The WOOL MAN : Thomas Kay
Thomas Lister Kay, an early Oregon industrialist, established and operated the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill in Salem. The mill held a central place in his life, and his colleagues regarded him as the most experienced expert in woolen textiles in the state. Driven by his vision, he employed skilled workers to produce high-quality woolen and worsted wool fabrics, embraced innovative technology, and installed one of Oregon’s first fire-suppressant building systems. Today, the mill is a part of the Willamette Heritage Center, a testament to Kay’s weaving skills and his profound understanding of the industry’s equipment and processes.
オレゴン州初期の実業家トーマス・リスター・ケイは、セーラムにトーマス・ケイ毛織物工場を設立し経営していました。工場は彼の人生において全てを占め、同僚たちは彼を州で最も経験豊富な毛織物の専門家とみなしていました。彼は彼の目標に突き動かされ、熟練工を積極的に雇用して高品質のウールやウーステッドウール織物を生産しつづけ、革新的な技術を知ればそれを取り入れ、オレゴン州初の防火建築システムを導入もしました。現在、この工場はウィラメット・ヘリテージ・センターの一部となっており、ケイの織物技術と業界の設備や工程に対する深い理解ができる設備としてリノベーションされています。
Born on June 24, 1838, to weaver Esias Kay and Elizabeth (Lister) Kay in the Eccleshill Parish, near Bradford and Leeds, England’s textile weaving hub, Thomas Kay had no formal education. Like many children of his time, he started working in woolen mills at the age of ten. Two years after his father’s passing, Kay became an apprentice at a mill in Shipley, where he honed his expertise as a spinner and weaver of fine wool textiles. He also demonstrated a knack for mill equipment and was eventually promoted to the position of loom boss.
Seeking greater opportunities, Thomas Kay immigrated to the United States in 1857. Over the next six years, he worked in several East Coast woolen mills, showcasing his skills as a weaver, mechanic, and loom boss while establishing valuable connections with fellow mill workers. In 1863, John Worsley, an English friend and mill entrepreneur, offered Kay the role of loom boss at a new start-up mill in Brownsville, Oregon, approximately forty-five miles south of Salem. He eagerly accepted the invitation.
After the Brownsville mill was destroyed by a fire in 1865, Kay found employment at mills in Ellendale, Salem, and Ashland. However, he eventually returned to the rebuilt mill in Brownsville in 1875. As the leader of the mill, Kay managed to generate profits each year until the owners decided to dissolve the business in 1888. Using the $55,000 he earned from his initial $2,000 investment in the mill, Kay decided to establish his own textile mill in Salem. Additionally, he convinced the citizens of Salem to invest $20,000 in his new venture.
Incorporated in 1889, the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill faced another setback five years later when it was again destroyed by fire. Undeterred, Kay and his board of directors resolved to rebuild. Once more, Kay sought support from the citizens of Salem, who raised $25,000 to aid in the reconstruction efforts. While the mill was being rebuilt, Kay relocated production orders and his skilled workers to a mill in Waterloo, located about forty miles southeast, where he held a controlling interest.
With forty years of experience in the industry, Kay introduced innovations to his textile production. He oversaw the design of a new brick building that facilitated a systematic flow of fabric production through each processing step. Architect W.D. Pugh devised a plan that optimized time, resources, and energy, and the building became one of the first in Oregon to have a sprinkler fire-suppression system. When the new mill opened in 1896, Kay received acclaim from the Salem community. He remained true to his promise of repaying Salem’s investment. By November of that year, his mill was manufacturing the first worsted wool cloth west of the Mississippi River.
The mill was often referred to as a model for Oregon towns looking to increase their “home industries” and create jobs. Kay employed up to one hundred or so skilled and unskilled laborers at any one time and reportedly knew them all by name. His daughter Fannie recalls that he told her: “We are workers. We know the injustice that is sometimes imposed on those who work. Never impose on the weak because you are strong, but also do not let others impose on you.” Kay’s employees, by accounts, admired and respected his expertise and the congenial work environment he provided; but he also modeled his business after the relatively low pay and high labor expectations typical for wool mills at the time. His weavers made about $30 a month, worked ten-hour days, and were responsible for the costs of mistakes.
