PENDLETON LADIES VINTAGE PURE WOOL DARK BLUE (2) GOLD BUTTON BLAZER (USA)

PENDLETON LADIES VINTAGE PURE WOOL DARK BLUE (2) GOLD BUTTON BLAZER (USA) VINTAGE PURE WOOL FULLY LINED GOLD BUTTON ACCENTS SUNDAY MORNING Pendleton blankets: A thread to the past Sunday-morning By Conor Knighton A mill in Eastern Oregon that has been weaving wool for more than a century is, quite literally, part of the fabric of the community. The town's name – Pendleton – is stitched into every product. The Bishop brothers started the company in the early 1900s, who came to town to try their hand at the blanket business. Their blankets' patterns were designed to appeal to Pendleton's first customers: Native Americans. "The first recorded interaction in our homeland with Euro Americans was Lewis and Clark in 1805," said Bobbie Conner, director of the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, located on the Umatilla Indian Reservation just outside Pendleton. "We came to know a few other explorers who came in their wake. And then, the Hudson's Bay Company set up a trading post in our homeland in 1816. That's where our love of wool was born." Those early companies exchanged what became known as "trade blankets." "If you've ever worn a wet leather jacket, you know the difference between the weight of that and the weight of a wool coat," said Connor. "Wool was durable." But it was more than a functional fabric. Native Americans began using prized Pendleton blankets to mark special occasions – births, weddings, and funerals. It's a tradition that continues to this day.