Documenting the Scranton Lace Company

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  • When people hear “The Scranton Lace Company”, they typically think of the largest producer of Nottingham lace in America; a company that operated for over a century in Scranton, Pennsylvania. What many people do not realize is that the Scranton Lace Company was more than just a workplace for its employees. They had many sports teams that competed across the state of Pennsylvania in the early 1900s. The Company provided a way for its many employees to escape the mundane life of manufacturing. The Scranton Lace Company offered sports such as baseball and basketball, and even had bowling lanes built within the factory. At the height of industry, these activities allowed workers to relieve stress, have fun and build a community. One of these teams from the company was the 1906 to 1907 Scranton Lace Works soccer/football team, as shown in the picture. The picture shows all eleven of the players with their managers around them, while two championship trophies stand proudly in front of them. Before explaining the photo further, it is important to look back at the year that the Scranton Lace team had, leading up to the forgotten photograph.
    The soccer team started in 1906 by winning the Lehigh Valley League, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer on January 1, 1906. The league consisted of fourteen total teams ranging from cities like Wilkes-Barre and Forrest City. As stated in “The Scranton Truth” on February 5, 1906, Mr. Dimmick, the president of the Lace Company at the time, presented The Silver Cup for the champions at a banquet for the team and stated that a team must win the cup three times in order for the cup to be the teams property.
    Fast forward to 1907, the Scranton Lace Works Football Team led the Anthracite Association league and looked to win The Silver Cup that was presented to them a year prior. The league consisted of teams from both Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties with the teams belonging to Throop, Old Forge, Wilkes-Barre, Forty-Fort, and Nanticoke. At the last stretch of the season, the Scranton Lace Works team was undefeated and was closing in on The Silver Cup. On April 29, they were matched up against Wilkes-Barre and needed to defeat them to become champions. The Scranton Lace Works breezed past Wilkes-Barre with a score of 3-0 and won the championship and The Silver Cup. The team finished the season undefeated with no team ahead of them.
    After they won the cup, Lace Company President Mr. Dimmick held a dinner at The Hotel Terrace to celebrate the team’s championship win. Although Mr. Dimmick was battling illness and was not able to attend, forty-two people were present while multiple people in the organization gave speeches praising the team’s success. During the dinner, the team and managers gathered and took a picture to preserve the memory of the successful season that the Scranton Lace Works had. The picture that was taken is the same picture that is shown here today and is one of the only artifacts that acknowledges the history of the successful but forgotten 1906 to 1907 Scranton Lace Works soccer team.
    The soccer team was well-known and popular at the time, traveling around the state of Pennsylvania to face the best talent and were even mentioned in newspapers such as The Philadelphia Inquirer multiple times. Although they were a popular and widely successful soccer team in Pennsylvania, The Scranton Lace Works soccer team has been forgotten with time. Today, little is known about the team or their accomplishments. While many people are familiar with the history of the Lace Factory and their mass production of Nottingham Lace, most are unaware of the historic background the company has with sports. One hundred years ago, the team was known all around Pennsylvania and was featured in the newspaper every time they played. The team’s history has nearly vanished with almost no trace, as people tend to forget about things that were once important to them and move on.
    Although the team has been largely forgotten, their success in soccer was still important for the company at that time. They were well known and very successful and gave the Scranton Lace Company a good reputation and standing in the community. They were pioneers of soccer in Pennsylvania and helped shape sports in the state. Although people may have forgotten about them, the Scranton Lace Works soccer team’s story still lives on today in the picture taken after their historical season.

  • Due to encroachment of industry, many families left the area and homes were demolished. With decreasing student population, the school decided to plan to move. The space was sold as the school began a three-year move to a new location for the school, with the understanding that the space could not be used by the Factory until the new school was in operation.

  • Advertisement from The Indianapolis Times

  • The inside of the factory appears to be wet and damp due to a flood that submerged the floor of the building. The floors seem to be in poor shape while two pieces of machinery stand tall surrounded by the damp floors.

  • Newspaper article about the reason behind a dining trip. In 1907 the mayor of Scranton took the laceworks football club to dinner.

