Newspapers / The Pilot (Southern Pines, … / Oct. 30, 1936, edition 1 / Page 11
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NOV 2 iO\ r: Industrial Section of THE PILOT SECOND SECTION "Southern Pines and Aberdeen, North Carolina. Friday, October30, 1936. FIVE CENTS HEMP BOOMING IN WAKE OF SUCCESS OF BIG SILK MILL County’s Leading Industry Ik)osts Population of Northern Village to 2,000 Persons Moore County’s Largest Industry IIAYON PLANT EXPANDING The village of Hemp is just far enough away from the populous re gions of Moore county for little to be known of the county’s leading indus. try, the Pinehurst Silk Mills, located there. This company, manufacturer of rayon and artificial silk products, is the largest employer of labor in the section^ with between 300 and 400 persons engaged in a modem plant which is expanding to care for the trade demands made upon it. It’s weekly labor payroll runs in excess of $5,000. The growth of the business has put Hemp “on the map” in Moore county. This little northern village is enjoy ing a boom that has already reached proportions. The population now num bers close to 2,000; the town has re cently been incorporated, has a new "water system, new pumping station, filtering plant, sewage system and disposal plant. It has a new Town Hall, with offices foi< mayor and other officials, an assembly hall, space for fire apparatus and an apartment for firemen. W. P. Saun ders, superintendent of the Silk Mill, is mayor; Mrs. Ruth Loy, town clerk, and the town commissioners are E. C. McSwain, E. R. Brown, A. F. Lowcierrnilk, G. B. Williams and E. M. Ritter. Hemp is also the home of histor ic Elise Academy, long one of the countics leading educational .[insti tutions. And newest among its enter prises, Hemp has a weekly paper, the Plain-Dealer^ published by Stacy Brewer, former publisher of The Pilot. Its first number came out last week. Talc Industry Dates Back to Aborigfines standard Milling Company, Near Hemp, One of County’s Ma jor Producers By Charles Macauley One of the busiest industries of Moore county may well be said to be the lineal descendant of operations carried on by the long forgotten abor igines once inhabiting the rolling hills about Cabin Creek. Where once the Indian craftsman hewed out his "soapstone” pots the Standard Min eral Company of North Carolina mines for what is generally known aa "talc” but which is actually py- rophylite, a hydrous aluminum sil icate, talc being a hydrous magnes ium silicate. Located a mile southwest of Hemp, on the Norfolk-Southern Railway, the property including the main shaft 200 feet in depth^ now includes an (acreage \ said to show depcsits of over a million and a half feet of workable deposit. A little over a year ago the com pany erected a new grinding mill, a steel framed structure, L-shaped, run ning 180 feet on the longer leg smd 140 feet on the shorter, two stories in height, and in which they installed grinders, separators, screens and all the machinery for the reduction of the crude pyrophplite of the mine in to marketable products used in the manufacture of talcum powders, wall papers, and as a basis for many lub ricants and soaps. The company, of which H. H. Beck with of Knollwood is a principal shareholder, and Vinson Johnson of Southern Pines manager, has a wide spread demand for its product and may well be reckoned among the leading industries of the county. Industrial Plants of Moore County Give Employment To Over 1,200 Persons Vass Mill Head Plant of the Pinehurst Silk Mills at Hemp HANDKERCHIFS IS MOORE COUNTY’S M. C. McDonald and His Son Turn Out Linen and Cotton Goods in West End Great Opportunity for South in Developement of Wine Industry Manufacturer FINDING READY MARKET It seems a far cry from the man ufacture of automobile bus bodies to men’s handkerchiefs, but M. C. Mc Donald and his son have accomplish ed the transformation in their plant at West End, and are already putting 1 on the market a high grade line of cotton and linen goods. This is the, youngest of Moore county’s indus tries, and shows every pr' spect of be coming one of the mos: .tuccessful. “We have had no trouble in mar keting all the handkerchiefs we have been able to manufacture to date”, said Mr. McDonald Senior this week. “We have been keeping the little plant busy and are sufficiently en_ couraged by the reception of our pro duct to date to expand, and I be lieve we have a new’ and sizeable Sandhills industry in the making. We ■ are the only concern making handker chiefs in this section.” The company is called the Carolina Handkerchief Company. It is import ing its linens from Ireland, and buy ing the best grade of cotton cloth for its less expensive grade goods. M. C. McDonald, former member of the Board of County Commissioners, dividing his time between peaches, apples and the infant industry. 