Remaking the Mills: A WYFF 4 special that explores the history of textiles in South Carolina

now on chronicle, having *** job in the mill was good history redefined, the textile industry reigns supreme in south Carolina. It's hard to imagine south Carolina textile mill. I mean it was just that important. So we just kind of was *** big family, you knew everybody. But then the industry changed forever and you start pulling one thread out. It all starts falling apart. The dawn of *** new age in the Carolinas were re weaving the neighborhood back together, shaped by *** rich history. We wanted to recreate the community that once existed here with renovation and work ethic. *** lot of people don't realize, especially newcomers and now chronicle remaking the mills. Welcome to Chronicle. I'm jane Ravello textiles helped shape the landscape of the upstate that we treasure today and so many aspects of that way of life are still ingrained in the fabric of our culture today. Many of these brick buildings like here at drayton mill with their sturdy wood floors once spun and wove around the clock and they've now been transformed into beautiful loft apartments with swimming pools and cafes. In this next hour, we'll take you back in time to explore life on the male hill, the dark period when many mills closed and thousands lost their jobs and how textiles have found *** new future in south Carolina. Nigel Robertson begins our journey, textile mills, they were and still are woven into the story of the Carolinas. *** lot of people don't realize especially newcomers. After all, it would be hard to today. You will find these expensive high end condos with towering ceilings and shiny old hardwood floors dotted all over the upstate but the footprint they create first created what many consider the textile capital of the world. We estimate that U. S. Consumer will touch *** Millikan product 30 to 50 times *** day. But before textiles became *** foundational part of the technology of today, it was simply the fabric of the past cotton yarn and wool work transformed into clothing here at Millikan and other textile mills all over the area, textiles is very much alive and well here in the upstate of south Carolina, Millikan was and still is one of the biggest names in the textile world is creating in textiles is our canvas. So inspiration for us came from *** canvas that today is global in Mexico in europe and also in in India and in china but not all textile mills were able to adapt like Millikan and it's really hard to face that as *** community when you see that milk clothes like where is everyone going to go? The once flourishing textile industry that created jobs, grew communities and gave families the foundation they needed to build. Generational wealth began to literally disappear. So *** lot of mills closed because of that, there was just cheaper to produce the textiles somewhere else. Innovation made it so fewer people were needed, globalization took jobs to, it simply became cheaper for textiles to be made elsewhere. In the seventies, you started to see the slide, Some survive. Many didn't and that brings us back to what was left massive former textile mills. Some still standing. Finding new life again. Agribusiness is south Carolina's number one industry and cotton is still *** top commodity. But in the mid 18 hundreds, William Greg introduced the idea of spinning instead of just shipping that cotton, Gabrielle Komorowski takes us to the town of Graniteville to show us that what happened in that county town would transform the south valuable plentiful. It would eventually earn *** royal nickname in the South King cotton as it was called Joan's ice. The curator of history at the south Carolina State Museum in Columbia says cotton production in south Carolina was booming in the 18 hundreds before the Civil War, harvested primarily by slaves. Census data shows more than £61 million of lint cotton were produced in 18 40. That amount would more than double by 18 50 cotton reigned supreme in south Carolina, but south Carolina did not hold on to most of it. The cotton was shipped primarily to the north. Those goods are being processed in bolts of cloth, in clothing, in linen and then coming back to the south and we're being charged double triple quadruple. The price in 18 45 *** capitalist named William gregg, who had visited successful textile mills in the north, wanted to bring that industry to south Carolina. Writing. Surely there is nothing in cotton spinning that can poison the atmosphere of south Carolina. Why not spin as well as plant cotton? He knew exactly where to come. William. Greg chose *** part of *** king County that's now called Graniteville. Archaeologist. George Wingard says this area had an important feature. Running through the town was *** canal. So Greg knew there was already *** power source, that power being hydro, with the power source in place for the granite mill. *** village around the mill was built for the workforce with *** school to church is *** park. Workers were given homes, they built what was known as Buro, about 40 workers cottages. William Greg promised white families with little money who had been working on farms, *** more comfortable life. So Greg right there felt, he was