Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
Photographs
Fries Textile Plant (Fries, Va.)
See the Finding Aid for the Fries Textile Plant Records
1981
Permission to publish material from the Fries Textile Plant Records Collection must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.
Textile workers
Weaving
A photograph of (left-right) Whiz Farmer, Shirley Trent Litteral, Larry Kirby, and an unknown man with flawless weaving
Washington Mills Company
N.D.
A Letter About Changing Mill Personnel, 1904 (Ms1989-039)
Correspondence
A letter about a personnel change within the Fries Textile Mill.
A Letter About the Flu Epidemic, 1918 (Ms1989-039)
Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919
A letter from a doctor at the University of Virginia who came to Fries to help tend flu victims.
Cox, John C.
Occupational physicians
A letter to Dr. Wilmer Hodgson asking him to resign as mill doctor for Fries.
A Letter Inquiring About Jobs for Formerly Jailed People, 1905 (Ms 1989-039)
Jails
A letter to the mill superintendant asking about jobs for men being released from jail.
Parsons, J.M.
A Letter to a Poacher, 1905 (Ms1989-039)
A letter to a former mill employee accusing him of trying to convince his former coworkers at the mill to quit and join him at his new company.
Ruffin, W.C.
A Letter to Mr. A.M. Farley Requesting a Job at the Fries Textile Mill, 1907 (Ms1939-039)
Child labor
A letter from Mrs. Patsie Pruitt asking for her job back at the mill. She had moved to Maryland, but wanted to go back to Fries because child labor laws in Maryland prevented her children from working.
Pruitt, Patsie
A Letter to Washington Mills About Coming to Fries, 1908 (Ms1989-039)
A letter from Haywood Haynes informing the mill that he and his family would be coming to work at the mill, with information about his family and their housing needs.
Haynes, Haywood
A Letter to Washington Mills about Fabric Samples (Ms1989-039)
Interior decoration
A letter from Mrs. Jack Epps asking for fabric samples to match her new wallpaper.
Epps, Mrs. Jack
A Letter to Washington Mills Company About Used Bags (Ms1989-039)
World War II
A letter from the Werthan Bag Corporation asking the mill to resell their empty bags to help with the war effort.
Werthan Bag Corporation
A Letter to Washington Mills Company From a Potential Company Doctor, 1942 (Ms1989-039)
A letter from Herbert Neisser, MD, inquiring about a position at the mill.
Neisser, Herbert H.
A Mill Employee Conversation (Ms1989-039)
A photograph of three men having a discussion on the porch of the mill.
Sena and Harold Funk with a newborn baby
1970's
A Response to a Debt Collection Letter, 1908 (Ms1989-039)
Textile industry
A letter responding to another company's attempts to collect on an alleged $2 debt.
Activity Report for Fries YMCA, 1936 (Ms1989-039)
Young Men's Christian associations
A summary of participation in activities offered by the Fries YMCA from November 25th- December 20th, 1936.
Elkins, Mildred
Reports
Adeline Shupe is shown something by a man
Awards
A photograph of an employee receiving a plaque and a statue of a bird.
A photograph of mill employee Annie Hylton holding a safety diorama.
Joe Bob Davis and Frank Richie present an award to Faye Nelson
Walter Johnson and Lewis Waller present an award
James Gray (Supervisor in weaving room) and Walter Johnson present a clock radio to an employee
Reuben Bond presents a prize to an employee
Charles Hill and Harold Funk present Betty Turner with a clock
A photograph of a group of employees receiving an award.
Fries Textile Co. Employee Award presentation, the Whis Farmer Family with John Belvins in the foreground
1982
Awarded Surrounded by Finished Cloth (Ms1989-039)
A photograph of a group of employees, one of whom is receiving an award. Left-right: Calvert Wilie, Jessie Jenkins, Emmet Vaughan, rest unknown.
Baptist Church Collection Ledger, 1924 (Ms1989-039)
Baptists
A page from a mill ledger recording employee contributions to the Baptist Church in Fries, which they could have deducted from their paychecks.
1924
Administrative records
Baptist Church Collection Ledger, 1931 (Ms1989-039)
1931
Betty G. Stevens stands with two other women getting food
Textile machinery
An image of a bobbin winding machine sent to the Fries mill.
Oswald Lever
Drawings
Accidents--Prevention
A suggested template about workplace safety, sent to the Fries Textile Plant.
Elliott Industrial Bulletin Board Displays
Advertisements
A headshot of mill employee Caroline Bond.
Cheerleaders on the Town Hall Stairs (Ms1898-039)
Cheerleaders
A photograph of four cheerleaders from Fries Hish School, posing on the stairs to the Town Hall.
Clyde Rutledge, Hobart Lane, and Earley Doss
Contract for Sale of Land, 1902 (Ms1989-039)
Contracts for deeds
A contract between the mill founders and the Funks, whereby the Washington Mills Company acquired land in Fries, Va.
Legal works
Cub Pack #88 Visit to [FTCO] on Nov. 7, 1980 (Ms1989-039)
Cub Scouts
A photograph of a cub scout group with their leaders. 2nd from the left, ront row, is Timmy "TT" Carico