Strasburg HeritageAssociation

V®luit)e 5. Issue 1 VvilIter 20®5 Strasburg, VInginia

Next meeting -Barbara Adamson

please join fenow SEA members, guests andinterested citizens for our annual meeting to beheld Sunday, FebmaLry 13, 2005 at 3:00 p.in. aLtStrasburg Town Hall Among the business to beconducted at the meeting will be the election ofour Board of Directors.

We are pleased to have as our speaker RayWright, Curator of Historic Buildings at theFrontier Culture Museum in Staunton. hdr.Wright's lecture a.nd sHde presentation isentitled "The Past and Present Historic BowmaflHouse, a Valley Pioneer's FiuerkicheD Haus." Hewill focus on this historic house, built north ofTiinberville in Rockingbam County in 1773 andnow part of the Frontier Culture Museum Mr.Wright will share information about GeorgeBowman, some of whose descendants Eve inShenandoah County, and about the building'shistory and German-style architecture He willhigh]icht how the Bowman farily conformed tothe 18th Century nrigration and settlementpatterns occurring. at that time in theShenandoah Valley. Mr. Wright has a BA degreein History aLnd a Master's in HistoricPreservation and has worked in building andarchitectural restoration at the Museum for 14years. He is an enthusiastic and knowledgeablespeaker and welcomes questions and commentsfrom the audience.

Refreshments will be served at the meeting andthe pubEc is cordially invited. Just in case, wehave set Sunday, February 20 as a snow date at6:00 p.in. at Town HaEL

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President's Message -Babs Melton

I've often said that Strasburg HeritageASBodaLtion has the best Board members I'veever had the privilege to work with. As a result oftheir efforts, SIIA can chin justifiable pride inits `accomplishments. In 2004,

• Tiln Taylor, Treasurer Don Levine,Shirley Maxwell, and Dee Keister devotedconsiderable effort to revising the HistoricDistrict OrdinaLnce into a more userffiendly document.

• Vice PresideDt Carla WalleD developedplaques to identify the town's mosthistoric homes.

• Doug Cooley and Mike Whittle made aphoto inventory of Strasburg's historicstructures.

• Tim Taylor and Kathy Kehoe continued torecord Strasbung folklore in the OralHistory project.

• Sarah Mauck not only coordinated therefreshments for every SHA event butalso wrote the apphation to ShenandoahValley Battlefields Foundation (SVBF)that resulted in a $5,goo grant to upgradethe town's walking tour signs, buildingupon research originally done by VirginiaCaddeB.

• SEA Secretary Barbara Adanson did aphenomenal job chairing the Fisher's HimCo mme morative Ve te ran' a Picnic,partneing SIIA with SVBF, ShenandoahCounty Tourism, She nandoahPreservation League, Shenandoah CountyHistorical Society, and Stonewall JacksonMuseum at Hupp'8 Hill

• Donna Huntsberger coordinated themyriad details of the 2004 HohidayHeritage Homes Tour, which brougbt thf`greatest number of visitors to town in t'

event's four-year history. Our pa]ther,Massanutten Garden Chb, again gaveinvaluable help with decorations andrefireshments.

• The team comprised of reporter KathyKehce, editor Babs MeltonL andpublichers Diane and lieon Smithproduced quality newsletters andbrochues,

To you mentioned above aLnd to the nLLmerousvolunteers you drafted, I offer my bea.rffeltthanks for your tireless efforts in makingthese programs so Successful. You're tbe best!

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2004 Homes Tour-Donna Huntsberger

The 2004 Strasburg Hohday Heritage HomesTour, sponsored by the Strasburg HeritageAssodation in partnership with the MassanuttenGarden Club, was a resounding success! W6 soldover 300 tickets and took in $3,047. Aocording toDon Levine, Treasurer, this is an increase overthe 2003 homes tour of approxinately $1,000!

Anyone who attended previous homes tours couldten we had a much larger turnout this year. It'sdiffcult to say if the outstanding turnout wasdue to the beautiful weather we had that day;the fact that our homes tour was held on thesame dry as the Strasburg Chamber BUBinesBOpen House; or, if our success was due primarilyto the beautiful homes we showcased this year.What we do know from the comments we'vereceived and the smiles on faces of those touringthe homes is that we continue to improve uponour successes.

It's also apparent from the huge turnout that thedtizens of Strasburg aLnd the sumundingcommunities enjoy and appreciate this event.

As in any special event there are a number ofpeople whose aLBsistance is crucial. In our casethe success of our homes tour is entirelydependent upon the generosity of thehomeowners, volunteers and business leaders. Itis imperative that these people be recognized.

