worked for many years, serving as secretary and treasurer in the 1920’s. His cousins, Rueben and Fred, sons of Charles, also worked at the salt company. In 1926, Fred W. Moore took over as president, as the company became one of the largest and most respected salt companies in the country. In 1929, Diamond Salt was sold to General Foods.
The Moore family involvement with the company wouldn’t end there, though. General Foods struggled to make the company profitable and hired back Fred Moore as general manager in the 1930’s and he became chairman of the board in 1941.
Charles Moore, Fred’s son, worked summers during his school years at the Diamond and joined General Foods after attending the University of Michigan. In 1936, he joined Diamond Crystal again and eventually worked his way up to general manager. In 1953, General Foods decided to sell the company and Charles turned to Franklin H. Moore (III), president of Moore Investment Company, to help the Moore family reacquire the company.
Charles served as president until 1971 and Franklin (III) served on the board of directors, eventually taking over the chairmanship in 1978. That same year, Charles’ son, Fred S., joined the board. Following Franklin’s (III) death in 1982, Fred took over as chairman. Franklin H. Moore’s (III) son, Franklin H. Moore, Jr. (IV) also served on the board for many years.
In 1987, the company sold off the salt mining operations but retained the packaging side which included the popular red and white fluted salt packets found in restaurants throughout the country. The company, now referred to as DSLT, it’s former stock ticker symbol, ventured into real estate development, led by Fred Moore. In 1996, Franklin Moore (V), aka Spike, joined the board. The company subsequently sold off the packaging company to Imperial Sugar and wound down the real estate development in the 2000’s.
For more on the history of Diamond Crystal Salt Company see 100 Years of Excellence 1886-1986.
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