AMCO NEWS
Vol. XXI No. 5 Adams-Millis Corporation May, 1963
ANDY KING, PLANT FOUR FIXER, RETIRES
WITH 53 YEARS
CONTIISUOUS EMPLOYMENT
L. A. King,
fixer, Plant #4,
retired May 17
with 53 years of
continuous employ
ment at Adams-
Millis plants in
Kernersville and
High Point.
In 1910, before
his 10th birthday,
Andy started in the
Little High Point
Plant raveling loop-
er edges for the loopers. Then, there
were no looper knives on the machines
to cut off the looper clips. The sock,
or stocking, was put on the looping
machine and the looper would ravel
the looper edge down to the looper
point before the looping machine closed
the toe of the sock. Many of the loop
ers paid children to do this raveling
after school and during school vaca
tion. For this work in the afternoon
after school and on Saturdays, Andy
was paid $1. 80 his first pay day. He
says now that was a lot of money for
a boy then.
The supervisor of the knitting and
looping department quickly saw the
industriousness of this young boy and
employed him to turn the socks after
they were looped. This work, too,
was in the afternoon after school and
during school vacations.
Andy turned socks until he was 14
when he was promoted to operating a
ribbing machine at the English Street
plant. When the Washington Street
plant was built and opened in 1917,
Andy was sent to the new plant to oper
ate ribber machines.
Two years later, he was brought
back to the English Street plants as a
looper fixer. After five years on this
job, he was promoted to general util
ity and maintenance and in 1932, he
transferred to fixing knitting machines
He has, in the past 31 years, fixed
machines in every half hose plant
operated by Adams-Millis Corporation.
King has seen many changes in
the growth of the company where he
has worked. In 1910, there were two
small plants on English Street making
one style of stocking which was finish
ed in only three colors, navy blue,
black and white. "I have no idea how
many styles and colors we make now, "
Andy said, "but I have worked on
hundreds of different patterns in every
color imaginable. "
Andy King was born in Asheboro
and moved to High Point with his fami
ly as a small boy. He attended the
High Point schools.
On July 13, 1924,he married Miss
Mary Harrison, whose home was in
Belews Creek. She had been working
in High Point two years prior to their
marriage. Of his 39 years of mar
riage, Andy says, "They have been
happy years. " They have one daughter,
Mrs. Lawrence A. Cannon, whose
husband is stationed at Warner Robbins
Air Base in Georgia. There is one
granddaughter.
Mr. King is a member, deacon
and trustee of the High Point Primitive
Baptist Church. Mrs. King is a mem
ber of the Lebanon Methodist Church
where she is active in the Woman's
(Continued on page 10)