Of course first I need to thank our homeowners,Lori and Dick Ryan, Judith and Woodie

Wordsworth, Mari-Ane Fowler and RickBumette, Maggie aLnd Tim Maloney, and Iliz andJack Schfllinger. Without kind and generouspeople like yourselves, who opened your heartsand homes to our community, this event wouldnot be possible. Thank you very much for beingsuch wonderful people!

I also need to thank the inDumerable volunteerswho helped serve as docents, sold tickets, andassisted with parting and a host of otherlogistical issues necessary to the Success of ourhomes tour. While I would like to mention youall by name the volunteer list is happfly, quitelong. This is a testament to the community spiritthat continues to thrive in Strasburg. Pleaseknow that I greatly appreciate the assistanceeach of you gave.

And of course members of the StrasburgHeritage Association, Maesanutten Garden Club,Strasburg hibrary and businesses such ale theStrasburg Hotel, First Bank and The Old Mill,Stonewall JaLckson Museum Virginia Memories,The Three French Hens and the Chainber ofCommerce cannot be overlooked for thecontributions of time and effort they gave tosupport this event. Our homes tour is truly acommunity effort, put on for the enjoyment ofco-unity members.

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Walking Tour - Sarah Manck

The Walhing Tour of Historic Strasburg is to becompleted by Mayfest. John Adamson and SarahMauck have been hard at work finishing the textfor the tour signs and finding appropriate photos.The Town has agreed to help with instaHation.Initially the brochure may be a simple guide toenhance the tour, but plans are being made tohave an elaborate and more informative"booklet" made.

We are excited to have three Civil War Trailssigns included on our tour. They are madepossible by a grant firom the Shenandoah ValleyBaLttlefields Foundation. One will be positionedat the Strasburg Museum; one a.t the comer ofHohiday and Washington Sts.; and the grandfinale, just above the Presbyterian Church on S.Holliday St. with the spectacular view of the

Valley. We are gratefiil to Richard meeee forassisting us with his wealth of knowledge aboutCivil War history. Also, we are grateful to theStraBbug Rotary Chib for a zaH generousdonation that will help make this project a reallywonderful addition to the community.

Our schedule is to have the Civil War Trails signat S. Holliday St. dedicated at 11:00 am onSaturday, May 2lct a8 part of the Mayfe8tactivities. Miteh Bowman with the Vmginfo Cfu#War 2trofzs J}rogrom and Sherman Fleck with theSheTndoch, Vdi:toi Battleftalds Foundation "be on hand for the "unveiling as weu asrme"hene oS our ovlm Strasbwng Gucnd, SCV.Mark your edendas!

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New Bronze Plaque for HistoricBuildings - Carh Wallen

We are excited to announce that a new bronzeplaque is being eneated for our historic homesand buildings. The design celebrates Strasburg'sheritage and is beantifu]ly and meticulouslycrafted. These spechl plaques will be offered toeveryone hving in Strasburg or the Davie Districtwho has a property that is at least 60 years old.It will indude the date your property was builtand its designation as an historic building. Realestate surveys have shown that this kind ofhistoric designation can inaease a property'svalue. As our town experiences growth and `addsmany new buildings, we are so pleased to have away to identify our historic buildings and makethem stand out. More' informtion on the newplaques will be available at our GeneralMembership Meeting on February 13th!

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The Strasburg Silk Mill- Kathy Kehoe

Mattie Cameron was a quill winder at theStrasburg Silk Mill from 6:00 a.in untn 2 p.in.After work, 8he walked home out towards TheBranch on the West End of town with her niece,Kathleen Robinson. At its peak, the Mfllempkyed 125 people, all adding their part inoperating the large looms, and after the waLrmth

of the Mill, Mattie was enjeying the cool winterair Once home, Mathe went up8tain to rest andlie acoss her four poster bed for a nap beforeStarting supper. In the kitehen, Mattie put onher apron, pausing at the blue cock to mash thesauerhaut by twisting the wcoden hautstomper, placing her hand on the familiarStamped name on the cock. Needing somethingfast, Mattie hurried dewn to the cellar and chceetwo blue quart jars Of vegetable so`xp the familyhad put up in late summer. Back upstairs, shetook off the zinc Eds and poured the coup into alarge cast iron kettle, stirring it with a redtrimmed white enamel spcon. Reaching for amatch from the tin near the stove, she lit thekerosene stove and soon the aroma of the soupfilled the air, luring the rest of the family to thetable. After supper, her son would feteh a bucketol' water from the spigot out back and the gidswould heat the water to add to the enameldishpans, one with lye soap and one to rinse.Then she would work on the white silk dressesshe was making for her daughters for May Day.The town festival was still months away, but nowthat her brother in law has given her the silkfrom the mill, she started working on them rightaway.

