By Scott Stephenson

When considering what makes Blyth unique, the first thing that comes to most people’s minds might be its hearty theatre scene, or perhaps its unofficial mascot — the rutabaga. But there’s another important component to the town’s identity that just might be worthy of celebrating, and it’s been hiding in plain sight for decades — pasta!
That’s right, Blyth is home to the largest durum semolina flour mill in Canada — Howson & Howson Ltd, located right downtown, by the Goderich-to-Guelph (G2G) Rail Trail. Over the years, President Jeff Howson has gotten used to explaining what his job is to people. “The company has been in Blyth for decades, and the bulk of people in the town have no idea what we do here. Some people, when they think of flour mills, they actually think of flowers. And then they think of bread and pastry flour.”
For five generations, the Howson family has been processing grain in Ontario. When they first opened up shop in Blyth’s then-defunct flour mill, the operation had one truck, a single electric light, and three employees. Back then, bread flour was still part of the equation. Today, Howson & Howson uses state-of-the-art technology to process hundreds of metric tonnes of durum wheat every day, which is transported to various food manufacturers in Canada and the United States, where it becomes the primary ingredient in staple foods like pasta, couscous and bread. Between the mill operation and the transportation division, Howson & Howson now has over 50 employees, all of them working for wheat!
Canadian Western Amber Durum Wheat from Southern Saskatchewan, to be precise. Unlike its softer, more common cousin, bread wheat, this wheat is one of the toughest grains around - “durum” is actually Latin for “hard”. Durum is resistant to milling, and demands more effort for flour production. While high in protein, it lacks the gluten strength for standard bread dough, but is considered to be the perfect wheat for pasta-making. Semolina stands out with its golden colour, nutty taste and higher protein compared to all-purpose flour, forming elastic dough ideal for pasta. Conversely, all-purpose flour lacks semolina’s flavour and protein, varying in colour and requiring more effort for pasta making. Almost all commercial dry pasta is made from durum semolina, while those making fresh pasta at home often incorporate a blend of soft and hard wheats. Pasta made with semolina holds a special place in the culinary traditions in many regions around the globe, including Canada. From university students making Kraft Dinner in their dorm on a forbidden hot plate, to impressing a date with a fancy dinner of homemade pappardelle, to the fridge-clearing casseroles we scrounge together to feed a crowd on a budget, Canadians like their noodles.
Even though durum is the second-most common cultivated wheat in the world, it still represents less than 10 per cent of global wheat production. The overwhelming majority of wheat grown in Ontario is soft wheat. While it is possible to grow durum wheat in Ontario, Saskatchewan has the ideal growing conditions for this fascinating grain. Durum is a spring wheat, which means it is typically sowed in the spring and harvested in the fall. Once the grain is harvested in Saskatchewan, it travels by rail to Thunder Bay where it is loaded onto vessels and brought to Goderich, at which point it makes the final leg of its journey to Blyth by truck.
In its early days, the mill’s position close to the rail line made it easy to transport grain products. “This was the spot for us,” said Howson. The existing mill had not been in operation since 1934, so major renovation and equipment updates were needed. The oldest part of the mill that still remains today dates all the way back to 1883. Now that the rail line has been converted into the G2G trail, the mill remains as a towering, working reminder of the golden age of rail travel.
Despite a lack of widespread local awareness, the mill is not without its fans. “Any food auditors or customers that come into our facility, they all say the same thing - that they have never toured a flour mill with the level of cleanliness that we have here,” Howson explained, clearly proud of the mill’s AA safety rating and long track record of producing consistent products.
Another, equally proud Howson at the mill is Steve Howson, Vice-President of Quality Control, who loves his family’s place in Huron County history. “Blyth’s been my home for my whole life,” he said. “My great-great-grandfather came to Aberfoyle, then to Teeswater, then Wingham, and finally Blyth in 1952.”
Steve has been involved with the family business for most of his life. “I started back when I was a kid, just doing Saturday work, odd jobs here and there - cleaning, sweeping, loading trucks - just whatever. I’ve been around here for 50 years, or close to it.” He’s been at Howson & Howson full-time since 1981, gradually working his way up to his current position. Like Jeff, he loves their unique milling process, and wants more people to understand how cool it really is. “It takes a lot of moving parts to make flour! People see the big building, but they don’t know what’s going on here... we’ve done a lot of upgrades over the past years, and efficiencies have really changed in the 20 or 30 years since I’ve been here. Actually 40, I guess!”
