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'■ • • • • - : . ^ ~ r " ’ t-u . THE NEWBERRY SUN FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1951 /•'- u Great Slides Noted In Oakland’s History Oakland Manager The story of the “Open House” program, and the opening of the modernized and expanded Oakland Mill would be incomplete with out mention of the overseers of the various departments of the mill, and of other interesting personnel of this large textile plant. In reviewing briefly the his tory of the original mill, which was built in 1911 on a 316 acre t"-act located in the northern suburbs of the City of dewber ry, and an ideal place, with a hill as the central point upon which to erect a textile plant and village. The main building was four- stories in height, 216 feet long and 10 feet wide erected on the 'ill and nearby was the home o? the late W. Y. Fair, from whom Col. Walter H. Hunt, president of the organization pur chased the site. 'Hie capital stock of $400,000.00 was largely subscribed by local ^'^ple and so remained until the retirement of Col. Hunt in 1925 when The Kendall Company purchased the plant. We find that many of the men at the head of various de partments have been with the mill for more than 20 years and have grown-up with this large enterprise. JONAS I. LONG There is Jonas I. Long, a native of Laurens County who came to Oakland on December 26, 1927 as second hand in Carding and has been overseer of that depart ment since 1935. Mr. Long is 52 years old and has been working in textile plants since 1912 in Greenville and Ware Shoals. He said, “I started when I was 13 years old working at night and dur ing the summer while attending schools in Greenville and Ware Shoals. I tried insurance for seven months and worked with the Railway Express Company for one year—but the call of the textile industry was so insistent and I went back to the more interesting work, which I liked better.” He married Miss Della Mostell- er of Tunquitta, North Caro lina and they have reared one son and two daughters, all gradu ates of the Newberry school, and all married now. One daughter graduated from Newberry Col lege. Mr. and Mrs. Long are active members of Hunt Memorial Bap tist Church and have many friends in Newberry. R. F. SPRATT R. F. Spratt, overseer of the Cloth Room, was born in Georgia, the son of a grocer. He lived in Gaston and Mecklinburg Counties in North Carolina for 39 years and came to Oakland on Septem ber 12, twelve years ago from Thrift Mill, a unit of The Kend all Company, at Paw Creek. N. C., w’here he was overseer of the Cloth Room. Mr. Spratt commenced work at 17 years of age during sum mer vacations and tried helping his father in the grocery store, but “did not like trying to please so many people”—so took up his life work in the textile industry which he finds most interesting. He married Miss Annie Carlene Bigham In North Carolina. Their two • daughters graduated from Newberry High School. The old est daughter is a graduate of Newberry College. They are all members of Lewis Memorial Methodist Church at Oakland. OLIVER B. CASEY Oliver B. Casey, 41, a native of Inman, Spartanburg County, has been working in the textile industry since he was 14 years old. He worked during summer vacations while attending the schools in Inman and Wofford College in Spartanburg. He came to Oakland Mills in 1949 as overseer of Weaving, prior to this he had been with Kendall at their Mollohon Plant in Newberry and at Newberry Mills. Mr. and Mrs. Casey (the former Grace Turpin of Spartanburg County) have one daughter, who is a freshman at Winthrop Col lege. The Caseys are members of the Methodist Church. OLIN P. DAVENPORT Olin P. Davenport, a native of Newberry County, who was 53 years old on September 17, 1951, moved to Oakland mill 39 years ago with his parents Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Davenport. “When I was 14 years old, I went to work learning the textile trade. I quit school in the fourth grade, but realizing the need of more education, I attended night schools at Oakland taught by Dr. Jerry Wofford Came To Oakland In 1912 The Pause That Refreshes Will Put You In Fine Fettle For a Visit To Oakland’s J9 ii 99 OPEN HOUSE Next Tuesday and Wednesday YOU are Invited Newberry Coca Cola Bottling Co. D. O. Carpenter, Manager of Oakland Mill, has more than 20 v years of service. He was born in Gaston County on a farm and came to Newberry from Thrift Mill at Paw Creek, N. C., where he had been an overseer. In 1930 he was pro moted to assistant manager of Oakland, and in 1935 he was promoted to manager. James C. Kinard, now