like, hey, we're, this is *** help, We're getting you out of the fields, you're going to get *** stable paycheck, you get to go home. You know, you don't have to worry about the intricacies of, you know, you know, are you gonna be fed next month, you're gonna be able to put clothes on your kids because you're gonna be making *** paycheck, you're gonna be working for me, but you're going to be making *** paycheck. The granite mill opened in 18 47 and kept operating during the Civil War. This mill was phenomenally successful, phenomenally successful. William Greg's formula for the granite mill and the village surrounding the mill were considered so successful, Graniteville would become *** blueprint for other textile mill villages throughout the southeast. It isn't until after the civil war. So all of that destruction in the state trying to find new ways to make money. In the 1880s, there's still *** lot of money from some of those old families and they're trying to diversify. So they see *** great opportunity in starting those mills. And like William Greg nearly 40 years earlier, those southern business owners in the 1880s look for places that had the right ingredients and found *** recipe for success in the upstate cotton is mostly going to be grown in the upstate water to power the mills and towns on railroads. Greenville, Spartanburg, even the smaller ones like ware shoals near *** railroad all of that place in so you can get the cotton in, you can get the textiles out. One of the things the upstate also had at that time was *** lot of labor. So you had people who in all the unrest after the Civil war, you had *** lot of people who needed work rather desperately. So it was cheap labor. By the year 18 83 there were 27 textile mills in south Carolina that would grow to 169 mills by the year 1909 with more than half in the upstate William Greg's vision of bringing commercial cotton spinning to the south would help to move south Carolina into *** new era as *** global textile leader with the new industry to spin its cotton textile mill fever spread through south Carolina. And as Stephanie trotter shows us during most of the 20th century, that success grew to worldwide prominence. The melody of millions of spindles reverberated across the southeast, heading into the 1900s. During the first decade, employment at south Carolina's mills jumped 47% in many towns and villages. The livelihood of more than half the population was woven into textiles. Historian paul Grady, they just took off running at the turn of the century, it was so explosive that it was catching the attention of, of northerners, the new york times called Spartanburg, the lull of the south, *** reference to the massachusetts textile town, that was one of the largest industrial cities in the world by 1910, Spartanburg County had more mills than anywhere else in the state 37 including Appalachian mill right behind me, they employed some 8000 operatives as they're called men, women and Children as young as 10 12. If they work the night shift. Prior to labor laws, these weaving wonders would work up to 72 hours *** week, making 5 to 10 cents an hour by the mid to late teens, mill operations started hitting snags creating highs and lows like *** short pattern repeat. Don Kunz studied the industry for eight years to direct building an empire. One minute they were doing fabulous, they were making money hand over fist the next minute they were practically out of business. And the reason is because of the wars, Before both world wars industry numbers dropped. The mills couldn't get needed dies in machinery from Germany. During each war, production numbers rose during World War two. Women and African americans made military grade fabric for troops, tents and uniforms after the wars drop again due to surplus. And in between, the Depression delivered *** big dip demonstrating the delicate balance of supply and demand, manpower and cotton prices. The textile industry, not just in Greenville, but everywhere. It was like *** roller coaster during that time across booms and bus south Carolina eclipse, New England and manufacturing. And while Spartanburg led the state in operations, Greenville lead in ownership, 56 mil. Presidents called Greenville home with banks and purchasing offices that fed 10% of supplies for the entire industry, including the textile crescent NBC showcased how the region was dressing the nation, spinning and weaving more than half of the country's clothing apparel and finishing facilities now stood alongside the original cotton mills. By the mid fifties, Greenville called itself the textile center of the south and folks from as far away as Asia came calling to the southern textile exposition, which had started in 1915. Some years, so many visitors attended neighbors rented out beds when the city ran out of hotel rooms and by 1963 they built the palmetto expo center, which was they called textile hall. Um and it was huge. It was, it was one of the largest textile expositions in the world. Just down I 85 *** new, bigger airport opened, creating *** portal for Greenville to declare itself the undisputed textile center of the world. If you were in the textile industry, if you were in the garment industry or if you were in any way related to anything