LOCAL BUSINESSES ARE KEEPING THOSE TRADITIONS ALIVE. I’VE. NEW ENGLAND HAS A STORIED HISTORY WITH TEXTILE MILLS, ESPECIALLY WOOL. IN CANTON, ONE PROPERTY HOUSES TWO BUSINESSES WITH MORE THAN 250 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE COMBINED, AND WE’VE BEEN INCORPORATED SINCE 1856. KRISTIN DRAPER IS THE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER OF DRAPER KNITTING, THE SIXTH GENERATION OF THE DRAPER FAMILY TO RUN THIS BUSINESS. JAMES DRAPER, WHO STARTED OUR BUSINESS, CAME OVER FROM ENGLAND WITH HIS BROTHER THOMAS. THEY SET UP SHOP HERE IN CANTON. THE COMPANY’S FIRST PRODUCT WAS A SONNTAG, A SMALL SHAWL WOMEN WORE OVER DRESSES OVER THE DECADES THEY’VE USED A LOT OF WOOL PRODUCTS, RANGE FROM PEA COATS TO MILITARY BLANKETS. WHEN I CAME INTO THE BUSINESS IN THE 80S, WOOL WAS NOT A THING ANYMORE. SO NOW DRAPER AND SAFETY PRODUCTS MANAGER BETHANY POLLOCK SAY THEY’RE RETURNING TO THE TEXTILE AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ITS BEST CHARACTERISTICS. SIX WOOL IS SO WONDERFUL IN ITS INSULATION AND ANTI MICROBIAL AND SELF-EXTINGUISHING. DID SHE SAY WOOL IS SELF EXTINCT? FISHING IF YOU PUT A FLAME TO IT AND THEN TAKE THE FLAME AWAY, IT’S GOING TO PUT ITSELF OUT. POLLOCK SHOWED US THE WAYS DRAPER USES WOOL AND PRODUCTS THEY MAKE FOR THE US MILITARY. THREE LAYERS OF A WOOL AND COTTON FLEECE ARE THE INSULATION IN THE TOP OF THIS EXTREME COLD WEATHER BOOT. ONE OF THE MORE RECENT THINGS THAT WE’VE DONE WITH WOOL IN TWO DIFFERENT LAYERS OF AN EXTREME COLD WEATHER GLOVE IS A NAPPED WOOL FRENCH TERRY FOR A LINING, FABRIC OF THE GLOVE. IT GIVES YOU THAT NICE SOFT HAND AND THEN ALSO WE DO A HIGH PILE FABRIC THAT’S NO MELT, NO DRIP. HERE AT THE DRAPER KNITTING FACILITY, THE COMPANY IS MANUFACTURING A RANGE OF PRODUCTS USING WOOL, FROM STRETCHY KNITS TO FLUFFY FABRICS. THEY’LL BECOME EVERYTHING FROM PAINT ROLLERS TO PROTECTIVE FIREFIGHTING GEAR. THE COMPANY IS ALSO USING ALL THOSE MACHINES TO TRY TO BRING WOOL TO MORE CUSTOMERS. SO WE MADE THIS WHOLE WOOL BAR, WE CALL IT THE WOOL BAR. BELLY UP TO THE BAR BECAUSE YOU CAN ORDER ONE YARD OR AS MUCH AS YOU WANT, DRAPER SAYS. FASHION DESIGNERS HAVE USED THESE FABRICS IN CLOTHES. THEY’VE ALSO BEEN MADE INTO HOME GOODS LIKE MATTRESS TOPPERS. HOLY LAMB, ONE OF OUR CUSTOMER COMPANIES, USES THIS TO MAKE NATURAL BEDDING. WE HAVE EVERYTHING FROM A VERY LIGHTWEIGHT JERSEY TO A VERY HEAVYWEIGHT DOUBLE KNIT, SO WE’RE TRYING TO GET ALL ASPECTS FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT MORE INDUSTRIAL TYPE STUFF AND THEN MORE FASHION Y TYPE STUFF. ANOTHER WOOL BUSINESS HAS FOUND A HOME IN DRAPER KNITTING CANTON PROPERTY. THE R.H. LINDSEY COMPANY GOT ITS START IN THE WOOL BUSINESS NEARLY A CENTURY AGO. MY GRANDDAD FOUNDED IT IN THE THE MID 30S. HE WAS GIVEN A WOOL BUYING CONTRACT FOR BARRY WOOLCOMBING AND BARRY MASS. SO HE KNEW WHEN HE STARTED HE WAS GOING TO MAKE $0.02 A POUND ON 7 MILLION POUNDS A YEAR. THAT THAT MILL USED TO FILL. LINDSAY IS THE THIRD GENERATION TO LEAD THIS FAMILY BUSINESS, BUT HE’S DOING IT IN A WOOL MARKET VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE HIS GRANDFATHER AND FATHER OPERATED IN SUMMER STREET, WHERE ALL THE WOOLIES MET. BOSTON WAS ONCE THE NATION’S BIGGEST WOOL MARKETPLACE, REACHING ITS PEAK IN THE 1930S. SUMMER STREET IN THE FORT POINT NEIGHBORHOOD WAS WHERE ALL THE ACTION HAPPENED. NOW, NOW ONLY A PLAQUE REMAINS. LINDSAY WANTS THE OTHER COMPANIES DWINDLE AWAY. WE COULD HAVE 200 PEOPLE AT THE WOOL TRADE LUNCH EVERY YEAR. I’M THE ONLY ONE LEFT. WE’RE THE ONLY ONES LEFT. NOT ONLY IS R.H. LINDSAY STILL IN BUSINESS, BUT A FOURTH GENERATION IS NOW ON BOARD. I HAD ABSOLUTELY NO INTEREST IN WOOL GROWING UP. PHIL’S DAUGHTER, GRACE LINDSAY PARK, STARTED WORKING HERE FULL TIME IN 2021. TODAY, THE COMPANY’S MAIN CUSTOMERS ARE ARTISANS, PEOPLE WHO MAKE ITEMS FROM WOOL BY HAND. LINDSAY CREDITS THEM WITH HIS SURVIVAL. A MARKET THAT OTHERS DOUBTED. WHEN I STARTED, ALL THE OLD GUYS IN SUMMER STREET, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE HUNDRED OF THEM, THEY LOOK AT ME, THAT’S A DRUG STORE BUSINESS AND I’D LOOK AT THEM AND SAY, DO YOU KNOW WHEN HE POURED PHARMACISTS, IT WAS THOSE CUSTOMERS WHO DREW GRACE TO THE FAMILY BUSINESS. PART OF WHAT REALLY INSPIRED ME WAS HOW MANY OF OUR CUSTOMERS ARE ARTISTS TRYING TO MAKE MONEY OFF OF THEIR ART. OUR MISSION IS TO BRING INDUSTRIAL QUALITY PRODUCTS TO THE HANDCRAFT MARKET. IT’S JUST REALLY EXCITING TO TALK TO PEOPLE WHO ARE EXCITED ABOUT WOOL. ALL THE TIME. AND YOU SAW GRACE SPINNING YARN BY HAND. THE WHEEL, SHE WAS USING IS WAY OLDER THAN SHE IS. SPEAKS TO THE HISTORY AND THE TRADITION OF YARN MAKING AND WOOL AND BACK TO DRAPER KNITTING. THEY SAY THAT THEIR WOOL IS RESPONSIBLE, WHICH MEANS IT’S GOOD FOR LAND AND THE WORKERS AND THE ANIMAL. THEY BUY THEIR WOOL FROM A COMPANY IN OREGON THAT SPECIALIZES IN SELLING TRACEABLE, UH, SPECIALIZED, TRACEABLE AMERICAN WOOL TO AMERICAN COMPANIES. UP