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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-09-26, Page 15• A Warming up to wool Pair aims to rekindle ancient What miracle fibre is so versatile it can be knitted, woven, felted or quilted, has a very high ratio of warmth to weight, wears well, is naturally fire - retardant and is one of the only fabrics which retains its insulating value even when wet? ven more amazing, it can be duced without high technology or e sums of capital and does not ete non-renewable resources. ou said w r , you're right. And yet rkabl fibre which clothed our forefathers ept them snug through frosty nights has fallen on such hard times that some farmers have been known to discard it as a worthless by- product off their lamb chop operations. In a wash-and-wear world of nylons, rayons and the ubiquitous polyesters, wool, which. demands a certain care and respect to keep it looking its best, has been largely displaced from the wardrobe of the average person — though it continues ,n hold a place of honor in the ranks of haute couture. Yet not everyone has given up on wool. With the movement back to nature and back to basics, people are rediscovering natural fibres and there is a certain satisfaction in being able to produce a sweater, quilt or blanket right from raw material to finished product. Just try doing that with polyester. ,WOOL IS WONDERFUL Among all those who believe wool is wonderful,, probably no two more passionate advocates of its virtues can be found than Louise Marritt and Harriet Boon of the Wingham area. Both self-confessed addicts who raise their own wool from baa to batt, they have become leaders in a campaign to make better use of one of Ontario's under -developed natural resources.. Along the way, they hope, this may introducesome badly -needed' new industry and employment to this area. For a start, they emphasize, there is nothing the matter with Canadian wool "P•eople. dealing on international • markets will tell you Canadian Wool is • as good as any," Mrs. Marritt reported. And yet, particularly' in Ontario with its sizeable meat sheep industry, wool has come to be looked upon by some producers as a by-product less valuable than manure. Mrs. Marritt said she knows some who have burned the fleeces at shearing time — or tried to, for. despite the high grease content of raw wool it does not burn readily. There are a couple of reasons for this, she said. The world market for wool has been poor, so that producers have been "almost giving away" .their product at about 50 cents a pound. Also, because wool has- been generally regarded as a • by-product of a meat industry, in many cases the quality of the fleeces hasbeen very poor because farmers simply have not botheredtabout them. With almost 250,000 sheep in Ontario, "it seems a little bit strange we can't produce something out of our ,own wool," she said, noting that "some countries in the. world make woof a worthwhile business." REVIVING AN INDUSTRY They have had the idea for some time there should be a wool industry here in Western Ontario, Mrs. Boon said, and recently with the help off a grant from the Canada Works program they have been able to start laying what.they hope may turn out to be the ground-wqrk. In a five-month project scheduled to end this fall, they have studied both the demand for a custom wool -processing plant in Ontario and what would be involved in establishing such an in- dustry. They have gone to craftspeople and producers with questions about their requirements and have visited other processing operations both in Canada and the United States to learn about the techniques being used. At the end off the study, they hope to determine whether it would be feasible to start a wool -processing plant — specifically, a carding operation — in this area. Ironically, Mrs. Marritt explained,, despite all the sheep in Ontario there is nowhere in the province she can go to have her fleeces custom -processed and returned her. "You can have fleeces custom - carded in the Maritimes, Alberta, New York and Michigan, but not in Ontario." The minimum amount any mill here will take is 1,000 pounds, she reported, which is more than a year's production from a flock of 200 dual-purpose (meat and wool) sheep. That rules out all but the largest producers and also makes it tough fertile hand -crafter who wants to • get a few fleeces processed for her own use. . "One thousand pounds' of wool will make you almost 1,000 sweaters," Mrs. Boon noted. 