that needed, that common guy might not know the upstate of south Carolina, but industrial leaders did because that's where they went to get their product in the palmetto state. The industry peaked in the mid seventies with 437 mills employing more than 143,000 workers. By then, products started changing and plants were continually forced to modernize. It looks great, but there's danger ahead for those that were paying attention. Even knotted thread won't stop the unraveling of the mill era to come. It was hard work, but it was, it was rewarding. Next on chronicle an up close look at life on the mill hill, the early years of the textile mills were particularly labor intensive. So south Carolina mill owners sent out teams to recruit mill operatives. They held workshops in several states, promising potential employees, many of them poor white farmers, not only steady work, but *** house in *** village. Gabrielle Komorowski looks at the important role that those mill villages have played With the sound of *** whistle. The long day of work started when the mills were first going in the early 1900s. They were doing 12 hour days, six, sometimes seven days *** week. These farming families used to working around the cycles of nature now worked according to the mill owner schedule, but this work promised payment. You came to the mill because life on the farm was hard to believe, but even harder. They were happy to be able to eat joan's ice. The curator of history at the south Carolina state Museum in Columbia says the mill owners wanted to keep their workers close and knew that amenities would create loyalty villages built around the mill provided housing, churches, schools, sports and recreational activities. Even stores where people used company issued coins to buy things. This might have been *** person's first time having access to running water and electricity and that kind of all sounds great. But you're also the millones, your house. The mill tells you when you have power, they might turn it off at seven o'clock at night because you need to be in bed because you need to go to work the next day. The people who lived through those early days are gone. The mill communities changed *** lot over time. Pictures from our, our meal in baptist churches, sunday school, all kinds of sport. These are people whose parents worked in Greenville's mill villages. I'm don Harkin, my name is, my name is Marshall William Joyce, moody johnson and I grew up in the community. They remember *** special childhood were like self contained. We had the mill where our parents worked, then we had our churches, we had baptist and methodist church and then we had *** school and then we had *** community building and *** big park. We had our own police department here we had *** weekly newspaper and it was called the commentator. We, we all would walk to the church, we would walk up to the school, the places where they found friendship. We just kind of was was *** big family, you knew everybody and love and maybe that was my happiest time that I met my husband. Uh, I met my husband, he lived, he lived on the next street. Okay. And Danny Bane. We grew up in the Poinsett community. They say it was *** simple time. You didn't have to go, really go anyway. Didn't have the money to go to too many things either. But there was *** comfort. The meal just kind of took care of the families, you know, in community, people took care of each other. Uh, it was just *** great, great time. And if there was *** mill worker that um, maybe was sick and out of work, um, we would, some of the younger Children would go from house to house, uh, asking for food, canned goods and that kind of thing. We called it *** pounding, we would gather food and take it to that family to help them out. We have *** stand, but we believed in God family country and and the dunning dynamos, but you were very loyal to your community, you were very loyal and it carried over into sports. It carried over into education. DR LP Hollis worked to create *** high school for Greenville's textile mill villages. Parker High school was open from 1923 to 1985 before integration during segregation. *** few mil communities including Union Bleach Cherie had *** separate school in the village for African american Children. This newspaper article from 1952 says the school was provided by the company that owned the mill. Union Bleach Cherie also designated part of the mill village for African american families. My daddy was custodian there at the mill. I'm Clyde Car. I growed up at Union bleacher, Clyde car lived in the village until he was three. He was very grateful. He shared this memory from his childhood at christmas time. The owner of the company, he would give the blacks like like *** fun day and have food and give him *** bag and it would have like oranges, apples in it, maybe *** toy at that time. You know, having *** job in the mill was good. It was hard work, but it was, it was rewarding so much and all of our parents wanted *** better way for us. All of the Abney mills around the greenwood and raised in the mill villages as Children, these adults have unique memories of *** way of life that is now gone. *** life on the mill hill, *** dark day in south Carolina, his wife came running down