1 M. C. M(’I>ON.\LI> Maxwell and Gardner Convention Speakers Revenue Collector and Former Governor on Toast List for Cot- i ton Convention in Pinehurst j A. J. Maxwell, Commissioner of the | Internal Revenue Department, and | former Governor O. Max Gardner will be the principal speakers at the annual convention of the North Car olina Cotton Manufacturers Associ ation, at Pinehurst, November 5 and 6, according to Hunter Marshall, of Charlotte, secretary of the associa tion. Approximately 250 are expect ed to attend. Outstanding figures at the conven tion will include Taylor R. Durham, secretary of the Southern Hosiery Manufacturers Association, and David Ovens, former president of National Retail Dry Goods Association. A golf match is planned for textile manufacturers, in charge of J. D. Sandridge, o the I. E. duPont Com pany. Coton Association directors will meet November 5. Harvey Moore, of Charlotte and Concord will preside. TWO BUSY FURNITURE FACTORIES IN COUNTY Taylor Chemical Co. Moves to New Plant Chemical Concern Takes Posses sion of Kuilding on Aber- deenPinehurst Highway Burned out of the plant which it had occupied for some time, in a fire last June, the Taylor Chemical Company, one of Aberdeen’s leading industries, has moved into its fine new building on the Aberdeen-Pine- hurst highway, and is now operating there. Thi J concern, ably managed by John M. Taylor, manufactures and distributes throughout this ^ section spraying materials and chemicals for the peach, apple, tobacco and cotton grower. It handles only the highe.st grade products, and serves a satisfied clientele. During the interim between the burning down of the plant the com pany formerly occupied near the Gulf Refining Company offices, and the completion of its new building Mr. Taylor made temporary head, quarters in the Saunders Warehouse building. Hand-Woven Tweeds To Be Manufactured Here CAROLINA POWER & LIGHT GIVES EFFICIENT SERVICE Under the efficient management of Ralph Chandler, the Carolina Power and Light Company, one of the larg est public utilities in the eouth, maintains a modern office on East Broad street. Southern Pinea, and this company furnishes power and light for the .entire Sandhills. In ad dition to this service, electrical sup plies of all kinds may be purchased from the Southern Pines office, head quarters in this seoticH. Moore county has two busy fur niture factories, the Sandhills Fur niture Company at West End and the Morristown Manufacturing Com pany at Vass. The former makes re production and period furniture of the highest grade, supplying f\ dis criminating market. Fred W. Von Canon is at the head of Ihe com pany, )which marjkets ifts products through a subsidiary, the Colonial Furniture Company. This latter con cern has an attractive showroom for the display of samples of the parent company’s manufacture. The Morristown company recently took over the old tobacco, warehouse in Vass and has turned it into a model plant for the manufacture of various types of furniture. H. D. Mielseman of Southern Pines is the head of the rwnpany, the products of which find a ready market in the north. New Plant For Per Mano, Inc. is Nearing Completion on Midland Road A new Sandhills business concern, almost ready to begin operation, is that of Per Mano Inc., managed by H. B. Chatfield, of Pinehurst, and de voted to the manufacture of fine, hand-woven tweed goods. Workmen are now busy putting the finishing touches to the large handsome stucco and brick building on the Midland Road between Pinehurst and South ern Pines. Installation of looms and other necessary weaving equipment will begin soon and it is expected that the plant will open next month. Local labor will be employed. Mr. Chatfield, who operates another plant in Mar ion, Mass,^ is yet undecided as to whether this Moore county plant will eventually become the home office or not. Per Mano Inc., ts one of a few out standing concerns in the United States devoied entirely to manufac turing hand-woven goods. B.4NKS CLOSED TUESDAY Garrett & Company Reopen Plant in Aberdeen, Predict- inj; Great Future for Wines Encouraged by the passage of a wine law in North Carolina, classify ing wine as a food^ Paul Garrett, : president of Garrett & Company, Inc., pioneer American wine growers, has re-opened the cld wine plant in Aber deen, abandoned when prohibition went into effect, and the grape in dustry is given a stimulus here which is expected to develop into one of the substantial enterprises of the Sand hills. *! ! Garrett & Company originated in North Carolina, in 183.'