'A MILL IN EVERY TOWN' • It was not always so. At one time there were scouring and carding mills in communities all over Ontario, but the • introduction 'of synt etics and what Mrs. Boon refers to i°the love affair with the washing m chine" wiped out these local industries. • . "I've been really amazed at the de- cline in the wool industry," Mrs. Marritt commented. "There used to be 18 mills in Ontario and now there are „two. "There used kr be a mill in almost every town." However she does see signs the trend is changing. For one thing,' there is the .remarkable success enjoyed by some small custom processing mills in the northern U.S. and in the Maritimes. "The Maritimes use all the wool they produce," she reported, with a multitude of little mills doing custom work or buying fleeces and turning out their own product. There also is a strong and growing . interest in hand -crafting — an interest which could be reinforced by the development of a local wool -processing industry. Currently there is a lot of imported processed wool coming into the Ontario market to meet the demand, Mrs. Marritt noted, but there is a very definite price advantage to being able to use the domestic product, "to say nothing of the satisfaction of using your own wool." There are other advantages as well. "It could produce another type of in- dustry for an area like ours," which has "innumerable" skilled wool -crafters, she declared. "It is a job opportunity which could exist and thrive. This sort of thing has worked in other areas." It also could be a boon to sheep producers, who, while they can sell their fleeces to the Canadian Wool Growers Co-operative, have few other local options. This actually is one of the only areas of the province which provides any alternative, Mrs. Merritt noted, since there is Baihton's scouring mill at Blyth which buys wool. FROM FLEECE TO ROVINGS To understand the need for a processing industry, it is necessary to know something about the preparation of wool for crafting. It is not a matter of simply shearing the sheep �nd then carting the fleece to the spinning wheel. Not only would a raw fleece be vir- tually impossible to spin into yarn, but its high grease content, not to mention its burden of dirt, manure, sticks and burrs, would make for a malodorous and uncomfortable garment First the fleece must be washed or "scoured" to remove the grease and dirt. Then it is dried, opened out and "carded", which is machine combing to align the fibres and make the wool ready for use. The end result may be either batts or "rovings", ready to be quilted or spun into yarn. The whole process was developed during the Industrial Revolution and has changed little in the intervening years, Mrs. Marritt explained. The newest equipment they found during their travels is still following a design which is 75 years old. "No one's developed a better way," although she has heard that newer machines are being developed in New Zealand and. Japan. It still reniains a highly labor- intensive industry, which is o»e-9JJ.-its.. attractions in a job -poor area' • ' Small-scale, hand -operated equip • - ment is available for do-it-yourselfers, but the product is not up to commercial. standards. LOOKING FOR INPUT It will be several weeks yet before the • project is concluded and . in the meantime neither . woman.- was prepared to draw any preliminary conclusions about their research. They' havelearned a lot in their travels, Mrs. Boon said, including such tidbits as the observationtthat Canadian •motels use wool blankets and American ones use synthetics. ' . • "It's an interesting project and I hope we .can come to some conclusions that will be worthwhile," Mrs. Marritt said, adding they would really like to get input from anyone with views on the matter, "either pro or con". The concept of 'a custom carding mill is their main concern, she noted, and they would like to see how people in the area feel about it: They can be contacted at Bomar Custom Wools, RR 1, Wingham NOG. 2W0 or by phoning 335-3861. a Sparing aver 24,000 hornets in Listowel, Wingham, Mountforest, Milverton. fkrias,, Arthur, Drayton, Harriston, Moorefield, Palmerston, Bloomingdale, Breslau, iConesto$o,• Elrhira, Heidelberg, Linwood, Maryhill, St. Clements, St. Jacobs, Virallensteln, Wellesley and West Montrose. Wednesday, September 26, 1984 by Henry Hess CARDING THE FLEECE—Harriet Boon cranks a hand - operated carding . machine while' in the background torise Marritt holds a bag of commercially -carded "rov- - re -y- for - spinnrrg. me _two WIngh4m Area women, both sheep producers and accomplished wool handcrafters, are conducting a study to determine whether there is a need in Ontario for an operation which could provide custom cardirtg,A� BIinci Atrican Choir. to tour :Ontario e • Their school motto reads: "We cannot see, but we will conquer" — they are the children of the Milton Margai School for the Blind in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Thirty-five of the school's students, teachers and graduates comprise the Christian Blind Mission African Choir and will be touring central Canada in September and Oc- tober. Twenty-five students ranging bet- ween the ages of 8 and 18 will be ac- companied by a .10 member musical band of granuates and teachers. The group will be presenting 29 concerts in 25 centres across Ontario. The tour will be a "Thank you Canada" celebration for all those who have supported their school through Christian Blind Mission International. It will also serve to inform others of what can and is being done for the blind of • the world and how much is yet t� be accomplished. There are an estimated 40 million blind people in the world — about 80 per cent live in the poorest areas of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Every hour some 80 people become blind and of these. 