the street shouting, There's been *** killing at the mill. Next on chronicle. *** closer look at bloody thursday. The role of african americans in the story of southern textile mills is very different than the experience of southern whites, but opportunities for african americans did rise with the advent of the civil rights movement. After the civil War, the textile industry built the new South. Early on, there was an effort to employ primarily african american workers, but the low wages and the racial backlash turned textiles into *** whites only industry by World War One, in an effort to really protect white labor. The south china Legislature passed *** law in 1915, codifying formalizing segregation regulations, specifically in the textile industry in the state. Author and History Professor Dr Courtney to Allison Hartness tells us that up until the 19 sixties, work inside the textile mills was largely off limits to african americans, only the lowest paying jobs were given to black workers. It's *** story of having to ultimately rely on the federal and federal policies in order to break down the walls of jim Crow that surrounded these mills in 1961 things began to change when president john F Kennedy signed an executive order. It called for equal opportunity employment in defense contracting really, I I think it was because of john F Kennedy was president and dr martin at the same time, martin Luther king JR was gaining support in his movement against segregation statutes. Change was coming and Southern mill executives got the message. Green villian Charles Daniel gave *** speech at the watermelon festival in Hampton South carroll Charles daniel suggested that the south forsake some of its old ways. The highly influential businessman felt that segregation was an impediment to progress. That speech is considered the stamp of approval from The white establishment, the white business establishment in South Carolina to accept these changes for the betterment, not only of economic progress in South Carolina, but for white and African American workers in the state. But the real impact came with the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which gave black workers legal options in their fight for fair employment. And you started to see class action rate discrimination lawsuits being brought up against nearly every major mill in the southeast. That's about the time that Clyde car went to work in Greenville's union bleach Cherie mill getting the job he'd hoped for as mail carrier, Great place to work. Union bleacher loved it. Clyde enjoyed *** successful 22 years there before launching his own business union bleacher was dead, give black the opportunity to step up because they, to me they was one of the first to start hiring black people and also having black supervisors And working people in the office. From 1960 to 1980, African American employment grew from just over 3% to more than 25% of the southern textile labor force. The textile industry in the southeast is distinctive. It did desegregate much more quickly than most other industries in the southeast. But while the numbers of black workers rose sharply and steadily, leadership positions were not quick to follow because by the 80s 90s, you start to see *** lot of the industry here, you know, move overseas and by the 1990s and 2000's African Americans had become the dominant demographic and textile mill employment, but the decline of the industry spelled the end of greater opportunity. There are sad, even tragic chapters in the textile mill story and one deadly event in *** small upstate town of just 2000 people. It was the september day nearly 90 years ago, now known as bloody thursday. And while it made national headlines, carol clark explains why the townspeople themselves rarely discussed that tragic day, Even from the air, even years after demolition began the charcoal *** mill is still *** presence in Honea path, but never more so than in 1934 Nationwide textile workers were going on strike, Fed up with low wages and dangerous working conditions. So in the mills in South Carolina, they do *** thing called stretch out so I can't make you work 12 hours, I can only make you work 10. So I'm gonna put you in charge of More machines. I'm not going to give you breaks and if the machine goes down, I'm gonna dock your pay. It was the depths of the Great Depression. This town never recovered from 1929. So by 1930, for when the strike occurred, the mills had been desperate to earn more money for the stockholders. The orders were down two sides on *** collision course. On september 6th, the union picket line formed outside the mill, but mill Superintendent Dan Beecham was ready decades later. His grandson frank says he learned to *** shock that his grandfather had armed and deputized all the non union workers and had put *** water cooler machine gun, which was an automatic World War one machine gun on the roof. It happened to malfunction, and that's the only reason *** lot more people weren't killed that day. *** fight broke out between the strikers and non union workers. Six died that day, 1/7 died days later and 30 were wounded. None of the workers were armed, dan Beecham lived not far from the mill. His wife came running down the street shouting. There's