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Primary Source Interviews
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Ken Tyler was a foreman in the dye shop at the American Thread Company in Willimantic, CT. He was born in Sterling, CT in 1926. His working life began at the U. S. Finishing plant in Sterling, where he was employed as a jig dyer. He did service in the Navy for three years, and worked several jobs before landing in Willimantic in 1955, to begin work in the priming department at American Thread. He quickly progressed and became assistant foreman in the dye house. This interview includes views on ethnicity and gives detailed accounts of the dyeing process involved in textiles. -
Irene Monroe spent more than 30 years at the American Thread Company in Willimantic, CT — save for some wartime service and family leave — and she enjoyed every minute of it. She was born in Willimantic in 1919. Her father was a blacksmith. Irene worked in the finishing department in Mill Number Six. She witnessed the gradual change from cotton to synthetic textiles. Irene recalled the various ethnic groups, management, and a member of the 1960s pop group, the Monkees, who spent his summers working at American Thread.
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Edith Blackburn was born in Lancashire, England in 1908. She emigrated to the United States twice. She recalls her youth in a Lancashire mill town. These experiences prepared her for life in New England — but not for American weather. She began work at the American Thread Company in Willimantic, CT in 1923 and worked in Rhode Island for the duration of the 1925 ATCO strike. She returned to Willimantic in 1927 and worked as a spooler at American Thread for the next 27 years. there are recollections and opinions about the Great Depression, mill work, unions, other ethnic groups, and old time Willimantic.
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Corrine (Krombie) Pender was born in South Coventry, CT in 1903. She recalled her early childhood in New York City and New London, CT. Her family eventually resettled in Coventry. Corrine started work as a teenager in Willimantic, CT’s telephone exchange. She later worked in the Holland silk mill and was briefly employed as a nurse. She returned to the silk industry and worked at the Corticelli silk mill in Putnam, CT. From there she went to the Washburn silk mill in Coventry and then to Pratt and Whitney.
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Arthur Garneau was born in Barford, Quebec in 1907. After a varied adventurous life, and a momentous cross-country drive, he arrived in Willimantic, CT in 1930, during the Great Depression. There is a graphic account of working conditions in Willimantic’s Corn Spinning Company plant on Bridge Street. The interview also contains some interesting accounts of life and characters in Willimantic.
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Rose Deshaies as born in Quebec in 1916. Her parents were recruited by the American Thread Company in Willimantic, CT as replacement workers during the 1925 ATCO strike. She recalls being insulted by local kids whose parents were on strike. She began to work at American Thread herself in 1932, and was put to work as a waitress for the State Police lodged in the Company’s “Elms” boarding house during the duration of the national textile strike in 1934. Rose became a staunch unionist and worked as a winder. She retired in 1980.
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Gladys Bowman was a descendant of an English tailor who arrived in Willimantic, CT shortly after the Civil War. She never worked in the city’s thread mills. Gladys was a teacher, one of the first degree recipients from the Willimantic State Teacher’s College. She possessed a deep knowledge of local history, and gave insights into the various districts of Willimantic, its various ethnic make up. Her French Canadian mother lived in “Cork Alley.” She recalled the “Tab,” and the famous dance bands that performed there.