CLINTONLYDIA MILLS
VOL. I. NO. 2 MARCH. 1952
CLINTON. 8. C.
VOL. 1. NO.
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Modern
Fifty years ajjo Lydia Cotton
Mills started business with
40 employees, 5,000 spindles
and 150 looms. A small plant
with a few houses stood in the
middle of cotton fields.
Today it is a different
story. The mill has grown
to 66,240 spindles and 1.560
looms and is one of the most
modern plants in the industry.
Its Lady Lydia and other
fabrics are well-known for
quality in the market places
of the country. This reputation
for quality, which in turn
means more business and
fuller operating schedules, did
not just happen. It was the result
of careful planning under
five decades of Bailey management
with sound policies
of continuing modernization.
Spinning rooms at Lvdia
are modern consisting of all
Whitin long draft equipment.
Many of the spindles are the
very laiesi Whitin K-2 ballbearing
spindles with Pneumafil
equipment.
Lydia's weaving rooms are
just as modern with some new
Draper 44-inch X-2's with
Diehl Transmitters instead of
motor drive. Other looms are
Draper E's 40-inch, with most
equipped with Feelers and
Thread Cutters.
Jumping back to the beginning
of our processes, the
opening room was completely
modernized in 1950 with the
latest Saco-Lowell equipment.
The same is true in the picker
room which was completely
modernized in 1950 and 1951.
The slasher room w a s
changed to the most modern
eauinment available in 1950
In 1949 and 1950. all new
Saco-Lowoll J-3 10 bv 5 fly
frames for filling roving were
installed in the card room. All
other equipment here has been
overhauled and is in first class
condition. The card room was
modernized in 1951.
A substantial addition of
Meadows spinning drives have
been installed on many spinning
frames. The spooling
a n d warping departments
have been lengthened and
completely modernized this
year with latest Barber-Cole
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man equipment. Barber-Coleman
Super Speed warpers
bring that department up-tothe-minute
in quality production.
Back to the weaving
rooms, a general overhauling
program has been in
effect for the past two years,
including motorizing and
installing feelers and Stafford
thread rutters and non.
erally rebuilding and reconditioning
the looms.
The location of the cloth
room has been changed and
expanded facilities provided
for the most efficient inspection.
A new warehouse for both
cotton and cloth storage was
built in 1950.
The Lvdia plant has modern
air compressor facilities
U.itU .. 1 -- * '
wiui r>v.-\i_-xiu new uniis. u icier
weave rooms numbers one
and two were completely
equipped with modern air
conditioning equipment i n
1949. The new weave room has
central station air conditioning.
The boiler room has been
modernized as have the toilets
throughout the mill.
With this modern manufacturing
equipment, Lvdia's employees
produce quality fabrics
for scores of uses throughout
the nation. The print
cloths, broad cloths and tobacco
cloths go into plain,
printed and bleached fabrics
for dresses, undergarments
for men and women, men's
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DYEES OF CLINTON-LYDIA
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shirts, blouses, beachwear and
curtain materials among
others. They go into many industrial
uses, such as cable
windings, coated fabrics for
men's, women's and sports
wear and many others.
Tobacco cloths go to the
automobile trade, tobacco
growers and into surgical
bandages and other medical
1
supply liems.
The name Lydia stands for
Fifty Years of Quality
Products.
Cavaliers To
Begin Season
Baseball is in the air again
and the hard-slugging Clinton
Cavaliers already have taken
to the diamond for early practice.
r1 h 'i r 1 i o
1-wui Iiv. viauut\ 13 IIIC capable
manager of the team this
year with practically the same
club as last year back in uniform.
These boys put in a lot
of work to uphold the Clinton
name, so let's all give them
the support they deserve this
season. A team with good
backing alwavs plavs better
ball.
The Central Carolina
League season opens April 15
and we hope to have the complete
schedule in the next issue
of your paper.
IT ^ajr.-^ x^^j^^kiqMW^BjW
IkER
MILLS. CLINTON. S. C.