been *** killing at the mill and dance over there. And so my aunt, my father's sister heard that bloody Thursday made headlines. So this, you know, huge act of violence, made national news in the 30s and the funeral made national news reels Organized by the unions. In *** big field has profoundly dismayed and shocked. The members of the General Strike Committee, 10,000 people came, seven hearses took the dead to their final resting place, but there was no rest for the survivors. The workers were allowed to come to work provided they promised never to speak of this event again. And penalty for doing that would be to lose your job. You'd be evicted from your company furnished house, your household goods will be dumped out on the street. Uh, trash pick up. People would pick up your household goods. If you hadn't moved them out, you have no place to go. You would have no job. You'll be placed on the blacklist. So for decades, what happened at the Piccola Mill that day was just not discussed. Finally, 60 plus years after bloody Thursday off *** small street in *** small park, *** monument was put in remembering the workers killed that day. It's small too, but crowded with the names of the seven who died that day and the story of how they died above it all these words, they died for the rights of the working man rights did come out of that day. This helped pass the fair labor laws as the limit to the number of hours of work and child labor laws. They may have been labeled as victims, but I don't see him that way. I see them as real heroes. The mill itself as the victim of time. It closed in 2003, demolition began in 2008 and is still ongoing with every year for those who even knew about it becoming less of *** memory. 11 people were indicted in the show Cola Mill shooting, but no one was ever convicted coming up on chronicle, we make the shirt on your back and much more millions across the country use products every day with roots right here in south Carolina. The textile industry was tightly woven into the culture and the economy of the Carolinas and Georgia. But after its peak in the mid 19 seventies, the industry began to fray carol clark looks at how the textile center of the world became unraveled in recent years when textile mills make news. It's either because the ruins have caught fire or they've been converted into upscale lofts or homes for new businesses. But after the mid seventies and such. Yes, the mills began to slow down and become *** little antiquated and lose *** great deal to foreign industry. *** lot of the upstate textile industry was focused on weaving mills And since that was the simplest technology, it was the least expensive technology to invest in and it took the least amount of of training that was the industry that are overseas. Competition began to do in 1985, I traveled with the crew to the far east to see what that competition looked like In Hong kong *** textile family of four lived in *** 12 by 12 room. The parents made *** dollar an hour in *** six day work week in the mills in Taiwan. Women left the farm to work in textiles and apparel, eating and sleeping and working in the same building. They worked seven days *** week. The women in this factory turn out 2.5 dresses an hour. They make just *** dollar 14 an hour. But that's why this factory can sell these dresses for just $8 each. Back in the U. S. Workers were incensed that they were losing their jobs because of the cheap imports. They burned foreign clothing crafted with pride made in the USa campaign was launched. The push was on for legislation that would even the playing field. At one point there were 200 bills seeking aid for American products if we had free trade and that's what we were really working with. They might have *** valid argument. We haven't had it. We haven't had it in almost 40 years. This ship is taking on goods for American markets, millions of tons leave this sport every year, 45% goes to America, Hong Kong's biggest trading partner. Beginning in 1979, the American textile industry began to bleed jobs. According to the US. Bureau of Labor statistics between 1979 and 2019. U. S. Textile and apparel industries lost 81% of their jobs. Efforts to protect the industry from with tariffs didn't work in the late seventies and eighties. But there were other issues, jobs were lost in textiles because of updated machinery and automation. In short fewer workers were needed to operate updated machines. Some plants are almost completely automated. Even then for some mills and factories, that big investment still wasn't enough, *** lot of them spent themselves into bankruptcy. They simply could not compete. In 1990 there were over 400 operating textile mills in South Carolina. By 2005, that number had dropped more than 26% to just 325 take *** piece of fabric And if it's the best fabric made and you start pulling one thread out, it all starts falling apart. That's the textile industry. So it would seem that the textile industry in our area is in decline. The number of mills operating today is less than half what it was at its high point in the 1970s. And over the past five years, mill employment has continued to drop across the southeast. But Stephanie trotter introduces us to some folks who are still