Hopedale History July 2020 No. 384 Rockwell and Draper Hopedale in July
<><><><><><><><><><> Twenty-five years ago – July 1995 - Iraq disarmament crisis: In response to UNSCOM's evidence, Iraq admits for first time the existence of an offensive biological weapons program, but denies weaponization. President Clinton announces the restoration of United States–Vietnam relations twenty years after the Vietnam War. Fifty years ago – July 1970 - Thor Heyerdahl's papyrus boat Ra II arrives in Barbados. The Aswan High Dam in Egypt is completed. Damages totalling £485,528 are awarded to 28 Thalidomide victims. NBC anchor Chet Huntley retires from full-time broadcasting
Hopedale Feels the Impact of Rockwell’s Shrinkage by John A. Fraser Telegram Milford Bureau HOPEDALE (June 20, 1976) - In September, Rockwell International Corp. plans to shut off the steam that for years has heated the students at the Dutcher Street School here. But the larger valve that has regulated the flow of money, services, prosperity and security for the large complex to the town has slowly been offering less and less for more than two years. Now, Hopedale and several area towns are beginning to feel the drought. Rockwell officials, after a series of layoffs and building shutdowns, have told the town of 4,300 that it will have to look elsewhere for many of the benefits that the company has provided for a century and a quarter. In the early 1970s, the company employed about 2,700 workers from the area. As of last month, only about 1,000 persons were employed there. The white-collar employees are moving to he Weaving Machinery Division’s busiest plant in South Carolina The entire loom-making operation, which once utilized the maze of buildings off Hopedale Street, has been reduced to a system that will eventually fit in one part of one floor in one building. Much of the company’s land is up for sale, and space in the factories is available for rent. The Draper looms, on which the “Draper” company made its reputation, are still produced by Rockwell. The corporation, which merged with Draper in 1967 (not a merger, actually), says the name “Draper” is still a huge asset – standing for quality and dependability. But the loom parts are no longer founded or machined in Hopedale. Assembly is the only operation done locally now. There is no belching of smoke (environmentally unacceptable today, but 10 years ago an indication that the gears were grinding away) at the plant now. In a March press release, Rockwell officials blamed the company’s cutbacks on foreign competition and on the location of the Hopedale plant – far away from most consumers, thereby adding to shipping problems. There was a time, in Hopedale, as in most towns with a one-industry economic base, when the entire life of the community was centered on the “shops.” Residents could join the Larches, a handsome old mansion that once served as the company president’s home (in the Rockwell years), for about $60 a year for dining and swimming privileges. For not much more, membership was available at the company-owned Hopedale Country Club and its golf course. Tiny Hopedale airport was built by the company to serve its globe-trotting executives. The company heated the Dutcher Street School (and the Town Hall, the library and several other buildings) and contributed a sewer system that serves half the town. In spite of the Rockwell Corporation’s regular statements that it has “a commitment to Hopedale,” many townspeople think they detect a hollow ring in the pronouncements. The area in which the plant is located has had one of the highest unemployment rates in the state for years (now hovering around 13 percent according to the State Division of Employment Security), and Rockwell officials have said more layoffs may come. They have, however, said repeatedly that cuts in the payroll and in the number of operations are simply cost-saving devices aimed at making the Weaving Machinery Division more profitable. On Feb 4, Louis Putze, a Rockwell corporate vice-president and president of the Utility and Industrial Operations Division, said the division would continue to take action that can be seen “as evidence of Rockwell’s continued commitment to the Draper business.” However, the announcement, unlike those in the past, studiously avoided singling out the Hopedale plant as a necessary part of the corporation’s loom- making operation. David Forward, local spokesman for the company, said the Hopedale workers are assembling looms from parts they once made from scratch. The parts are produced in Spartanburg, S.C. and Reading, Pa. Forward also said the entire professional staff is in the process of moving division headquarters from Hopedale to Spartanburg. There seems to be only one reason for the corporation’s continued presence in Hopedale. The tradition of craftsmanship that Hopedale men have brought to Draper looms for more than a century. “That’s a very good reason to stay here in Hopedale. Hopedale people know how to make looms. They’re the best,” Forward said. Last week there were only 1,000 of “the best” working in the largely vacant plant on Hopedale Street. There may be even fewer in the months to come. Draper Menu Ezine menu HOME . |
Draper plant and vicinity in the 1970s. |
The Draper plant in 2009. |
Google Earth view of the Draper plant and vicinity in 2019. |
News - July 1920 |
Here's a hit from the 1920s - Statesboro Blues by Blind Willie McTell. |
And for something more recent, here's Nanci Griffith with Love at the Five and Dime. |