>, and Mr. Garrett is a native of the state. Con. sequently, he has always had a spec ial interest in the possibilities of the state as a grape-growing and wine making factor in the industry of the cc’mtry. Mr. Garrett was particular ly well pleased when North Carolina gave encouragement to the industry by the passage of a law classifying wine as a food, and now with indica tions that that part of the law which gives preference to wines grown with-1 in the state over wines imported from other states, the Garrett Com. j pany is fully equipping its Aberdeen plant and has high hopes that it will prove a great success, both from , the company’s standpoint and as an ' impetus to the agricultural and indus trial prosperity of the state. ExtenHive Operations Before prohibition, Garrett & Com pany had 18 press houses and winer-1 ies all over the country, and these | are being put back in operation as rapidly as possible. The main winery as well as general offices are in Brooklyn, N. Y. Pld.ntj in Penn Van, N. Y. and in Cucamonga, Cal., with their vineyards adjoining, are show- places. A new plant is being opened in Atlanta, Ga., and a large plant formerly operated in St. Louis^ Mo. is expected to be re-equipped soon. "We draw our supplies of grapes from our own vineyards in New York and California," said W. F. Hope, vice-president, in an interview with The Pilot. “Every year we purchase Scuppernong grapes particularly, and blackberries from growers all over the state of North Carolina. Mr. Gar. rett is urging farmers in North Car-' olina to increase varieties, assuring them of a market for all they can harvest. We took all they would give us this year, and would have taken more. We had a receiving base for blackberries and grapes in Wilming ton this year as well as in Aberdeen, and would open a plant in that part of the state if we could be assured of sufficient supplies to keep it go ing”. Mr. Garrett is of the firm belief that wine will become as popular in the United Statrs as in France and other foreign c.cuntries, and says the South has a great opportunity to achieve another of its great success es by adding wine production to its cotton and tobacco industries. -ALTON M. CAMERON VASS COTTON MILL TIME: EMPLOYS 75 Busy Plant Provides Market for Cotton Grown by Farmers of This Section Hi^hfalls Has Busy Cotton Yarn Factory Demand For Products of This Mill Keeps Plant Busy Throughout Year The Citizens Bank & Trust Com pany of Southern Pines and the Bank of Pinehurst, with branches in Aber deen and CarWiage, will be closed all day next Tuesday, election day, a le gal holiday. High grade cotton yarns are man ufactured by the Highfalls Mills, Inc. at Highfalls^ in the upper end of Moore county. This mill takes ad vantage of the water power so plen tiful in that section. It employs a ' large number in its yarn manufac ture, and its products are in such demand as to keep the plant busy throughout the year. John L. Currie, brother of Chairman Wilbur H. Cur rie of the Board of County Commis- ; sioners, Is haard of the company. FOUNDED BY A. CAMERON By Mrs. S. R. Smith The Vass Cotton Mill, which began operations in Vass in 1911, has been the leading manufacturing enterprise in its ccmmunity since its organiza- i tion, furnishing employment to a j large number of people and a market I for the cotton grown by farmers of | this entire section. j The mill, which at present employs from 65 to 75 hands on two eight- hour shifts, is running full time and has been throughout the entire year with the exception of a couple of weeks last February when it dropped to half-time. A fine grade of knitting yarn for hosiery and underwear is manufac tured and it is being sold as fast as it can be made ready for the market. Cotton grown locally and quite a lot that is shipped in from Georgia is used in the manufacture of the yarns. The Vass Cotton Mills Company was founded by A. Cameron^ who in 1907.’08 erected the mill building and the first ten cottages. It was incor porated in September, 1909 with the following officers: A. Cameron, pres ident; J. A. Keith, vice-president: W. B. Graham, secretary-treasurer. The | present officers are: A. M. Cameron, president: J. R. McQueen, vice.pres- ident; W. B. Graham, secretary-trea surer. Mr. Graham has been treasur er of the company since its organiza tion. Cooperative Spirit An unusually fine spirit exists be tween the management and the em_ ployees, which is evidenced by the fact that several who work in the mill have been there since