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VASS--A Growing Industrial TOWN
Vass Cotton Mill, Which Started
Operations in 1910, Is Oldest and
Largest Employer of Labor Here
Founded By The Late'*’
A. Cameron, Mill Is
Now Managed By Son
The Vass Cotton Mill Com
pany, manufacturer of high grade
knitting yarns for hosiery and
underwear, is the oldest and
largest employer of labor in town,
having been in operation since
1910, with 100 persons now on its
payroll. Work is carried on by
two shifts, on duty 45 hours per
week, each.
Carolina-grown cotton is used
and the finished product is in
great demand. Local growers
supply a small part of the cot
ton, the mill providing a conven
ient market for farmers of this
section.
The Vass Cotton Mill Com
pany, which has played a large
part in the growth of the town,
was founded by the late A. Cam
eron, who in 1907-’08 erected the
mill building and the first ten
cottages, including a home for
the superintendent. It was in
corporated in 1909, and began op
erating the following year. A. M.
Cameron, son of the founder, now
heads the business, which has
continued to expand.
Improvements in the way of
more modern equipment and ma
chinery have been added from
time to time. An up-to-date hu
midifying system and water re
frigeration units add to the com
fort of the employees.
No Shifting Population
This is a mill where the pop
ulation is not a shifting one, due
in large measure to the high type
of workers and the interest of
the management in seeing that
not only the working conditions,
but the living conditions, also,
are the best possible. Some of the
employees have been here for
thirty years and many have seen
(Continued on Page 8)
FOREWORD
Angus Mills, Inc.,
Makes Fine Grade
Of Utility Cloths
The newest industry in town
and one of the most interesting
is that of Angus Mills, Inc., in
whose knitting plant cotton yarns
are converted into high grade
knitted cloth, and this material,
or part of it, into utility cloths
of various lengths. Some of the
material is sold in rolls, for use
in the manufacture of polo shirts,
underwear, etc.
The utility cloths are finding
a ready sale, with most of the
output of the mill going to chain
stores. They are of double thick
ness and are much softer and
more flexible than ordinary
woven utility cloths, making
them ideal for dishwashing, dust
ing and cleaning.
These cloths are a Vass pro
duct from start to finish, except
for specially processed yarns, all
other material being manufac
tured by the Vass Cotton Mill
Company.
Angus Mills now employs 25
persons, with just a few more
women than men. A second shift
has recently been a4ded in the
knitting department, and addi
tional workers will be employed
as soon as more machines can be
installed.
Most of the work is on a pro
duction quota basis, and the ma
jority of the employees earn a
premium over the base pay, Max
well Forrest, the manager, dis
closes.
Upon entering the building one
is impressed by the bright clean
appearance and the pleasant
working conditions. Three large
exhaust fans help to keep the
place filled with fresh air.
Continued on Page 4)
Dear Pilot Readers:
We bring you this week a
glimse of Vass, a place that
we love and one in which its
citizens have confidence.
Measured by New York, it
is smBill, but, after tell, it
doesn't claim to be a city.
. . . only the best little town
of its size to be found.
We acknowledge with ap
preciation the fine coopera
tion of every business man
and woman in town and
thank all who had a part in
making this special section
of THE 'PILOT possible.
Our hope is that it will make
you want to get better ac
quainted with Vass.
Bessie Cameron Smith
Announcing
our purchase of ,
Hotel Charmella
Vass. N. C.
40-Room Brick Building
Just off Highway 1
Weally located in the Sandhill
section of Moore County, only eight
miles from Southern Pines and
twelve from Pinehurst.
Write for additional information.
Mr. and Mrs. John C. T. Young
VASS, N. C.
TOWN FATHERS
Herewith are presented
the members of the govern
ing board of Vass. H. A.
Borst, Seaboard station agent
here since the middle 'teens,
has been Mlayor for the past
15 years and was recently re
elected for another two-year
term. A. M. Cameron, S. R.