spinning optimism and profits in the industry. First shift is starting at greenwood mills. J self walks the floor just as his uncle father, grandfather and great grandfather have since 1908. It's *** way of life. Life started here for J at 16. He spent summers opening cotton running cards and slashing yarn. It's *** source of pride. We have fourth generation employees other than myself out there. This is as much their way of life as it is mine and we're talking tens of thousands of lives. Greenwood mills once employed one third of greenwood. The company operated 19 facilities and four states and offices abroad. It was the largest gray goods producer in the US with customers that included levi Strauss obviously were *** lot smaller than we used to be. So we've had to downsize out of products that the major retailers have taken to countries like Bangladesh and cambodia and china as business contracted the mill wove its way back to what it spun for success during World War two. You have the Marine Corps desert fabric each day. Associates cards, spin and weave about 120,000 yards of military grade fabric that makes its way to uncle sam or industries with stringent uniform requirements for safety wear and tear jay's also learned. His voice must be as strong as the fibers he produces. If you're not in Washington lobbying on your behalf. If you're not at the table, you're on the menu. J also thinks of his heirs who one day may walk the mill floor, he hopes to hand off *** thriving business going forward. I see growth and opportunity and increasing production. Greenwood Mills is one of 188 textile mills still operating in South Carolina. Well over half continue to spend cloth. Of those 62 are right here in the upstate including Kent Wall in Pickens County. We've got *** great group, Didn't have to come in and recreate the wheel. They knew exactly what they were doing, Kim Kent never planned on running the highest certified premier wool manufacturer in the US she took over the 179 year old company when her husband, Mark Kent, unexpectedly died. The attorney is now hands on wool. What we do here is in *** lot of ways in art. We have um *** lot of hands on touching that goes on in this process. We will never fully automate, we don't want to fully automate because what we provide to our customers is something that feels really good. Like most surviving mills Kent will is cut back. But what it lost in square footage and manpower, it's found in quality. The team diversified its customer base and now spends performance fibers for hiking, biking and cycling, will has become really *** preferred fiber for performance goods. And that's our niche market. One of the innovations whirling from these spindles, high end socks, an idea that came to kim's late husband after he played three straight days of golf and his feet hurt. He sort of gets out the back of *** napkin, draws *** sketch and comes in and talks to his team and says, ok, I want to make the best sock and I don't want to start with how much it costs us to make it. I want to start with what makes the best sock PGA pros now wear the socks in addition to surgeons and security guards, endurance athletes and grocery store clerks like J self kim Kent sees growth and opportunity really not when people ask what I do for *** living and I say that we have *** family business and textiles and they're like, oh wow, I didn't know anyone still did that. Um and you know, my response is, textiles are alive and well, textiles are alive and well, *** life extending and spinning into *** new era. In fact, the National Council of Textile Organizations reports that the textile industry and its suppliers are now found in every region of the country. Many of these thriving operations had the vision to expand beyond basic spinning and weaving. These innovations and textiles now surround us. From the fabric of our clothes to the roofs over our heads are Nigel Robertson takes us inside the global technology that now defines textiles here at Hincapie sportswear, picking the right cycling gear is not just about looking good. It's *** scientific decision, it's all about the breathable fabrics, breathable and there's there's an insulation factor durable and also comfort and the stretch is very important these days, textiles is no longer just about *** cotton shirt. We estimate that U. S. Consumer will touch *** militant product 30 to 50 times *** day. That he says is how this textile company has not just survived but thrived. We make the shirt on your back and much more. Take your mornings. For example, when you wake up in the morning, chances are you're laying on *** militant *** mattress containing the Millikan product, chances are the roof over your head. It features *** militant product. As you get into your car, you'll find textiles on the tires under the car, under the hood, in the trump. And of course in the interior space where you'll see seating carpeting. In fact, it's almost impossible really to get your arms around the amount of science, technology and innovation that takes place in these labs every day. It's the selecting the right material right for that specific application. Take duct tape, for example, the sticky bendable everyday tool holds it all together. But where is the technology