CHAD'S FACTORY VISIT - PENDLETON WOOLEN MILLS

For several years I had on my wish list a visit to the Pendleton Woolen Mills and this spring I finally had the change to see how those beautiful blankets are made in Pendleton, Oregon. 

The blankets are still made on the same location since 1909. During the factory tour you see all the different stages, from spinning the wool to making the blankets by the computorized weaving machines. And when the final check is done (as you see in one of the last pics) the blankets are ready to be cut in the right sizes.

The company’s roots began in 1863 when Thomas L. Kay made a transcontinental trek to the west coast and began working in Oregon's woolen mills. He went on to open his own woolen mill, the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill in Salem, Oregon. Kay was an immigrant from England and a weaver by trade. He had worked in various textile mills on the east coast of the United States. In 1909 the family moved to Pendleton in northeastern Oregon and took over the defunct Pendleton Woolen Mills. The town of Pendleton backed the family in their new business venture and the Bishops’ company also took over the name Pendleton Woolen Mills.

DETROIT MERCANTILE CO - GENERAL STORE

 "The Detroit Mercantile Co. is a store that celebrates our shared past while introducing our customers to new products. Like the mercantile and general stores of the past, we strive to find the highest quality products from our city, our state, and across the country."

Proprietor Robert Stanzler is a fourth-generation Detroiter whose great-grandfather migrated here from Poland to work at the Ford Model T assembly plant.

The creator of the original Made In Detroit logo and brand, current owner of Detroit Manufacturing – Robert has defined what it means to wear your heart on your sleeve, or back, or chest. His love of the City of Detroit is unequaled.

Authenticity is one of their main focuses for their shop. In which is something that I can appreciate. I instantly walked in and started drooling ( not really but for dramatic effect) at the amount of Pendleton products they had.  (pics by Wending & Boyd)

THE INDIAN TRADE BLANKET

Let’s begin at the beginning – what is an Indian trade blanket? Indian trade blankets are commercially woven wool blankets with striking geometric patterns. Trade blankets have long been an integral part of Native American culture. They’re used for clothing, bedding, warmth, ceremonial dances and gifts for important occasions.

The original Indian trade blankets were the multi-striped point blankets imported by the Hudson’s Bay Company from English woolen mills. From 1780 to 1890 the point blanket was a staple in every fur trader’s inventory and thousands upon thousands found their way into indigenous hands.

However, another weaving tradition began in the 18th century. The Navajo tribe of the American Southwest wove sheep’s wool into classic wearing blankets that became coveted trade items.

When the Indian Wars ended in 1890 the reservation system began. With all the tribes now wards of the United States government, federally licensed Indian trading posts were established. The Indian traders promptly invented a new textile – the Navajo rug. It was a much heavier textile than the traditional Navajo wearing blanket and designed specifically for the floors of non-Indian homes. The designs were based on the Oriental rugs popular in the eastern United States. From that time forward the Navajo ceased making wearing blankets and wove only rugs for sale through the white traders.

With the Navajos now exclusively weaving rugs, commercial woolen mill operators saw an opportunity to sell their machine-made blankets to the Indians and the result was Indians selling rugs to whites and whites selling Indian blankets to Native Americans – a practice that continues to this day. For over a hundred and ten years Indian blankets have been made for Indians, not by them!

Indian trade blankets are often referred to generically as Pendleton blankets. While Pendleton is the only pioneer Indian blanket manufacturer still in existence, there were many companies that made Indian blankets.

 If you want to know more about these beautiful blankets Barry Friedman (who wrote the above mentioned text) published 2 great books about these wool blankets called Chasing Rainbows and Still Chasing Rainbows another great book is called Language of the Robe written by Kapoun & Lohrmann.

SMOKEY THE BEAR IS ON HIS WATCH

FILSON IS CELEBRATING SMOKEY BEAR

Smokey Bear was born in 1944 as part of a national advertising campaign to try and prevent forest fires. His first words were: “Smokey Says – Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires,” followed closely behind by: “Remember … Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires.”

In 1950, Smokey, a black bear cub, was rescued from a wildfire on New Mexico’s Lincoln National Forest. His paws and hind legs badly burned, the five-pound-cub was nursed back to health in Capitan, New Mexico.

Filson has worked with many industries and organizations over the last 119 years, but one of our most special relationships has been with men and women who work in the woods, from outfitting timber cruisers in the early 1900s to providing standard-issue uniforms for the U.S. Forest Service in the 1940s.

This year, Filson is introducing a special line of products to help spread the message of one of our favorite outdoorsmen: Smokey Bear.

The centerpiece of the collection is the limited-edition, individually numbered Smokey Bear Watch. Limited to 1000 pieces, the 43mm watch comes boxed with a certificate of authenticity, a book that tells the story of Smokey Bear and the Filson relationship with the outdoors, a bandana featuring Smokey's image and outdoor safety tips, and six postcards of reimagined vintage Smokey posters. The collection also includes a Smokey Bear t-shirt, a Pendleton-wool blanket, a powder-coated water bottle and a Smokey Bear cap.