Smith and H, C. Callahan
comprise the Board of Com-
misioners. Cameron, a manu
facturer, formerly served as
mayor and has held his pres
ent office several terms, as
has Smith, a merchant. Cal
lahan, Vass Cotton Mill su
perintendent, is beginning
his second term.
Mrs. G. E. Griffin serves as
Town Clerk and A. R. Laub-
scher is police chief and
superintendent of the Water
Department.
Vass Forces Ahead As
Busy Industrial Town
VASS COMMISSIONERS
Vass Industries
Manufactures 400
Wardrobes Weekly
Come To
Vass Industries, Inc., of which
Sam Reiner of New York City is
president and William A. Levick
of Philadelphia, secretary-treas
urer, is manufacturing cedar war
drobes at the rate of 400 per week.
The plant employs approximately
75 persons, working in two 8-hour
shifts, and is under the manage
ment of Paul Odom, a furniture
man of long experience.
Deep colored Tennessee aroma
tic cedar, for the most part, is us
ed in constructing the wardrobes,
although, when available, some
that is of the same type is pro
cured in North Carolina.
At present all of the factory
production is going out in carload
lots to be handled more or less
exclusively by large retail chain
stores. The Vass Industries plant
is located in a large brick build
ing used originally for a short
time as a tobacco auction ware
house, and later as a bedroom
furniture manufacturing plant.
The present occupants began put
ting the building in repair and
getting ready to install machin
ery last August. Actual product
ion began the first of this year.
The 75 laborers are about equ
ally divided as to white and color
ed, male and female. The various
kinds of saws and machines used
in making the wardrobes run by
electricity, and slack-clad women
can be seen expertly doing the
work required for many of the
processes.
“I- find labor very easy to work
here in comparison to some other
communities,” Odom commented.
Many outsiders have been puzz
led as to the kind of schedule the
plant operates on, due to the fact
Continued on Page 3)
Place Offers Fine
Advantages As Man
ufacturing Location
Vass, once a friendly contender
with Cameron for the title of
“Leading Dewberry Market of the
World,” has turned aside from
its early interest and is fast forg
ing to the front ranks among
manufacturing towns of Moore
County.
Located here are a cotton mill, a
furniture plant and a weaving
m^ll that give employnient to
well over two hundred people,
with two lumber plants that have
on their payrolls a sizeable num
ber of additional workers.
With the wage scale at its pres
ent high lever, the combined pay
roll serves as a decided stimulus
to other businesses.
Vass has many advantages to
offer as a location for industrial
plants. At the top stand the
town’s attitude toward new busi
ness and the availibility of a
high class of labor. The town is
served by the main line of the
Seaboard Air Line Railway, and
is traversed by Federal High
way 1, making shipment by train
or truck convenient. It has an
adequate water supply. Electric
power is supplied by the Caro
lina Power and Light Company,
one of the largest public utili
ties in the South; telephone ser
vice is available through the Cen
tral Carolina Telephone Com-
fiany, and the Western Union
Telegraph Company has an of
fice here.
Nearness to Southern Pines,
which is served by the fast pas
senger trains operating between
the North and South, and to
Knoillwood Airport, where plane
service is available, makes it a
simple matter for business exe
cutives to speed from one sec
tion to the other with a minimum
loss of time.
This fine seption is an iiieal place to establish a home
and live a peaceful and contented life. The social, civic, edu
cational and religious atmosphere of the community is purely
democratic, with a neighborly spirit prevailing.
Vass Offers Fine Business Opportunities
and
Our Town Welcomes New Industry
Located on Seaboard Air Line Railway
f
and
U.S. Highway 1
8 Miles North of Southern Pines 12 Miles from Pinehurst
Write for further information
VASS, NORTH CAROLINA
VASS DRUG STORE
L. B. CRAIG VASS. N. C.
"THE REXALL STORE"
Prescriptions filled promptly and accurately.
If you have had trouble finding
some of the scarce items in our
line, we invite you to call. If we
don’t have what you want, we’ll try
to get it.
NICE LINE OF GIFIIS ' '
GREETING CARDS
If you live nearer Cameron
visit the
Cameron Drug Store