Services

= = __Northampton Textile Industries__

=Past and Present=

Overview
The textile industry is very important. Clothing has been an essential need for humans since the beginning of time. It is a basic individual necessity. The process of making cloth into clothes is one of the major steps in clothing manufacture, and this is why textile industries are needed. The clothing industry became one of the chief industries in the country with the invention of the sewing machine. For most of the 19th century, the North East was the center for the textile industry. The community of Northampton was significantly impacted by the rise and fall of the textile industry. There were four major textile industries in Northampton. These industries played a very important role, both good and bad, in Northampton’s economy. This role included the amount of money that they put into circulation and the amount of people that they employed or laid off.

Northampton's Four Major Textile Industries
1.[| Cross Country Clothing]

2.[| Tama Manufacturing Company]

3.[| Clyde Shirt Company]

4.[| D & D Shirt Company]

Cross Country Clothing was for the most part a family operated business. Anthony and Ignatius Billera owned Cross Country Clothing and were later joined by more of their relatives. It was opened in 1931. Cross Country Clothing affected many people, including its consumers. The Billera Brothers stated, “During World War II we were awarded contracts for millions of slacks- the Navy Blue Enlisted, Khaki, and WAVE slacks for the U.S. Navy.” Cross Country Clothing took an active role in the community and won many awards for it including, the Quartermaster Award, and the Manufacturer of the Year Award. This business concerned people other than people in the community and its consumers, its employees. Cross Country Clothing employed as many as 1,000 people at one point. However when Cross Country Textiles closed in the mid 1990’s that left just as many people unemployed.

Tama Manufacturing Company was established by Saul Kivert, and son-in-laws Jules Fogelman and Arnold Tannenbaum later joined him. Tama itself was opened on February 19, 1946. Tama Manufacturing Company also influenced a lot of people in Northampton. The business’s main clients were Alfred Dunner, Liz Claiborne, Pandora, Bobbie Brooks, College Town, and Personal. Working for a high-status name like Liz Claiborne brought popularity to the area. At one point Tama’s sales were more than 20 million dollars annually. These sales increased Northampton economically. Tama employed over 225 people. This textile industry even had customized job training funds in order to train its employees. Saul Kivert’s wife says, “He taught the girls how to sew. He’d bring them to the factory. He did everything just to keep things going”. One of Tama’s past employee, Baltz, worked 39 years at Tama Manufacturing and retired when she was 65 years old. Not only did Tama give people in the area jobs, but it also trained and educated them. Again this is also a downfall because Tama moved in the late 1990’s to a location near the Lehigh Valley Airport forcing some employees to give up their jobs. Tama is now located in Allentown, PA 18109.

[|Visit the Tama Mfg. Company Online]

The Clyde Shirt Company opened in 1929. It was set up by Isador Weinstein and later his son, Harris, and son-in-law, Miller took over as president. Harris Weinstein made many contributions to the community. He was the past president of the Northampton Chamber of Commerce and he was also the past vice president of the Community Chest. Another benefit to the community was that The Clyde Shirt Company employed over half of the employees for over 25 years. Once more this is also a downfall because the company closed in 1986, leaving many people unemployed.

D & D Shirt Company was owned by Henry Dasher, Nathan Dasher, Isadore Dasher, and Paul Dasher (also headed the company). D & D Shirt Company opened in 1928. There was a children’s labor strike against D & D Shirt Factory. This brought bad publicity to Northampton. However, victory of the strike brought an of increase earnings by ten percent, a 44 hour week instead of 54, and the allowance of finishing the unionization of shops. This was important for the D & D Shirt Factory employees because the victory improved life and made things a lot easier. The closing date for D & D Shirt Company is uncertain.

Closing Remarks
The community of Northampton was significantly impacted by the rise and fall of the textile industry. The four major textile industries, Cross Country Clothing, Tama Manufacturing, Clyde Shirt Company, and D & D Shirt Company, all affected Northampton. If something good like high employment rate was happening in the textile industries, the community of Northampton benefited. On the other hand, if something bad occurred, such as a strike, it negatively impacted the community. Either way, the textile industry had a major role in Northampton and its community.

[|Back To Top]