Aryn Henning Nichols

Each October, as daytime temperatures dip and leaves slowly shift toward red and gold, Erin Ryan packs up the car for a day trip. But when she drives west from rural Decorah, she’s not looking for traditional fall favorites like pumpkin patches or apple orchards.

Erin hits the road in search of socks. Lots and lots of socks.

The annual Fox River Sock Sale – or “Socktoberfest,” as it’s commonly known – draws an enthusiastic crowd to Osage, Iowa. Named for its original location on Wisconsin’s Fox River, Fox River Mills started knitting socks in 1900. Operations relocated to an existing Osage mill about 50 years ago. Today, around 170 employees craft socks sold by Fox River and other suppliers. 

The company’s catalog includes premium socks made for hiking, running, skiing, and everyday wear. There are also specialized work socks, diabetic socks, socks for military professionals, and more. Fox River socks typically cost between $10 and $30 per pair. During Socktoberfest, individual pairs go for $1 to $3, and bigger multi-packs might sell for $5 or $10. 

“I love every single pair that I have. They’re high quality and they’re lovely,” says Erin, who first shopped the sock sale five years ago with her husband, Mike. “I took my kids for the first time last year, and I gave them each a bag and turned them loose. They had a heyday.”

Erin regularly uses her floating work holiday to attend the annual sale, where rows of tables are topped with stacks of socks sorted by category and size. 

“It’s in a big building, and they have semitrailers backed up to it, and they are just full of socks. People are constantly putting new ones out, and it’s constantly packed,” she says.

Erin has picked up everything from cashmere socks to size-14 work socks to warm winter socks she’s gifted to various family members. While the deals are a highlight, she also loves what she calls the “weird and wild” nature of the event. As shoppers wander the sale, they might hear a keyboardist playing the theme song from the “Peanuts” animated television specials. They might chat with a clerk dressed in a sock monkey costume. Area craft and clothing vendors display their work in an adjacent building. On-site food trucks offer snacks for purchase.

“Just embrace the absolute silliness that it is,” Erin says. “For me, it’s like a town festival. Decorah has Nordic Fest. Lime Springs (Iowa) has Sweet Corn Days. Lanesboro (Minnesota) has Buffalo Bill Days. And then, there’s Socktoberfest.”

The company kept no official records from its first sock sale, but Fox River Mills CEO Bobby Warren believes it happened around 1989. Employees set up four tables in a tent outside the factory, and a good-sized crowd showed up despite some rainy weather. As the event grew, it moved into a former downtown hardware store and later filled a local gymnasium. About a decade ago, the sale landed in the spacious Cedar River Complex at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds.

A team of Fox River Mills employees spends much of the year deciding what to feature at the sock sale, and preparation really ramps up each June. Osage Rotary and Lions Club members are among the volunteers who pitch in over the sale weekend, restocking tables, tallying sock totals, and operating cash registers once doors officially open.

“On that first day, there’s a line of people outside the door and around the building waiting to get in. Later, the line to pay wraps around the inside a couple of times. It’s quite the event,” Warren says.

About 9,000 people – approaching triple the population of Osage – typically shop the weekend sale. Together, they purchase more than 100,000 pairs of socks. Fox River donates a portion of sale proceeds to the organizations that provide volunteers. Those dollars then support the nonprofits’ scholarship funds and community projects. 

The sale also raises money for Fox River’s Socks for Soldiers campaign. Friends and family members nominate active-duty military personnel for the program, and once participants are approved, shoppers can gift them tactical socks through a personalized registry. Fox River donates socks throughout the year, and many shoppers also give program donations during the sock sale.

In addition to supporting civic projects, sock sale events boost business across Osage.

“It brings foot traffic to Main Street. It fills up the hotels and restaurants. People come from surrounding states and make a weekend out of it. For some businesses, it’s their largest weekend of the year,” Warren says.

Company leaders appreciate the opportunity to give back in so many ways, he adds, and team members take pride in working for a purpose-driven organization.

“It goes beyond just getting a paycheck and showing up for work and making great products. This is something that’s been near and dear to our employees for a long time,” Warren says.

He offers first-time sock sale shoppers three simple pieces of advice.

First, bring a big bag or two from home. Most shoppers buy more socks than originally planned.

Second, don’t worry if you can’t arrive right when doors open. Socks get restocked several times each day.

And third, set aside enough time to make tough decisions.

“Be prepared to be overwhelmed by the number of choices. We see people who fill up a bag and then sit on the floor and start spreading out socks and making their decisions,” Warren says. “Be prepared to spend some time, and then take a break. Visit a food truck or go uptown to one of the restaurants… Make it an event.”

Renee Brincks

Renee Brincks (reneebrincks.com) writes about inspiring people, unforgettable places, and projects that make the world a better, happier place.