around the time it began operation. Some have reared children there who are now married and working beside them, and the mill population is made up of thrifty families who have no desire to shift from place to place. The mill cottages are equipped with electric lights and water is pip ed to each house. Tl’ese are rented to the workers for a nominal fee- Duiing the depression when the mill was not running, the company allow ed its workers to remain in their homes with rent and lights furnished free, and when it was necessary to reduce wages slightly, the workers reciprocated by taking their cut with out a murmur. It is estimated that there are around 75 hogs owned by mill work ers to be slaughtered when cold wea. ther comes. These are kept in pens in pasture adjacent to the mill vil lage. Each family has a plot of land for a garden and corn is giown for fattening the hogs. A number of the workers keep cows for their milk suppl'. Annual Output Estimated at Well Over Three Millions; Payroll Over $500,000 Moore county has some 20 indus trial plants employing well over 1,200 persons and paying out in wages con siderably over half a million dollars a year. The annual output of these plants is estimated at well over $3,000,000. The last figures available from the State were for the year 1933, which showed 18 establish ments, an average for the year of 935 persons employed, and wages totalling $486,319. Since then several of the larger concerns, particularly the Pinehurst Silk Mills at Hemp, have greatly expanded, increasing their working force and payrolls. And several new concerns have start ed up. The 1933 figures show the cost of materials, fuel^ and purchased elec trical energy then to have been $1,- 303,486. and the value of products $2,227,625. These figures have both been greatly increased since then. In addition to the numerous in dustrial plants de.scribed elsewhere in this secti n of The Pilot, there are some 40 sawmills in the county pro ducing about 20,000,000 board feet of lumber each year. Probably 100,- 000 oak ties are also made and ship ped. The estimated stumpage value of the timber cut annually is around $80,000. Brick and tile clays occur in the northeastern part of the county. Sand and gravel occurs in the south ern part of the county at a number of locations. Pyrophyllite (talc) oc curs in a series of lenses from Glen- don to Hemp and this is the only deposit of such material in the United States which is worked com mercially. Many types of excellent building stone are found heve Min eral production in the county for 1926 was $213,864. Hosiery Made Here Finds Wide Market Currie Mills at Carthage Employ 100 in Production of Cot ton and Rayon Goods Carthage, county seat of Moore county, is well acquainted with its most successful industrial concern, the Currie Hosiery Mills, but It is less well known in the more thickly populated lower end of the county, where minds are on resort and travel business rather than textile manufac turing. Wilbur H. Currie, chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, took over the old Bismark Hosiery Com pany in 1930^ and under the name of the Currie Hosiery Mills, Incorporat ed. has developed the enterprise into a most successful business. The com pany specializes in the manufacture of men's seamless hose in cotton and rayon acetate, and numbers its sat isfied customers in all parts of the country. Close to 100 persons are employed in the plant in Carthage, and that “business is good’’ is evi denced by the fact that the factory is operating two shifts at the present time. FOUR RA1LR0.4DS SERVE COUNTY’S INDUSTRI.AL NEEDS Moore county has five weekly newspapers, two winti^i: dallies. Moore county’s industries are ser ved by four railroads. The Norfolk Southern looks after the needs of the upper end of the county, the rayon products of the Pinehurst Silk MUli, and the talc mining industry near Hemp, and a branch of this rail road running down from Star to Aberdeen serves ff»e industries of West End and Aberdeen. The Seaboard Air Line looks after the industrial requirements of Cam eron, Vass, Southern Pines and Aber deen, while the Aberdeen & Rock- fish shoots east from Aberdeen to Fayetteville, caring for that section. The Moore Central Railroad handles freight out of Carthage, with San ford 8.S its terminal. TWO TELBPHONE COMPANIES OPER.ATE IN MO0RE COUNTY Moore county industries are serv ed by the Central Carolina Telephone Company and the Piedmont Tele phone Company. 1
The Pilot (Southern Pines, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 30, 1936, edition 1
11
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