The time is past due for official recognition of the uncountable contributions made to our region by the South’s cotton mill people.

There remains amongst us today, the last generation to grow up in this unique culture, when a mill and its village were a seamless whole. The long day of this culture is at its end and the shadows of night can be seen just beneath the trees. The memories of our elders beg to be recorded while they remain with us. We owe them a debt of thanks for the fruits of their hard work. The values which they have bequeathed to us deserve to be lifted up. The historic places where their stories unfolded require preservation. They deserve more than a critical mention in the nation’s historical record.

Issue #4 now available, web ordering available 12 October

There is much to be learned from this history. A largely indigenous industry gradually elevated a South devastated by war. Small farmers who faced worn-out land, unfair railroad rates and a precarious market found a foothold toward betterment of their families. In the footsteps of their forebears, they forged small communities where neighbors helped neighbors and they never locked their doors. The loss of the textile industry signifies more than a loss of jobs; we are losing a way of life.

If you were reared on a mill hill, no matter how successful you might have become, or where life finds you, there remains in your heart a warm place that can still be stirred by memories of that place and its people.

It is up to you to become a link in the chain of memory. It is up to each town and community to fashion these first celebrations in a manner that honors and befits this rich legacy. Reconnect with your old friends and classmates, retell the story of your mill town to schoolchildren or even choose to clean up the mill village graveyard that remains sacred ground. Without fail, find some way to publicly remember and celebrate your textile heritage this October. You are part of history and your efforts will make history.

To join the movement that is working to save this history, please contact the Textile Heritage Center, PO Box 667, Cooleemee, NC 27014, call (336) 284-6040 or visit www.TextileHeritage.org.

Celebration Events & Proclamations

Wilmington, NC Mill Hill Association

Porterdale, GA

Alamance County

Glencoe, NC , also Textile Heritage Museum

Shelby, NC - First proclamation in the South by Mayor Ted Alexander

Historic Cabarrus (Concord NC)

Kannapolis, NC Kannapolis Bookends Book Club
The Kannapolis Bookends Book Club 704-920-1180
Tuesday, October 2 7:00 pm Ladies In the Draw-In Room - Sue Ellen Frye

Saxapahaw, NC October 6th Textile Heritage Exhibits & Former Mill Employees Reunion

Valley, AL 

Pineville, NC -- Charlotte Observer - August 16, 2007 - 3U UNION
WEEK WILL RECOGNIZE TEXTILE HISTORY, PINEVILLE IS HONORING THE
FABRIC OF ITS HERITAGE WITH CELEBRATION Pineville is honoring its milltown
roots this fall with a weeklong textile heritage celebration. Town officials have
declared the first week of October Textile Heritage Week. During the celebration,
town historian Joe Griffin will speak about the history of Pineville’s mill, and the
Belle Johnston Community Center will display old tools, photos, textiles and other
items, said Kristy Detwiler, head of Pineville Parks & Recreation. The town will also honor former...

Greenville, SC www.scmillhills.com

Governor of South Carolina -Proclamation