Old mill requires renewal of old skills
06/05/08
The eat local movement can get hung up between the farmer's field and the cook's kitchen—some foods just need “processing.” Watson's Mill in Manotick, Ontario is still making flour the old way—wheat from a local farmer, grindstones powered by water. Sounds simple, and it is, until the stones actually get dull. Our Ottawa correspondent, Lucy Martin, shadowed a local man who learned to use hand tools to "dress," or re-groove, massive millstones. Bill Schaubs has worked on high-tech systems for military and space applications. But the volunteer miller says old-fashioned skills are still a useful part of the bigger picture.