Honoring Their Memory Textile Heritage Week 2008
To remember those who once carded, spun and wove the fabric that clothed our country, the second annual Textile Heritage Week will be celebrated from October 4th through October 12th, 2008.
A little more than forty years ago, eighty percent of U.S. corporate
profits came from manufacturing. Since then, hundreds of thousands of textile jobs have been lost to
low wage countries. Many who grew up in the South’s textile towns and mill
villages believe that a shortsighted, fatal error.
A rich legacy in need of preservation exists in the South’s small textile communities that grew up alongside the mills. A unique culture flourished on these mill hills where neighbors looked after one another, individual families worked hard to get ahead and mill owners plowed a portion of their profits back to improve recreation, education and social life.
Too many of the stories from this time are being lost as our elders pass away. Too many of these mill communities have been neglected by absentee landlords. Too many mills are decaying or being dismantled for their brick and lumber. Too few of these historic sites along rivers are being rescued for public enjoyment.
There is much to be learned from this history. The values and traditions of the South’s cotton mill people must not disappear with the industry. The lives of our ancestors, whose hard work transformed this region, must be remembered. We must not allow this heritage to be sidelined as a set of past economic statistics or reduced to a few photos of child laborers.
Join us in becoming a link in the chain of memory. Ask your town, city, school board and county officials to proclaim the first week of every October as Textile Heritage Week.
Ask a local teacher to invite an old-timer to come and share their memories with their students. Put on some work gloves and reclaim your local mill hill cemetery to honor the hard-working people.
For more information contact the Textile Heritage Center Initiative@TextileHeritage.org or write us at PO Box 667 Cooleemee NC 27014 or call us at (336) 284-6040.
Textile Heritage Week celebrations - 2008
In
October 4th
In
www.visitalamance.com/events/default.asp?eid=4581&cat=58
Saturday, Oct. 4
Glencoe - Textile Heritage Museum
"Preserving Sacred Ground" Exhibit
or
Glencoe - Rockworth Studio Fiber Art Demonstration, Glencoe Mill Village,12
- 2 pm
Glencoe - Front Porch Pick'n on the porch at Textile Heritage Museum
12:30 - 4 pm
Graham - Court Square 9am-5pm
First Annual Cook-Off & Car Show w/ Band of Oz
Burlington - Hospice Arts at the Village Outlets
Sunday, October 5
Haw River - Highway 49 Bridge Put-In
1:00pm Ann Hobgood - Mill History Discussion
1:30pm-4:30pm Paddle to Swepsonville
Monday, October 6
Burlington - Historical Lecture by Dr. Bill Vincent
May Memorial Library
Tuesday, October 7
Graham - Alamance Arts Council 6-8pm
Fhyne Whyne Concert & Mill Painting Exhibit
Saturday, October 11
Saxapahaw - 4-8pm Homecoming / Band Paperhand Puppets show at Benjamin
Vineyards
Glencoe - Glencoe County Park Opening
In
10 a.m., Thursday, October 9, 2008
Ceremony at Raymer Funeral Home
Corner of
Info contact B.J. Caldwell at
beecaldy@aol.com
In
October 4
– Celebration and Festival at the
Food, Music, Displays,
10 AM
– 4 PM
Kay Crowe, Back Porch Gang and Textile Heritage Band in Concert.
October 5 –
Spiritual Emphasis Day at the
Music, fellowship and dinner on the grounds.
More information:
dhark1@charter.net
In
“Honoring Sacred Ground”
10 a.m. – Friday, October 10
Who will hear elders’ stories and form a
“Circle of Memory”
In Durham, North Carolina
Saturday, October 11th, 4-6 pm
"West Fest": Commemorating Textile Heritage Week
West Knox (between Oakland & Alabama Streets)
Meet old friends and neighbors. Music. Bring a side-dish to share pot-luck.
In Concord, North Carolina
"CONCORD'S
TEXTILE HERITAGE"
Special exhibit at The Concord Museum
Tuesday, October 7-Saturday, November 15, 2008
"TEXTILES IN CABARRUS COUNTY: THE EARLY YEARS"
Guest lecture by Catawba College history professor Gary Freeze
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
7:00 PM-8:30 PM
"REMEMBERING KERR BLEACHERY: 30 YEARS LATER"
Special program with former Kerr Bleachery managers and employees
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
7:00 PM-8:30 PM
All events take place at the Concord Museum, 11 Union St. S, Suite 104,
downtown Concord, NC 28025. For more information,
please call the Museum at 704-782-3688. More info visit Historic
Cabarrus Association at
www.historiccabarrus.org
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Learn about the Textile Heritage Initiative Share your Story at Saving the Stories Keep In Touch at Join Us More about Historic Cooleemee, NC Last modified 12/02/2008 |
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