Much has to happen in order to transform the raw durum into usable semolina flour, and there are quality control systems in place for each stage of the complex process. Even the slightest variations in the semolina would affect the quality of the finished noodles, and is to be avoided at all costs. Tests are run at every step along the way to ensure everything is proceeding as it should.
Once the raw grain has arrived in Blyth, the first step is to begin removing all the things that don’t belong. First, a machine known as a combi-cleaner removes coarse foreign objects like large stones, which tend to get mixed in during the harvesting process.
Next to be refined out are other agricultural products that don’t belong, like soft wheat varieties. Other common crop interlopers include peas, soybeans and corn. Further cleaning is done by a colour sorter, which uses electric eyes to spot any off-colour contaminants that you wouldn’t want to find in your fettuccine. A process called aspiration then uses bursts of air to blow any dusty material off the grain.
After the grain is properly cleaned, it goes into a turbolizer, where water is added. This extra moisture is needed to soften the hard bran layer on the outside of the durum.
Next, the durum is tempered until it reaches between 16.5 - 17 per cent moisture content before entering the mill. Warming the water, especially during cold Ontario winters, helps it absorb just the right amount. At this point, it is also treated to sterilize the grain against any possible microorganisms that might be lurking in their midst. When the wheat leaves the mill, its moisture content is required to be 14.5 per cent.
The wheat then moves on to the debranner, where a grinding stone removes the hard exterior bran from the interior grain, which is now ready to begin the actual milling process. This starts with the roller mills, which grind up the grain.
The now-pulverized wheat moves down the line, and is then sized by multiple sifter screens. As like-sized granules accumulate together, those of the desired grades move one step further down the path to becoming a finished product, while those that aren’t quite right yet head back to be reground.
Finally, the cleaned, finished product emerges — semolina! This flour has a completely different look than its all-purpose cousin because it looks like yellow sand. At this point, it’s ready to go to the lab, where it is tested to ensure it has the properties required to make spectacular spaghetti and marvelous macaroni. All product that passes muster is then transported upward via grain elevator, and then dropped into one of seven silos.
Whenever it is time for the semolina to move on to its next destination, tanker trucks are top-loaded at a rate of seven metric tonnes a minute. The mill sends out about 7-10 truckloads a day - that’s a lot of spaghetti! It takes about 20 minutes to load each truck, which takes its payload of semolina to pasta manufacturers in Canada and the United States, who process it into oodles of noodles of every size and shape. Those noodles are then packaged and shipped to grocery stores, where they await their chance to become somebody’s show-stopping lasagna, comforting kugel or creative casserole.
All of these moving parts are kept moving by a dedicated staff that each have their own role to play. Mill Superintendent Dan Ryan has worked at Howson & Howson for 15 years, having started out as a packer. As an overseer of the whole operation, Ryan tends to consider the big picture. “When I go grocery shopping with my family, I do enjoy that we can look at the shelves and say ‘we’re helping supply the food chain’ — I get a kick out of that!” he explained.
Lab technician Kevin Gross has worked at the mill since the 1990s. “It’s a family-owned business, and you’re not treated so much as a number here, like you are at other places - there’s a real camaraderie here.”
Maintenance Manager Ken Stewart runs the only department that’s busier when the mill isn’t running. He’s been at the company for 23 years, managing daily maintenance and emergent mechanical issues. He relishes his part in the well-organized collective effort put forth by the whole team to optimize the operation. “It’s a long process, and everybody has to work together to make it happen.”
As a Financial Controller who grew up on a farm, Steve Van Meeteran loves the role the mill plays in the operation. “It’s a great company to work for,” he said. “Agriculture is in my background, so it’s exciting to work in the business.” When he’s not at the mill, Van Meeteran does a bit of cash cropping on his farm just north of Blyth.
Fran Cook has been working in the office for 24 years, and in that time she’s noticed a few changes. “It’s a little bit more computerized now. I was using a typewriter when I started here 24 years ago — I was quite happy to throw that out the window!”
No load leaves the mill unless the front office has ensured the paperwork is in order, and that’s the dominion of Administrative Assistant Deb Stevenson. She’s been working at the mill for 15 years, and most admires the way Howson & Howson strives to be a good community partner. “There’s people in Blyth that don’t even know we’re here! The owners are not flashy people, the business is not flashy about how they support the community. They live here too, so they’re invested in the success of the town.”
If Blyth chooses to embrace this starchy side of itself, perhaps tortellini tourism is not far off. If the humble rutabaga can have its own festival, why not the noodle? From spaghetti cook-offs to lasagna layering workshops, the possibilities for celebration are practically endless! ◊