Textile Reunion Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          April 1, 2005

        KANNAPOLIS, NC—”Will you remember us?” is a question on the minds of many veteran textile mill employees who grew up on the mill hills and mill villages of the cotton mill South.  Hundreds will gather here later this month to make sure the answer is a resounding “yes.”

        In the town where the announcement of massive textile layoffs is still a vivid and bitter memory, a first-ever “Southwide Cotton Mill Reunion & Convention” will be held on April 22 and 23 under the shadows of giant brick smokestacks that still read “Cannon” and “Fieldcrest.”

        Delegations and individuals are expected to attend from as far away as Valley, Alabama as well as places like Spartanburg County, SC where mills and mill houses were once nearly as thick as trees.

        Word of the gathering has traveled through a growing network of ardent preservationists, most of who have personal connections to the region’s once-thriving cotton textile industry.  The Reunion has been organized by the “Southwide Textile Heritage Initiative,” a loose coalition of lay historians, mill town natives, museum staffers, and mill town governments. In January, it published the first issue of “The Bobbin & Shuttle,” a 64-page magazine-format publication which it hopes to continue.

        Friday’s Reunion activities are geared toward those who are or want to be active in saving the stories of the region’s cotton mill people, the places where those stories unfolded and the historic record so that future generations may learn from their history and values.  The Hon. Julia Howard of the NC House Representatives will welcome the group and a luncheon talk by Dr. Gary Freeze, Professor of History at Catawba College will kick off a day of workshops and brainstorming. 

        Saturday is slated as a “Celebration of Memory” at which those gathered will recollect what life was like growing up “mill hill-style” in the South.  Welcoming the crowd will be Tuscarora Yarn’s Martin Foil, Jr., owner of the last mill running in Cabarrus County, NC.  Dr. Jerry McGee, who grew up in the Roberdel mill village and is now president of Wingate University, will speak about the values learned in childhood, kicking off a session of audience testimony.  Valley, Alabama Mayor Arnold Leake will present two action proposals to be considered later in the day.                   

        Saturday afternoon “talk sessions” will break into smaller groups to discuss “Mill Town Baseball,” “Family & Neighborhood Life,” “Schooling,” “Mill Work” and “The Role of Faith” on the mill hills of the region. At 3 pm an ensemble from the Charlotte Symphony will perform “Mill Village: A Piedmont Rhapsody.”   Specially commissioned as a tribute to this unique way of life, composer David Crowe will conduct.

        A dozen authors who have created works of history and literature will be on hand for book signings and several publishing companies will be there to scout for new material.  Works of visual art, drawing on mill town themes, will be exhibited.  Attendees are each encouraged to bring a copy of a family or mill photo to add to a giant “Memory Wall.”  Modestly-priced lunches are available both days for those who pre-register.  A “dope wagon” will be there Saturday to rekindle memories with “RCs and Moon Pies.”

        The Reunion will adjourn “to the sound of a mill whistle” but organizers believe that the event signals a beginning, rather than an end to its efforts at saving this critical piece of the South’s history.  Several towns have already purchased their old cotton mill to be restored for public and commercial pursuits.  Partnerships with community colleges and state tourism agencies are on the drawing board as well as school curriculum development.  New mill town historical societies are springing up and, despite anger at the decline of jobs and flood of foreign textiles, a new appreciation of this bygone culture seems to be gaining steam. 

        All Reunion events are free, thanks to a grant from the NC Humanities Council, but pre-registration is strongly encouraged.  Friday’s events will take place at Kimball Memorial Lutheran Church on Vance Street in downtown Kannapolis and Saturday’s sessions will take place nearby at the A.L. Brown High School on First Street in Kannapolis. Special motel rates & maps are available upon request.

A copy of the “Bobbin & Shuttle” magazine may be ordered with a $5 donation (s/h included) to Textile Heritage, PO Box 667, Cooleemee, NC 27014. 

The End