in this? Well, it's in the tiny fibers allowing the tape to be strong but still allowing you to rip *** straight line every time. I mean we literally use thousands if not tens of thousands of materials, take their military technology for example with fabric woven so tight it protects those protecting us that protect bullets, knives or spikes. Depending on the countries you are in Millican has also produced clothing for firefighters That is fire resistant pliable and yet still allows the smell of smoke to be washed out. What is the end of life thought process for those products? We don't want that to end up in *** landfill. Millikan is building what it calls *** circular solution, creating products today, including the clothes on your back that can be 100% recycled into the products of tomorrow. We look for meaningful problems to solve and we try to solve those in *** meaningful way that will impact lives today and for future generations to come textiles and heritage, go hand in hand in south Carolina. Next on chronicle, harmonious way to bring the past and present together. The southern textile industry is interwoven with *** heritage and *** pride that's still alive today. As we've seen, many people have strong memories and deep connections to one another. From the days of the Mill Hill carol clark introduces us to *** group in Greenville who's carrying on that legacy. One song at *** time. Ready and Go. They're playing King Cotton, the 1895 pace by March, King John Philip Sousa. It's the apt theme song for the Greenville textile heritage band. Most new villages had *** band, we traced about *** dozen textile bands in the upstate area, most of them had between 12 and 18 members in the band. Mostly brass, I mostly brass instruments. Well, at least in the early days, mills could be dangerous places. It wasn't uncommon for people to lose fingertips, even fingers. *** woodwind instrument needs all 10 fingers *** brass instrument you can get by with three fingers. Send *** thumb. The band plays music popular during the heyday of the mill villages. We joined this little band and really fell in love with it because it's, it's old music. It's different, It's fun, It's history, musical history when performing, they tried to match history with what they wear. One of our band members found some period looking uniforms that was on ebay from *** high school band in South Dakota back in the day. The mills paid for those uniforms and provided the instruments and music for the players. Now, for these players, it's *** labor of love. The reward is in the reaction from their audiences. They tend to like it. Especially stuff that they would recognize, you know, hearing it in movies or something that reminds them of their childhood conductor Wayne Bagwell retired from teaching high school music five years ago we think music is all about life and it helps you to appreciate life and to just be useful if you will. As far as I'm concerned. As far as the rest of the band is concerned, this is about music and history, our music and our performance is *** really historical documents. We really can't understand where we are without understanding our past or where we're going going toward *** future full of music. The work is ongoing to make sure that the history of these mills and the mill villages are never forgotten. Gabrielle Komarovsky shows us the efforts underway to educate both visitors and locals. So many memories here for me coming here is taking *** step back in time for Don Harkins attended school there and played on the playground that were leaving this as *** lasting memorial. This is now Greenville textile Heritage park created by Don and others who grew up in Greenville's mill villages were in Greenville textile Heritage Society. The group has worked for years to return this area to *** gathering space for families once again in the early 19 hundreds, it was called Central Park. It later became the Monegan mill parking lot. When Don first brought us to the park on smith street in february of 2022 gravel was on the ground. Now the path is paved, guiding visitors to our coats where they learn about Greenville's textile mills and parker High School and we do it as *** memorial to our family members who work so hard. *** lot of people don't realize, especially newcomers, their hope is that newcomers and locals will take *** stroll and read the names on the hundreds of memorial bricks that are sold to support the park's progress and *** loved one with *** connection to *** mill mill village was right here where the peace center, the camper down site. Greenville history tours drives visitors. I just love this little section here, feels like *** village to and through the old mill villages. People come here from other places and they're curious to know where am I living, what happened here. And I think it's important owner john Nolan holds pieces of the past to teach his tours about textiles. Not only an important part of Greenville history, but it's hugely important part of southern history and american history as well, especially designed tour. An app created by the south Carolina historical Society is paired with *** self driving tour of Greenville's mill villages. There are 15 mils plus some other fun. One things