Now if you walk through the 1.4 acres of whatwas once the Strasbung Textile Mall, you will findmany of those household items Mattie used inher kitten. Now those items are antiques, ondisplay and for sale and part of The GreatStrasburg Emporium Boasting "more than 200dealers," they bin themselves as "the largestselection of antiques in the Shenandcah Valley."You'll see the blue jars, the enamel dishpans andSpoons, the cast iron kettles and maybe aStrasburg crmk.

Kathleen Robinson Stickley worked at the SilkMi]] for eighteen years, Starting out at fifty centsan hour in 1947. She worked as a "banker sherecalls, "putting cones on and tying themtogether, transferring to the other cone and thenputting on another." Kathleen kept two machinesgoing in this way and she recalls there were 36cones on one side and 48 on the other. Kathleenlater became a quin winder, winding thread froma spool onto a apindle that fit onto a loom thatheld 10-12 spcole.

There are few facts written about `the StrasburgTextile Mill, commonly refened to as the SilkMill, but a number of people contributed to thisstory, telling what they personally rememberedabout worhing there or recalling Stories aboutrelatives who were employees. Some of theinfomation consists of town stories, small towngo88ip about the great Silk Mill Rchbery, abouthow the union was voted out, or sometimes justsimply about how loud and hot the Mfll was. Thisarticle is a anall collection of their memoriesabout this significant part of their lives.

Except during World War 11, when the plantproduced parachutes for the hilitary, theworkers made silk casket linings. Chahie Phttand his con Nathan owned the Mill. GeorgiannaHires remembers that Charlie bought the Millfrom Fred Bertschinger, Roy Bertschinger'sfather. I talked with Roy's daughter, LindaBertschinger who remembers that hergrandfather Fred was from Switzerland. Thefamily fo]k]ore is that Fred was the only con outOf 8 or 9 daughters, Of a Swiss textile ndll owner,whcee dream was for his only son to take overthe business, But Fred'8 dream was to be anAmerican cowboy and he left home to hovel theWild West. When Fred returned home toSwitzerland sporting his new cowboy hat andrefusing to take over the fanny bu8ines8, hisfather sent him off to make his own fortune.Somehow Fred ended up in Strasbung where hemarried and started a mill Of his own which hesold to the Platt's. An article in the NorthernVirgiha Daily. about Charbe Phtt's loothbirthday states that the Pfatt's bought the mill in1933. It is not known why Fred sold the mill buthe later lived in Orange County where he passedaway. We also don't know why Fred migrated toour tittle town, but at least we know why hechose a mill to make a living, since it was whathe was raised to do. hinda says Fred had comepatents on looms or parts of looms that he'dinvented. Perhaps he was disillusioned by hiscowboy dream or found a German blonde inStrasbupg who could not leave her mother.

Everybody remembers that the Mill was hot andnoisy. Kathleen Stickley remembers telling herAunt Mattie on her 18th birthday walhing homefrom work that it was the hottest day she'd everspent, working inside the Mill. Sarah KehceMauck and Teri Davison Shrader remembervisiting Terri's Aunt Cookie Qiou Davison) at

work. The warping machines, the big wheels thatran onto a loom and the "slacheF machines thatwove material, Kathleen remeribers allconthbuted to the noise level. Seveml peoplereport hearfug lose or nerve damage: LenDavison, Nina and Buddy Sherman and others.Earplugs and ear protective gear, Nim tells us,were not used in those dryB and she remembers"you had to homer in there." Terri rays herfather, Dick Davison, didh't work there longenough to damage his hearing, because he wentinto business for himself in 1958. Buddy workedthere as a mechanic until it closed.