president of Newberry College, for several years while he was a student at Newberry College. Then I took a correspondence course in tex tiles and studied carding, spin ning and plain weaving, which, with the help and encouragement of my wife, (the former Minnie Williams of Saluda) I was en abled to obtain my present po sition as assistant overseer of weaving.” Mr. Davenport recalled that he made 50 cents a day on a 60-hour week schedule when he commenc ed work at Oakland in 1913. “And a few years later when South Carolina legislature passed the 55-hour-week—but, we lost pay for the five-hour reduction,” he said. Mr. Davenport recalled that there were only four streets laid off in the village when he first came to Oakland; that the whole village was sowed in cow-peas, which were free for the picking! “The old people in the village died and the young ones re mained here and all now own their own homes and are happy and contented here where the standard of living is much dif ferent from most mill villages,” he added, “I bought a nice farm in Utopia community of Newber ry County arid made the money to pay for it right here.” He said he raised cows and hogs and feedstuff for them and food for himself and his wife and an aged uncle, who lives with them. “You hear people say, *1 wish the good old times would come back,' but I do not want them for the present is far better—and the future I shall go ‘back to tjie land’ and live in Utopia where we hold our membership in New Chapel Methodist Church.” ROY H. ELAM Roy H. Elam, Master Mechanic and in charge of all mechanics at Oakland, was born in Green wood, 55 years ago, where he atended school. After serving during World War I, he attended an electrical school and was an electrician at Greenwood Mills before coming to Newberry to Kendall’s Oakland Mill in Feb ruary 1928. In 1930 he was pro moted from electrician to Master Mechanic. Mr. Elam and his two daughters attend Central Methodist Church in Newberry. Both of his daugh ters are' married, are graduates of Newberry College and the youngest one is teaching. HENRY C. BOUKNIGHT Henry C. Bouknight, second hand in the overhauling depart ment, came to Newberry 58 years ago from his father’s farm in Lexington County, S. C. He went to work at Newberry Mills when 11 years old; later went to Mollohon mill to work. “I was born near Chapin, in 1883, and I never went to school a day in my life—but did at tend night school and with help from my wife, learned to read and write some—I give all the credit to her for what I learned.” Mr. and Mrs. Bouknight (the (former Minnie Gonce of New berry) have three sons—one of them in the U. S. Marine Corps, and one daughter and they are all members of Lewis Memorial Methodist Church in the village of Oakland where they have lived in the same house for the past 25 years. Mr. Bouknight said, “I like Oakland; I like the better times, better organized work, and the people, who get along with their neighbors better, and the better homes that The Kendall Compa ny has "built.” - JOHN ROBERT RAY John Robert Ray, overseer \ of Spinning at Oakland has been with the local plant six years,— coming from Spartanburg in 1945 after discharge from ser vice at end of World War II. He is the youngest man in the overseer personnel, being 39 years old. He has-been working in textile plants at Greenville since he was 16 years old, work ing at first during summer vaca tions while attending schools in Parker District, Greenville, and in Pelzer where good textile courses were offered. Mr. Ray married Annette Jones of Greenville County. They have no children. He specialized in Carding and spinning and is well liked by the people of the village. Mr. Ray has charge of the local publicity for the big “open- house” celebrating the opening of the recently completed program of renovating and enlarging of Oakland Mill. THOMAS N. PARKS Thomas N. Parks, office mana ger of Oakland Mill since Feb- uary 1, 1927, was born in Cross Hill and was reared in Newber ry where he attended the high school and Newberry College, and has grown up with the mill and watchd the growth of the village from 75 houses for operatives to the new village in 1927 and to the present; the expansion of the mill from 200 employees in 1927 to 650 of present, and from one shift to three. Mr. Parks has been office manager of the Oakland Mill his entire business life except for a year when he was with the treasury department of the Federal government as collector of Internal Revenue in Colum bia, just prior to his becoming of fice manager of Oakland Mills. Mr. Parks married Miss Ethel Williams of