Tom Kay and his wife Ann Slingsby were married for forty-three years and had ten children, five of whom preceded him in death. The family lived in a brick house on State and 12th Streets, down the street from the mill. Kay was a Salem City Council alderman from 1894 to 1896 and helped review the financing of Salem’s new city hall. The family belonged to the First Baptist Church in Salem.
Kay groomed his children to eventually own and operate the mill, insisting that they learn every facet of the operation. For nearly thirty years, his oldest child Martha Ann “Fannie” Kay (Bishop) (1857–1949) worked alongside her father. She was well versed in the mill’s operations, as were her sons, Clarence and Roy Bishop. Son Harry G. Kay (1869–1894) had his father’s aptitude for equipment and production, and the oldest son Thomas Benjamin (1864–1941) became assistant manager and salesman. Thomas was elected president and general manager when his father died unexpectedly in 1900. Fannie and her husband, Charles P. Bishop, served on the board of directors until 1905, when they sold their interest in the mill. By 1909, the Bishops and their two grown sons had purchased the Pendleton Woolen Mill. Kay’s descendants continued to manage the mill in Salem until it closed in 1962.
Thomas Kay’s legacy of expertise and innovation in producing award-winning woolen fabrics in Oregon has been preserved in the mill he helped design and build, which is now a museum run by the Willamette Heritage Center. Many of the mill’s original machinery, including a working water turbine, are on display, as well as exhibits on the family and their employees.
Thomas Kay and his wife Ann Slingsby were married for forty-three years and raised ten children, five of whom passed away before him. The family resided in a brick house on State and 12th Streets, just down the road from the mill. From 1894 to 1896, Kay served as a Salem City Council alderman and contributed to the financing review of Salem’s new city hall. The Kay family were active members of the First Baptist Church in Salem.
Kay prepared his children to eventually take over and manage the mill, insisting that they learn every aspect of its operation. For nearly three decades, his eldest child, Martha Ann “Fannie” Kay (Bishop) (1857–1949), worked alongside her father and became well-versed in the mill’s operations, as did her sons, Clarence and Roy Bishop. Son Harry G. Kay (1869–1894) inherited his father’s aptitude for equipment and production, while the oldest son, Thomas Benjamin (1864–1941), took on the roles of assistant manager and salesman. When Thomas Kay unexpectedly passed away in 1900, Thomas Benjamin was elected president and general manager. Fannie and her husband, Charles P. Bishop, remained on the board of directors until 1905 when they sold their interest in the mill. By 1909, the Bishops and their two grown sons had acquired the Pendleton Woolen Mill. Kay’s descendants continued to oversee the Salem mill until its closure in 1962.
Thomas Kay’s legacy of expertise and innovation in producing award-winning woolen fabrics in Oregon is preserved in the mill he helped design and build. Today, it functions as a museum under the management of the Willamette Heritage Center. Visitors can view many of the mill’s original machinery, including a working water turbine, and explore exhibits about the Kay family and their dedicated employees.
