HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1999-12-29, Page 24PAGE 24. THE CITIZEN MILLENNIUM ISStJE, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1999.
519-523-4740
The Old Mill and Bainton's are two distinct stores from unique histories. They have become the leaders in manufacturing and
retailing leather and lambskin products in Canada. Together, these two families have made an incredible impact on the Canadian
sheep and wool industry throughout the last two centuries and continue to today, as we enter the next millennium.
The Snell Family
The Old Mill and Atlas Tanning & Dyeing Ltd.
1842 Humphrey Snell moved from Barnstaple, Devon,
England to Chinguacousy Township, now known as
Snellgrove, Ontario, Canada.
1848 Among the first to move into Hulleft Township, they
brought the first purebred Leicester sheep to Huron
County.
1854 One of the founders of the Clinton Agricultural Fair.
The sheep division is still an important aspect of this
fair today.
1854 Until present, family members have shown pure
bred Leicester sheep in major shows and won
numerous awards, medals and trophies throughout
Canada and U.S.A.
1933 One of these Leicester rams had the honour of being
selected os the prototype for its breed for the
.Dominion of Canada.
1958 One of the first lamb feedlots was started with
2,000 crossbred feeder lambs out of Western
Conodo. They were finished by Richard Snell and
shipped to packing houses in Western Ontario.
It was the pelts from these lambs that resulted in
the acquisition of Atlas Tanning.
1960 Glenyce (Bainton) Snell graduated from the
University of Western Ontario and in the fall of
I960, Glenyce and Richard opened The Old Mill.
The Old Mill was quickly recognized for giving its
customers high quality Canadian mode leather and
sheepskin products at very competitive prices.
1967 Atlas Tanning & Dyeing Ltd. was purchased. To this
dote Atlas is the only North American tannery
capable of producing a 100% washable lambskin
which was tested and approved in England for
machine washability by The British Leather
Association for world trade.
1971 By this time, both The Old Mill and Atlas Tannery
had outgrown the original location and a new store
and tannery were built in Hullett Township, one mile
south of Blyth, Ontario.
1998 Celebrated 150 years of Snell Family progress:
from respected and knowledgeable sheep breeders
to operators of a retail outlet and manufacturers of
leolher and wool garments and products.
Prototype for the Leicester Breed, from the Snell Flock
Richard Snell (as a teen) with his champion Leicester ewe lamb
1999 Royal Winter Fair — Ephraim Snell Trophy being presented
for Best Get Of Sire — long Wool Breeds
THERE ARE NO OTHER OPERATIONS LIKE THIS ANYWHERE IN NORTH AMERICA!
The Bainton Family
Bainion's & Bainion's Ltd.
1894 Allan Bert Boinlon moved to the newly founded
village of Blyth, Ontario. Allan had worked in a
tannery and his brother Frank had worked in a
nearby woolen mill. Together, they rented an old
tannery building and struck out on their own to
form 8ainton Brothers, a wool-pulling and tannery
operation. The brothers used a horse and wagon
to collect sheepskins from formers and butchers
and began processing these sheepskins to produce
leather ond row wool, which was sold to mills and
dealers.
1898 The main building was destroyed by fire and a new
building was built on the other side of Blyth Creek.
After W.W. II, this newer building was expanded,
and still stands today os Bainion's in downtown
Blyth, Ontario.
1925 The Bainton brothers began the manufacturing of
blankets from 100% pure virgin wool. When Allan
Bert Bainton passed away in 1930, he entrusted
his portion of the business to his son, Franklin T.
Bainton. The advent of motor vehicles allowed
sheepskins to be procured from dealers and
packers as far away as Toronto and Montreal.
1934 The world was in the grip of the Great Depression.
Records from that time indicate that the Boinlon
operation employed mony. Although jobs were
scarce, men working in the plant were the lucky
ones, making $2.00 a day, from 7am to 6pm in a
six day week.
1946 Bainton's began buying sheepskins from packers
and dealers across Canada and the U.S.A.
They operated a successful wool pulling business
marketing pickled sheepskins ond wool in Canada
and the U.S.A.
1963 Bainion's Ltd. moved its processing operations to a
new location outside of Blyth. A few years later they
opened a factory outlet in the original location,
downtown Blyth and built a new and modern processing
plant outside of Blyth.
1987 The retail operation was sold to the fourth
generation of the Bainion family. The new owners,
Franklin, Jayne, Amanda and Richard Snell, ore well
acquainted with the wool and leather industry, os they are
the children of Richard and Glenyce Snell of Atlas Tonning
and The Old Mill.
1994 Bainton Ltd. celebrated 100 years processing
lambskins, leather and wool.