Jacksonville, Florida and they have one son, Lt. Howard N. Parks, who was in Korea in the United States Army and is presently at Fort Benning, Georgia. The Parks are members of the First Baptist church of Newber ry and are leaders in church and community activities. Momentous changes have over taken the textile industry since Oakland was organized. Besides the “old timers” among the over seers there are many employees who have been on the job 20 years or longer who have witness ed these changes. R. J. SANDERS Also, from North Carolina came R. J. Sanders, of Kings Mountain, a loom fixer. In 1912 when the mill was first in op eration under the presidency of Col. W. H. Hunt. He has been at Oakland since the opening of the mill except during his On Tuesday, March 12, 1912 when Oakland Mill began opera tion—when the first cotton was iun through the card room—there was present Jerry M. Wofford, nn employee in the card room, who had come to Newbery on January 1, 1912 to help put in the machinery in that department of the new mill, organized by Walter H: Hunt and associates. With the “open house” cele brating opening of the recently enlarged and remodeled plant on October 9-10, thirty-nine years later—Jerry M. Wofford is still at Oakland Mill and is still able to work as a card section hand —keeping machinery in the open ing and picking room in repair. Mr. Wofford left Oakland for a few months in the fall of 1912 and worked at another mill, but soon found Oakland was a bet ter place and came back to stay. A native of Spartanburg County and a member of the well known Wofford family—being a great- great nephew of Benjamin Wof ford, the founder of Wofford Col lege in Spartanburg—Mr. Wofford at an early age became interest ed in textile machinery, and dur ing vacation worked in the mills of Spartanburg to learn the ma chinist trade. He said, “I started working when I was eleven years old and earned 40 cents per day on a 65-hour week basis—and I have seen a lot of changes besides the size of the mill in 1912 until 1926 when The Kendall Compa ny bought the mill and in 1927 en larged the village by building 55 new houses to accomodate the additional workers when the new two-shift operation was begun. Mr. Wofford married Miss Frances Snelgrove of Whitmire and they reared two sons and one daughter, who graduated at New berry high school after attending the Oakland elementary school. He and his family are members of the Hunt Memorial Baptist church in Oakland village. Mr. Wofcord wm be 73 years old in February, 1962—'‘well past the retirement age, I’m still able to work here as a card section hand.” He continued, “I remember the ‘good old days,’ but I prefer the modern methods with higher wages, better living conditioms, and the many advantages which we in the textile Industry enjoy today.” “All of these have grown out of the progressive spirit first shown at Oakland by Col. Hunt and carried on by The Kendall Company.” As this colorful character “goes down 4he sun-set trail” he is hap py in having lived a full life and even today, in his off time he was busy selling a truck to two pulpwood and lumber dealers, while he was giving this inter view. WANT ADS BATHTUBS—Just received ship ment tubs, sinks, lavatories. Noah’s Ark, Abbeville, S. C. 21-3tc WANTED TO BUY—Iron, Metal Batteries, Radiators and Rags. W. H. Sterling, 1768 Vincent street. Phone 731-W 28-th a & service in World War I from 1916-1921. Mr. Sanders married Bessie Wofford, daughter of Jerry M. Wofford and they have three sons and three daughters, all mar ried and “scattered over the United States.” Mr. Sanders said he started to work in Gastonia Mills, Gas tonia, N. C. when he was nine years old. He said he had been at home at Oakland most of his life and like all the village “old timers,” he owns his own home and nothing could drive him from Oakland. |i?OOg MA, NO WAN OS " K A FOOLWARPY ‘STUNT... NEXT TIME AROUND " NO TEETW IN FRONT*.' The Membership . Livingston-Wise Post VETERANS OF FOREIGN VARS • \ Extends Best Wishes To The Kendall Company And Its Employees Upon The Completion Of The New Oakland ' - i&Ha V ' - OR LAND.' Appreciation, Too! ♦ v Newberrians well know what the Kendall payroll means to this city. So, it is with a deep sense of appreciation that we view the com pletion of the expanded Oakland mill. Many more families have been given em- ployment at good wages, pleasant working conditions and modern machinery to work •^1 MS with. The pleasant association between the Ken dall company and the people of Newberry is further cemented in the building of the new Oakland. H Maxwell Bros. & Lindsay Newberry Whitmire