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heritage, Pendleton blankets

Pendleton and the Winter Olympics

February 20, 2018

An Olympiad Story

Ed. note: Please enjoy a repost of our Olympic blankets story!

Ah, Olympic fever. Fans have been watching the skating and snowboarding, enjoying the games in advance of the opening ceremonies. Of course, Pendleton has an Olympic connection. In 1932, we won the commission to provide blankets to the Olympics. Here is a photo of the blankets leaving on a train for Los Angeles.

Five men stand in front of a railroad car that bears the banner, "2 Carloads of Pendleton Blankets "For the rest of your life" going to Olympic Games Contestants Los Angeles"

There are several known colorways for these blankets. In our archives, we have only one, with a very warm color scheme. There are also a light blue and a brights-on-white patterns out there, but we haven’t been able to track down examples. There might even be more. Here is our archival blanket.

A folded Pendleton Olympic blanket from 1932Here is a close-up of the label.

A closeup of the blanket label from the Pendleton Olympiad blanket

That’s a VERY CLOSE close up, isn’t it? Even so, the label is worn enough that you might want the label’s text:

Genuine
OLYMPIAD BLANKET
100% Virgin Wool
1932
PENDLETON WOOLEN MILLS
PORTLAND, OREGON U.S.A.

Displays from 1932

Olympic fever is nothing new, and Pendleton traded on it with themed displays.

a dislplay featuring striped blankets and some outerwear honoring the 1932 Olympic Games in Los AngelesIn the displays, mannequins wear tasteful blanket coats that look modern. We are not sure if those were sewn and offered for sale by Pendleton, or sewn just for display to encourage consumers to get creative with the blankets. Pendleton did manufacture labeled blanket coats for women over the years, but our first women’s sportswear line debuted in 1949 with our 49’er jacket as the centerpiece.

A display with striped blankets and some outerwear honoring the 1932 Olympic games in Los AngelesAnd yes, at $7.95, you can’t beat that price.

It has been a winter of winters here in the US, so as you sit back and enjoy the competition this year, we hope you stay warm. And if you have an example of the other colors of the Pendleton blankets, drop us a line! We would love some color photos.