60 will be under 14 years of age. For most of these young people life holds little promise beyond an exis- tence of begging, exploitation and ridicule. Ninety per cent of all the world's blind children do not have the opportunity to attend school. For many institutions of learning, the school motto is an empty phrase, a fragment of tradition that has long since lost its significance. For the chil- dren of Milton Margai School the motto is both a challenge and an inspiration. Before they were rescued, many of these children were the poorest of, the poor — helpless as they faced life on the streets, blind and alone. Founded. 25 years ago by Sam Campbell, Milton Margai is the only school for the blind in Sierra Leone — a Country of 3.5 million people. It is at- tended by 60'primary students while 30 others are integrated into schools throughout the nation. Five graduates are currently en- • rolled in university and training insti- tutions and many others are employed in the general workforce. •These graduates have been able to avoid the 'traditional fate of the blind. About 80 per cent of all blind adults are unable to earn their living because they have no . 'vocational training. ,In light of such statistics, the emphasis for the students of Milton Margai has been on acquiring practical, employable skills. The school's m jor areas of training include English, ( rking national tongue f Sierra one) . ndicrafts, carpentry an '' � • ' ial skil . Like the studen „ of the school, many of the staff are also blind. They are a constant example and encouragement that life can be conquered despite their handicap. Sam Campbell is perhaps the best example of all. Blind since the age of 12, he has been headmaster of Milton Margai since .1959. He holds degrees and diplomas in teaching and admini- stration of the visually handicapped from four different countries. He has been instrumental in establishing Gambia's first school for the blind and used the facility to train others to teach the handicapped. He began a program in Sierra Leone to integrate blind students into normal schools, colleges and universities and formed a place- ment service to aid graduating students. He has represented Sierra Leone at International conferences for the handicapped on many occasions and on the recommendation of the country's government, he received the Insignia of the.Mos.t Excellent Order of Member of the British Empire in 1970. Without -the support of Christian Blind Mission International, Milton Margai School for the Blind and many of the marvellous achievements of Sam Campbell would not have been possible. Vital support for this school and 100 others for the blind around the world is provided byCBMI. Added to this, CBMI supports 40 schools for the deaf as they teach children to communicate in sign language. Last year CBMI missionary doctors performed simple cataract op- erations that • gave sight to almost 106,000 blind people. They supplied over 146,000 people with eye glasses and pro- vided full treatment to more than 173,000 leprosy patients. Approximately 2 million other patientsreceived med- ical and surgical aid. . These accom- plishments.have also allowed the CBMI workers to share the Christian message with millions. They wish all to know that it is the love of Christ that is the motivating force behind their organiza- tion and work. CBMI is known as the "Love -in - Action" ministry bringing practical and spiritual help through hundreds of projects with thousands of dedicated workers around the world. The Christian Blind Mission African Choir is an outgrowth of just one of these pro- jects. These children know they are fortunate. They are coming to sing and to tell their story to Canada — "We cannot see, but we will conquer." Hear and see this spectacular group. They will be appearing at: ,Knox Pres- byterian Church, 142 Ontario St., Strat- ford,'Ontario on Sunday, Oct. 7 at 11:00 a.m. and at Centennial United Church, 858 Dundas St., London' Ontario, on Sunday, Oct. 7, at 7:00 p.m. WOOL ON THE HOOF—Louise Marritt looks on as some of the woolly Dorsets on her RR 1, Wingham farm reach for the grass on the other side of the fence. Dorsets are a dual-purpose sheep. which too often have been valued more for their meat than their wool, Mrs. Marritt said, but she and Harriet Boon of RR 2, Bluevale, another wool enthusiast, are trying to change that by promoting an awareness of the many uses of locally - grown wool. The Christian Blind Mission African Choir will be appearing in Stratford and London on Sunday, October 7.