Zanella's keeps tradition alive

By MEGAN DUNCAN Eagle Staff Writer

March 25, 2008 Last Updated: March 25, 2008 05:25 PM Special Sections

Zanella Milling processes buckwheat flour, bird seed, pancake flour, horse feed and other grains.

Mill still making buckwheat flour

WEST SUNBURY— The Buckwheat County.

Butler County's nickname represented a large number of farmers in the county who grew buckwheat and the two big mills that made it into flour.

Today, Zanella Milling is the last operating mill in the county making buckwheat flour.

The mill, which began in 1897, was bought 25 years ago by John and Anita Zanella.

The mill also processes bird seed, pancake flour, horse feed and other grains.

"We buy grain locally, if possible," John Zanella said.

When a truck brings a load of buckwheat to the wooden mill building along Main Street at the edge of the borough, it parks near the rear door. Workers shovel the grain from the truck into a trapdoor that leads to the basement.A cup elevator, a belt with slats, runs the grain to the top of the four-story mill. There it is cleaned by a series of screens and suction. Then the grain is sent back down to the ground floor while it is processed.A shoot sends the finished flour into a bin. From there, workers scoop it into bags on a scale. They use a tool to seal the bags.Some of the bags go to Zanella's retail store, but most of them are sent to about 150 outlets, from mom-and-pop stores to meat markets and farm supply stores, Zanella said.

Some snowbirds also ask for buckwheat to be shipped to southern locations, where they can't get the flour, he said."(Buckwheat) is the fastest cash crop there is," he said. It takes three months from plant to harvest, he said, which contributes to its popularity.Zanella's makes 25 to 30 tons of buckwheat flour annually.But making flour leaves bi-products that can be made into other products, he said."That's where the feed comes in," he said.The mill also is used as a warehouse for the 25-pound bags of other products such as horse feed and bird seed that the mill packages.Zanella said he was raised in Hooker and spent most of his life in agriculture.Now, he owns the mill and the 44,000-square-foot retail space in West Sunbury. He, Anita, and their four children live in the borough as well.