"Two g±ds came to work there once and they toldMr, Plate it was too loud and he Said, `After acouple days, you won't even notice it.' They leftfor lunch and never came back" says CalvinRitenour, who viorked there 29 years. "Bigthunderstorm would come up and we didn't evenknow it was going on `cept the lights blin]rin', andfire trucks would go out and we didn't even knowit." Calvin tells us with a chuckle. "You'd getused to the noise after awhile and could talk overit.in

The Great Silk Mill Robbery is remembered byseveral people, including Kathleen Stickley andCalvin Ritenour. Neither of them worked therethat early, but the date Of the theft is believed tobe sometime in the early 40'g or late 30's. CharhiePfatt was robbed of the entire cash payron as hewas carrying it from the office building onMasBanutten Street to the factory building in theback when he was hit over the head. The locationwas somewhere in the vicinity of "downstairs ofwhere the Moose used to be." (1960's) Calvinremembers that "they put your pay in anenvelope and give it to you in cash." The robberrived in the Strasburg "high-rise", the buildingwhere People's Ding Store now stands. Thebuilding was at that time a boarding house, saysKathleen and the robber was reportedly behindin his rent and other bills. qhe upper stories ofthe building were removed in later years as isseen today) After the robbery, the suspect "wentaround paying his hills and that's how theycaught him." The Mill started using checks afterthat.

Somewhere in the 1940'8, union organiaerscampaigned for a union at the Mill, but it lost bytwo votes, remembers Kathleen. Calvin says the

"vote was real dose." Kathleen said che and herfather voted igaiust the union because theybeHeved the plant would shut down completelyand "there was no place else to work back then."Georgianna Bays that the Min wasn't "a bigcompany so didn't have a big bunch of rules. Itwas a small operation and couldn't afford to havea union.„

The working conditions of the Mill, though notup to today's staLndards, were considered averaLgefor that tine period. Calvin tells us that hestarted at 50 cents an hour in 1948 and 29 yearslater when the plant closed, he was making $3.10an hour as a mechanic. There were no vacationsin the early days and the only paid hoHday wasonce a year on Christmas day. Kathleen, as aquin winder started at 50 cents an hour in 1946.She was maling 75 cents an hour when she leftin 1964 for a job at the new Aileen plant for$1.25 an hour. There were three shifts: 6 a.in. to2 p.in., 2-10 and 10-6.

Each person I talked to remembered the names6f other people who worked at the Mill, someHving and some deceased. Kathleen describes the"bigwigs" as Frank Smith Orarie WiHiaLm'sbrother and Gloria Stickley's father), Guy andLymon Scott and Norven Nicklaus. Her fatherLuther Robinson was a foreman who worked.with Harry Grim. He started in 1928 and leftafter Nathafl Platt died. Tern Davisori Shrader'Bfather Dick and Aunt Lou, and Mattie, mother ofPatsy Rutz and Tommy Cameron are some ofthose remembered. Kathleen remembers ByrdBockey, "Jimmy's daddy" and also describes howCecil Millers father "cleaned the qui]]s using abrush and bucket so they could be re-used."Buddy Sherman was a mechanic and his wifeNina a machine operator, Ada Moris worked inthe office and Johnny & Georgianna Hiresworked there as walpers, Johnny as foreman.Jack Jenkins left Edinburg Aileen to work on theMi]l's new ±nitting machine and Calvin Ritenourdrove from his home in Ft. Valley each day,"when gas was a lot cheaper." And of course,there were the owner/managers, Mr. ChahiePlatt, and his son Nathan.

The date the plant closed is of great debate. Theyear 1977 seems late, but SaLrah Mauckremembers working there in 1979 when thebuilding first began in the antique business.

Nobody seems to remember the exact year therill closed. Kathleen and others report that themill closed "when Nathan Platt died."GeorgiaLnna Hires remembers her husbandJohnny worked for Fred Bertschinger when theMill Started and he was laid off when the plantclosed. He was only off work for two weeks, shereca]le, when she and Johnny both began work atthe Front Royal Avtex on July 7, 1977. NinaSherman is not sure of the exact year, but shesays her husband Buddy retired from Chemstoneat the age of 62. He left the Mill when it closedaLnd worked eleven years at Chemstone. He wasborn in 1926 and is now 78 years old, whichwould mean the Strasburg Textile Mill closed in1977.

I am Mattie Cameron's granddaughter a.nd Iremember very Ettle about her because she diedwhen I was four. But I have a very vaguememory of being very short, my arm extended inthe air, bolding my mother's hand and looking upat my Mema who was standing beside a largemachine. It was very loud and she and mymother were yehing above my head. It was mymother, Patsy Rutz, who remembers the silkdresses her mother made her and her sister LueyQrultz) every year for the Mayday festival fromleft over silk Uncle Luther Robinson got from therill The history of the Silk Mill remains aL partof the heritage of many families in the town ofStrasbng.

Picture of the Old Silk Mill - cotLrtesy ofGloria Stickley

Strasburg Heritage Association

P 0 Bol 525

Strasburg, VA 22657