that people can go and look at which was named after his great grandfather's. There is *** history lesson at each stop. It's our goal to make sure that people understand the rich history of this city that they're moving to and that we're living in and there's so much of it that's still standing standing in the upcountry History Museum is *** permanent display of mill memorabilia. You're going to see the office of the mill owner, you're going to see some of the machinery of the early 1900s. Thanks in part to collectors in the community. These items are authentic items from the time period that have been donated to the museum here for visitors to look and learn the past comes to life and it's an immersive experience efforts are alive to preserve the past and teach of *** time long gone. The Greenville textile heritage society even holds an annual festival and reunion at the park each year and it's quite popular with hundreds in attendance. It was kind of frozen in time. Old gems getting new life. Next on chronicle. There is such beauty in these old mills, the handmade bricks and the details and the architectural design aren't often included in modern buildings and now many of these centuries old treasures are taking on new lives while serving as economic drivers for their communities. Spartanburg is Drayton mill in 2022 is alive with action as the workday begins. It's *** different kind of energy than was spinning here in 1902 when the textile mill first opened. This was truly *** live work play community as an operational mill and that's what we wanted to recreate every number one Tara Sherbert and her team at the Sherbert group took on what would become south Carolina's largest historic renovation to date. And it was maintained just an impeccable um status by, by Pakula Millikan who who sold it to us. *** photograph of textile icon. Roger Milliken studying his own plans to renovate drayton was one of Tara's inspirations. It was actually his vision first where he knew that this could be developed into its own little town. The mill properties had been so well maintained, 90% of the original wood floors could be saved along with artifacts of drayton is textile heritage, which dot every space, artistic reminders of the past and then you've kept the paint. Everything. The patina is exactly the same. Just sealed her up. It was *** multi year multimillion dollar renovation. *** labor of love that also proved to be good business. Not only do we believe that we can convert this beautiful, beautiful mill, but we also believe that Spartanburg can certainly absorb 289 luxury apartments and 60,000 square feet of retail space. Complete mill villages with intact structures like Drayton are rare gems. It was kind of frozen in time. But Newry mill in Oconee County is also one of them. We found the mill. It's right at the bottom of the little village. We'll have this great outdoor space for events. Mark Peters and business partner Jennifer Ghazni are also bringing new life to historic textile structures. I mean, that is for us, the litmus test to, to go to the project and make sure that it is honoring the history and that it is revitalizing those neighborhoods and villages much like the mills did. But many mills have not survived intact. *** dramatic scene strong enough to light up the night sky history. That was just, you know, going up in smoke really didn't hit us at the beginning. It's gone When fire stole the last jobs of Greenville's union bleach Cherie. In 2003. Very sad. The closely knit neighbors of the nearby mill village were determined not to let it steal their memories too. But my concern is that we will lose the small village part of it. But the developers who are now taking on what's left of the mill site right there, that's your, that's your counter right there. Say that sense of village is just what they hope to restore. We're re weaving the neighborhood back together. Environmental issues are often *** big obstacle. Many old textile mill properties have some level of contamination. The environmental was paramount paramount obstacle in trying to get this thing even started. Cleanup is often *** quiet aspect of mill renovations. We protected that exposure to any environmental contaminants goes away, leveraging available tax credits helps with that and allows m peters group to partner with nonprofits creating low income and affordable housing units in Anderson and Greenville County's, it's important to us to create respectable housing. Everybody deserves the right to have *** place to live, raise their family. That's safe and respectable. Taxpayers are rewarded by the environmental cleanup, reduced crime rates and the new growth in the communities surrounding these revitalized mills. It's what gets you through the hard times of these projects, knowing that you are making *** permanent difference in the memory of the mill, the memory of the town and the new life of the mill, old mills getting new stories, new industries for once blighted areas, history preserved through *** modern way of life, all, ensuring that the heritage of our textile mills will continue to be woven into our way of life in the South for generations to come. Thank you for joining us for Chronicle remaking the mills. I'm jane roe, right.