2024 Fox River Sock Sale

When:
Friday, Oct. 4, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 5, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 6, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Where: Mitchell County Fairgrounds
1006 Chestnut Street, Osage, Iowa

Learn more: foxsox.com or www.facebook.com/foxsox

Fox River Mills Fun Fact

Remember that classic stuffed sock monkey with the big red smile? It all started with Nelson Knitting Mill’s Original Rockford Red Heel sock brand. Fox River acquired the brand when Nelson Knitting Mill closed in 1992. These days, the Iowa company sells wearable socks and mittens featuring the smiling monkey, along with socks for crafting and hand-made sock monkeys in several colors.

What does inspiration mean to you?

Roxie Nichols on inspiration

Inspiration is connected to everything you do in life. When you get up from bed in the morning, you’re inspired by something, and whether it’s your alarm, your partner, or whatever plans you have, you’re going to eventually get up. The world needs inspiration because we wouldn’t get anything done otherwise. 

Inspiration feels different for everyone, but for me, it’s that feeling of excitement or something along the lines of motivation or energy. When you read a good book or someone says something that sounds fun to do or you go outside and smell the fresh air and feel motivated to do something productive. It could be something big you’re inspired to do (like go on a big trip or adventure) or something small (like walk around your neighborhood or clean your room – which might be big for some people). If you really think about it, inspiration and motivation go hand and hand. I think the feeling is almost like your brain waking up and doing something good.  

Some of the most interesting or important parts of life would go away if there wasn’t any inspiration. If Thomas Edison or Benjamin Franklin didn’t wake up one day and think, I’m going to go to work and invent something new, we wouldn’t have any of their inventions (including the lightbulb, which is not only useful, it became the symbol for a good idea because it was such a good idea).

If no one was ever inspired, there wouldn’t be the amazing people written about in history books for future generations to read, and there probably wouldn’t even be history books… or books for that matter. No one would have fought for equal rights or been inspired to help each other. We’d be disconnected and lonely, I imagine.

If I’m having trouble feeling inspired, I try to find something to inspire me like a person, pet, memento, thought, or idea. If I fail to be inspired by anyone or thing, I take a short break and do nothing, then try again. It usually works. But if I’m truly not inspired, I sit in bed or on the couch and read or watch TV for however long I want. It’s okay to take some time. I think a lot of people don’t feel inspired, but eventually someone or something will inspire them, and they’ll get up and do something great. 

I feel inspired by the many amazing people in my life (my friends, my family, and more) and the beautiful world we all live in. My friends and family also help me find other things to inspire me like going for hikes or doing something I’ve never done before. Books and music can be inspiring to me as well as doing crafts. I’ve also been having fun playing piano and string bass and riding horses. But I try to inspire myself more than anyone or anything, because it’s most important to inspire and support yourself and not completely rely on someone else. Inspiration is a big part in everyone’s lives, so I hope you work on inspiring yourself and others.

Roxie Nichols

Roxie Nichols is the daughter of Inspire(d)’s Aryn Henning Nichols and Benji Nichols. She got a cool polaroid camera for her 12th birthday this summer, so we took these fun pics! She is starting 6th grade this fall (2024).

Thanks for reading Inspire(d) for 17 years!

We are grateful. Are you feeling thankful this fall too? Make these fill-in thank you cards and share the gratitude! What are fill-in-the-blank thank you cards? We made these adorable little cards with gratitude prompts on the inside, and lines supplied for you to write in what you’re feeling. Then all you have to do it fold it back up and pop it by your co-worker’s desk, in your kid’s lunch, under your partner’s pillow, or even at each place setting at Thanksgiving (or any dinner party, really)!

Supplies:

Thank You Card templates
– Front
– Back
Scissors
Cardboard piece
X-acto knife
Pen
Optional: paper guillotine 

First, print off the templates (front and back). Make sure they printed so the thank yous on both side are right-side up.

I have always called the above paper cutter a “whoosh whoosh cutter,” but apparently it’s called a paper guillotine. If you have one of these fabulous tools, you can use it to cut along the long dotted lines of your thank you card template so you have three individual cards to work with.

Of course, you can always just cut along those lines with a scissors! 🙂

Cut along the dotted lines around the “so much” bubble next.

So it looks like this when you’re done.

Next, put the cardboard piece under your project, and grab your x-acto knife. Cut through the dotted line on the opposite end of the card front.

You will have a slit like the one above.

Next, roll the thank you card a bit so the “so much” tucks into that slit.

It’s possible it will tuck in a little off-center, like mine did here. You just need to extend the slit a little more on the side it needs to move toward.

In my case, it was the right side. I added a little more to that side of the slit to the card would fit together evenly.

Like so! Line the rolled card up the way you would like it to look when folded. For me, I wanted it to look a little like a matchbook, so I kept the thanks toward the bottom and then got ready to flatten it on the table.

Flatten the card and make the folds nice and crisp by running the side of your pen along the edges.

After that, it’s time for you to open the fill-in thank you card and…fill it in! Write down your gratitude in the blanks provided!

And pass that gratitude around to your friends, family, and loved ones! Thanks for being Inspire(d), friends!

XOX – Aryn