Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Page 2 October 12 Clinton Mills Open House uvei ^,auu The highlight of the successful Open House at Clinton Mills of Geneva on Sunday afternoon, October 12 may have come when the old plant whistle blew a long blast and hundreds of blue and white balloons were released over the crowds gathered for the occasion. An estimated 3,000 people attended the open house at Plants 1 and 2 in Geneva during the hours of 2 until 5. About 2,000 gathered for a brief welcome ceremony in front of the plant office. Following the welcoming ceremony. General Manager, Barry Hooks, ex plained the tours of the plants and concluded by asking the crowd to be patient for a moment to enjoy a bit of nostalgia. A few seconds later the old whistle, which had been taken down, repaired and reinstalled, blew a long blast, bringing cheers and applause from the crowd. The whistle at one time sounded to mark the ends and beginnings of shifts in the old Geneva Cotton Mill, and was a familiar sound to many of the older people attending the open house. The Geneva High School band played as the crowd gathered in front of the plant office, then officially opened the program with the National Anthem. The brief program included remarks by J R. Swetenburg. Jr.. Vice President of Manufacturing of Clinton Mills: George H. Cornelson. Clinton President; Gus Baker. Geneva's Mavor Pro-tem; Donna Barrow. Ala bama Textile Queen; Barry Hooks. Geneva General Manager; and R.M. Vance, chairman of the Board of Directors. In his remarks, Cornelson praised the Geneva people and the quality of their work. He thanked the huge audience for their attendance, and told of the proposed $12 million renovation project scheduled for Plant 1. He com (?^Tip w'^^BSsHK^QHR^wkT '711 ]H fj'H?M Y(X' K^D rVM^ *cm VI ,r,<** fc> * I "**(N<*1 Hppi|S^ t7>|| H Thousands of guest< ing of the plants but tf i Of Geneva Draws Visitors pared the Clinton plant in Geneva to the University of Alabama's football? "quality". In closing, he said, "thank you for coming to learn more about Clinton Mills of Geneva. Baker read a proclamation from Mayor Hugh Herring who was unable to attend. He welcomed all the Clinton officials to Geneva. Miss Barrow, who admitted she was at a loss of words to describe the Clinton plant in Geneva, came up with "clean", to the obvious delight of the audience and the Clinton officials. "Keep up the good work and thank you for your hospitality," she said. Present for the ceremony were Mr. and Mrs. Robert Vance; Mr. and Mrs. George Cornelson; Mr. and Mrs. C. Bailey Dixon; Claude Crocker; Mr. and Mrs. G. Thad Williams; Mr. and Mrs. A.C. Young; Mrs. Emily Bailey Bigby; Mr. and Mrs. Dave Roberts; Mr. and Mrs. Davenport; Mr. and Mrs. Swetenburg, Jr.; all Clinton officials or directors from Clinton. S.C. Also present was Tom Eden, executive vice president of the Alabama Textile Association; and numerous officials, and employees from the Clinton Mills of Geneva. Mr. and Mrs. Mack Farsons from Clinton also attended. On hand to entertain, in addition to the Geneva High Band which drew big applause from the crowds, were two clowns. Linda Lindsev and Linda Murphy of Dothan. The clowns passed out bubble gum and nelium balloons to the children. Following the brief welcome ceremony, the crowds were invited to tour the plants and see the "fiber to fabric" process. Employees of Clinton of Geneva were stationed throughout Plants 1 and 2 to explain the operations to the visitors. The tour ended with refreshments under the trees in the narkine lot. ~y? anxiously await openle lines moved quickly. A MT9 p A 1 M 1Vb2 +~'-+m |\^V - MUi The flags flew hig Guests seated during wi 4 k > h w&*^% h over Geneva. * <v -w ?~ - aawrr-w . t ll elcoming ceremonies.