Wool Mill

With a nice late summer rain in Buffalo, Gerry and I took a field trip to the Wool Mill. Johnson county has been renowned for running sheep and raising wool since its settlement in the late 19th century. It only makes sense that the wool produced here can be processed here too. 

The Hostetler family started the Mountain Meadow Wool Company in 2007. 

The dream began when Karen wanted to get a local arts and craft store going in downtown Buffalo. Wanting to support Mom, Ben took the project to the next level with the idea of spinning local wool rather than reselling already manufactured yarn. 

It's been years in the making, but today they are one of the biggest private wool processors in the world. Because the cleaning and spinning of wool is so involved, most wool is lumped together and processed in huge manufacturing plants in other countries. Hostetler's Wool Mill is able to take wool from local producers and knit them into works of art. 

The first step is cleaning the wool. The wool comes straight off the sheep and is stuffed into bags where it's stored for a year or better. It's dirty, but also oily.  

This step involves hot water baths with soap. After a few years of running makeshift cleaning units, Ben and crew built this four stage cleaner. 

Looks pretty good on the other end, though it still needs the debris to be removed and the fibers straightened. 

The next stage ropes the wool together and then begins to line out the strings. 

To spin it well, you need the fibers not to be wrapped around each other. This final step before spinning almost runs a comb through the rope of wool. 

Then it's hitched to the spinner. 

The product can stay in a simple spun stage, or knitted into fine products. 

Through computer programing they can now put personal designs onto producer's own wool. 

These automatic knitters make it look easy, but tons of trial and error has gone into perfecting their products. Blankets are a common request. 

So are hoodies. Wool is so interesting. Depending on the type of wool, it can really shrink. This shirt looks to be about a XXL, but after washing and drying, it will be a size medium. 

Partnering with the University of Wyoming, they have added this state of the art sock knitter. They are still working the kinks out of it. 

Dying the wool is another science that Ben is perfecting. 

Usually they will do a couple sample products and send them back to the customer to see what they think before they dye the whole batch. 

Once dyed, it's hung out to dry. 

Then shipped to the customer or hung on the shelf to sale in their store front. 

Along with beanies and other clever apparel. 

Well done.

Words and pictures hardly express the goodness of what happening on the east side of Buffalo. The effort by Ben, Karen, the rest of the Hostetler family, and all the dedicated employees at Mountain Meadow Wool to keep local sustainability alive, is impressive. This is Catholic social teaching put into action. America could use more entrepreneurship that is less focused on making money, and more aimed at providing their neighbor with quality service. Keep up the Good work, crew. The ag industry thanks you.