Lydia Plant
Golden Anni
Lvdia Cotton Mills this we
versary of its founding and ope
history which is of proud inte
and those in the sister plant of
Name Contest
Winner Given
More than 300 names poured
in last month in the contest
to select a permanent
name for your plant newspaper.
The judges spent many
hours going over the entries
and finally came up with the
name you see at the top of the
paper as the Number One
choice.
W. P. Burdette. Clinton
plant, is the lucky S15 winner
for first prize. On his entry
he stated that various trades,
such as carpenters, masons,
plumbers, barbers, etc.. have
their names, but textile
workers do not. His entry:
"The Clothmaker."
The judges felt the same
way about it. There are
hundreds of different jobs
in the Clinton and Lydia
plants, but regardless of
what they are, they all
point to one end?making
cloth.
Second prize of $10 goes to
Mrs. E. J. O'Banion. of 161
Cypress Street. Lydia. for the
name, "The Traveler." Several
others submitted this
same name but Mrs. O'Banion's
was the first one turned
in.
Third prize of S5 goes to
J. W. Fowler. 206 Jefferson
St.. Clinton plant, for "The
Weaver."
Judges for the contest were
W. P. Jacobs, III. Rembert S.
Truluck and J. C. Thomas
These judges were chosen because
they are not associated
in any way with the plants.
Scores of other good names
were submitted for the paper.
Others high-up in the running
included Monthly Messenger,
Two Mill News, Print Cloth
News, Dixie Spinning Wheel,
Clinton-Lydia News, C-L
Monthly. The Flying Shuttle.
Warp and Weft and The Party
Line.
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Sec. 34.66, P. L. & R.
U. S. POSTAGE :>
PAID 8
Clinton, S. C. f
Permit No. 59
assail
M&DPU 1 C 1 OCO
I'iJ-iilVlt (?li
Reaches
versary
ek observes the Golden Anniration,
the 50-year point in its
rest to both Lvdia employees
Clinton Cotton Mills.
The original charter for
Lydia was filed with the State
of South Carolina March 10,
1902. In that same year 136
other businesses were chartered
within the State, but today
only 16 of those are still
in existence under their original
charter.
To give an accurate and
cm men hi; summary 01 me nistorv
of the plant, we have
gone back through the minutes
of meeting held through
the years by the mill's board
of directors, beginning with
the very first planning session
held on March 11, 1902.
This meeting was called
by M. S. Bailey, founder of
Clinton Cotton Mills, who
felt that the town of Clinton
needed another textile manufacturing
plant. Others
who met with him included
Dr. W. P. Jacobs. Dr. J. H.
Miller. R. L. Bailey, P. S.
Bailey, W. H. Shands and
C. M. Bailey. M. S. Bailey
was named president of the
newly planned mill, with
C. M. Bailey as secretarytreasurer.
The first annual report of
the president was made about
a year later on May 11, 1903
and gives a picture of the busy
planning and construction
which took place during the
first year. The president reported
that "in spite of extraordinary
market conditions
and excessive building costs,
a mill has been completed
consisting of 6,000 spindles and
150 looms, later expanded
during the year to 13,668
spindles and 320 looms." The
mill building was constructed
looking to expansion and
could hold 20.000 spindles and
500 looms. There were 40 employees
in this first plant,
compared to the 850 people
making up the Lvdia family
today.
Much of the first machinery
and equipment of the early
Lydia plant was old but it was
the best available at the time
the mill was built It was in
1907 that the officers and directors
began a policy which
has been followed through
the years. They appropriated
$30,000 from earnings for new
replacement machinery to
take the place of antiquated
units.
The first two per cent dividend
on common stocks was
declared by the directors at a
meeting held Dec. 29, 1908. At
this same meeting it was decided
to replace 72 old plain
looms with 72 modern 40-inch
Northrop Draper looms.
UPS AND DOWNS
The history of Lvdia Cotton
Mills, like all other plants
in the Southern textile industry,
is one of ups and downs,
(Cont'd, on Page 2)