1838年6月24日、イギリスの繊維織物の中心地であったブラッドフォードとリーズ近郊のエクルズヒル教区で、織物職人のイーシアス・ケイとエリザベス(リスター)・ケイの間に生まれたトーマス・ケイは、正式な教育を受けることができませんでした。当時の多くの子供たちと同様、彼は10歳で毛織物工場で働き始めます。父の逝去から2年後、ケイはシプリーの工場で見習いとなり、高級ウール織物の紡績・織物職人としての専門技術を磨きつづけました。また工場の設備にも長けており、最終的には織機の長にまで昇進しました。彼はより大きなチャンスを求めて、1857年にアメリカに移住します。その後6年間に東海岸のいくつかの毛織物工場で働き、織工、機械工、織機工としての技術を披露しながら工場労働者仲間との貴重なつながりを構築していきました。1863年イギリス人の友人で工場起業家でもあったジョン・ウォーズリーは、セーラムの南約45マイルに位置するオレゴン州ブラウンズビルに新しく立ち上げる織物工場を建設にするにあたり織機工程のボスをケイに依頼し彼はその誘いを快諾しました。
しかし建設からわずかした1865年にブラウンズビルの工場が火事で焼失し、ケイはエレンデール、セーラム、アシュランドの工場に就職します。しかし最終的には1875年にブラウンズビルで再建された工場に戻ります。再び工場のリーダーとなったケイは、1888年にオーナーが事業の解散を決定するまで毎年利益を上げることに成功し続けました。工場への最初の投資額2,000ドルから得た55,000ドルを元手に、ケイはセーラムに自分の織物工場を設立することを決意しました。さらに彼は、セーラム市民に2万ドルの投資をするよう説得します。1889年に法人化されたトーマス・ケイ・ウーレン・ミルは、5年後にまたもや工場の火災に見舞われてしまい彼は挫折に直面してしまします。それでもケイと取締役会は再建を決意。ケイは再びセーラム市民に支援を求め再建のために25,000ドルを集めました。工場の再建中、ケイは南東約40マイルに位置するウォータールーの工場に生産指示と熟練工を移籍させ彼がその工場を指導した。
この工場は、”自国産業 “を増やし、雇用を創出しようとするオレゴンの町のモデルとしてしばしば紹介されることになります。ケイは熟練工と非熟練工を常時100人以上雇用し、その全員の名前を知っていたと伝えられています。娘のファニーは、彼が 「私たちは労働者です。私たちは労働者であり、働く者に不公平が課されることを知っている。自分が強いからといって、決して弱い者に押し付けてはいけない。」「ケイの従業員たちは、彼が提供する専門知識と和気あいあいとした職場環境を賞賛し尊敬していたという」がと言っていたと言います。彼はまた当時の毛織物工場に典型的な比較的低賃金で高い労働力を期待されるビジネスを手本にしていた。彼の織工の月給は約30ドルで、10時間労働、ミスの責任は織工にあったとされる。
トム・ケイと妻のアン・スリングスビーは結婚して43年になり、10人の子供をもうけた。一家は工場から通りを下ったステート・ストリートと12番ストリートのレンガ造りの家に住んでいました。ケイは1894年から1896年までセーラム市議会の市会議員を務め、セーラムの新市庁舎の資金調達の検討に貢献しました。一家はセーラムの第一バプテスト教会に属していた。ケイは、子供たちに製粉所を経営するように進め製粉所運営のあらゆる面を学ばせた。長男のマーサ・アン・”ファニー”・ケイ(ビショップ)(1857-1949)は、30年近く父のそばで働いていた。彼女は息子のクラレンス・ビショップとロイ・ビショップと同様、工場の業務に精通していました。息子のハリー・G・ケイ(Harry G. Kay)(1869~1894)は、設備や生産に関する父の適性を受け継ぎ、長男のトーマス・ベンジャミン(Thomas Benjamin)(1864~1941)はアシスタント・マネージャー兼セールスマンになりました。1900年に父親が急死すると、トーマスは社長兼ゼネラル・マネージャーに選ばれます。ファニーと夫のチャールズ・P・ビショップは、1905年に工場の持分を売却するまで取締役を務めた。1909年までには、ビショップ夫妻と成長した2人の息子がペンドルトン毛織工場を購入しました。ケイの子孫は、1962年に工場が閉鎖されるまで、セーラムで工場の経営を続けました。オレゴンで受賞歴のある毛織物を生産するトーマス・ケイの専門知識と技術革新の遺産は、彼が設計と建設に携わった工場に保存され続けており、現在はウィラメット・ヘリテージ・センターが運営する博物館となっています。現在、ウィラメット・ヘリテージ・センターによって運営されているこの博物館は、現役の水車を含む工場オリジナルの機械の多くが展示されているほかに、一族や従業員に関する展示もあります。