The Lawrence Tannery, Winchester, NH Audio talks Stephen Johnson
One of the largest tannery operations in the Monadnock Region, the Lawrence Tannery was a sprawling structure along the Ashuelot
River in Winchester. At its height, this tannery
employed more than 300 workers, and produced
more than half of the wool gloves and hats used
by pilots in World War II. Stephen Johnson
worked for over forty years as a chemist at the Lawrence Tannery. Stephen describes in detail the process involved in washing, pickling, tanning, drying, toggling and grading the thousands of sheep skins that arrived at this facility each week.
Tanning Leather: Part 1 Chemist Stephen Johnson describes in detail the early stages of the tanning process from receiving and grading the raw skins, to washing and soaking, to fleshing and pickling which preceded the actual tanning of the leather.
Tanning Leather: Part 2 Chemist Stephen Johnson explains the difference between vegetable and chemical tanning, and describes the process of chrome tanning employed at the Lawrence Tannery.
Tanning Leather: Part 3 Chemist Stephen Johnson describes the final operations in tanning sheep hides at the Lawrence Tannery. These stages included dying, setting out, toggling, softening, buffing, carding, and clipping the wool to prepare the hides for shipment.
One of the largest tannery operations in the Monadnock Region, the Lawrence Tannery was a sprawling structure along the Ashuelot
River in Winchester. At its height, this tannery
employed more than 300 workers, and produced
more than half of the wool gloves and hats used
by pilots in World War II. Stephen Johnson
worked for over forty years as a chemist at the Lawrence Tannery. Stephen describes in detail the process involved in washing, pickling, tanning, drying, toggling and grading the thousands of sheep skins that arrived at this facility each week. 