  • This collaged shot shows the Scranton Lace Factory in the existing context of the site. This shot predates the large clocktower, which was added to the Factory in 1927.

  • At this point the Factory employed around a thousand employees and sold to over 9,300 retailers.

  • Describes damage from 1991 fire. Several firefighters were injured. Employees returned to work the following day.

  • This 48-page document gives an overview of the history of lace generally and the specific achievements of the Scranton Lace Company in its first 50 years in operation. This document represents a time before the fall of the lace industry in Scranton. It is noteworthy because it subtly hints towards the social acceptance of child labor in this century, as seen in an image on page 14. The document mostly focuses on the three generations of management but also highlights employees and products.

    Lacemaking is a tradition rooted in craftsmanship that has existed for over 2,000 years, dating back to thread embroidery corselets used by the Egyptians in 550 B.C.E. Thread embroidery morphed into the production and design of lace. The lace produced by the Scranton Lace Factory relied on the methods employed by 15th century practitioners, namely cutwork, drawnwork, and darned nettings. Lacework was at times prohibited to be sold to common people and was only available to elites and aristocrats. Women became the main laborers of intricate lace, and nuns were responsible for many of the lasting lace artifacts.

    Once clear glass became conventionally installed in windows in the end of the 18th century, lace curtain demand grew. To fill orders, expansion of producing lace by machine became necessary. One of the first documented attempts at mechanically produced lace was between 1760 and 1778. Once the jacquard (a type of cloth with a pattern woven into it) was able to be added to the loom, the product known as Nottingham Lace emerged. Nottingham lace, originating in Nottingham, England, soon became popular in the United States. The lace was imported, but eventually the demand grew and labor in Nottingham was unable to meet the orders needed to be filled. A request for a new company in the United States was proposed and accepted. Plans began for a company to be placed in Scranton, PA due to the abundance of cheap energy in coal and its strong labor force.

    The initial name of this company was Scranton Lace Curtain Manufacturing Company; it was financially unsuccessful. But local businessmen bound together to reinvest and redevelop this industry in the hopes of its future success. A charter under the name Scranton Lace Curtain Company was born. By 1905, plant expansion was necessary due to the volume of sales. In 1907, the Company left the commission house it sold under and managed sales themselves. In 1914, the Company began selling to department stores directly in addition to the main market of bulk sales to distributors. In 1916, the sales name and company name merged to the Scranton Lace Company. In 1927 the Clock Tower was erected, and in the same year the 34 School was purchased by the Company, as the residential population was decreasing as industry boomed.

    The Company remained profitable during the Great Depression. In 1937, the President launched an operation to increase volume of production to lower operation costs. 8 new looms were erected, which was expected to result in a 15% increase in production, with subsequent additions planned in several years. New weaving and receiving buildings were erected on Glenn Street. The Company stopped its sales of bedspreads and sold the machinery to make room for more lace manufacturing. During World War Two (WW2), the machinery was modified to serve military needs. First, the Company began producing mosquito netting. Then, the Company shifted to human parachutes, mine carriers, and finally reconditioned steel ammunition boxes. Post WW2, what was once parachute manufacturing became window curtains.

    One instance of interesting word choice in the document is referring to the executive management group as the “executive family”. The “executive family” managed their 1,100 employees. The Company did have many long lasting employees, as this publication boasted that 421 staff members had been employed at the Company for over 10 years. The Company claimed to have “maintained a cordial relationship with employees… by [high] wage rates… paid vacation, group insurance, and annual profit sharing”(Our First Fifty Years…) In addition to the financial incentives, the Company highlighted working conditions, stating, “lighting, heating, cleanliness, restrooms, showers have constant attention…employee club house [contains] a gymnasium, cafeteria, bowling alley… and music room” (Our First Fifty Years…). There was an effort to keep engagement in sports high in the workplace, as employee committees were established to maintain these traditions.

    People bought Scranton Lace because owning the material represented a class distinction, as the history of lace was one where it was kept to the elite class. It represented values of American success in industry and labor, as its public image of successful sports teams and employee retention built it into a positive landmark of Scranton. The Company capitalized on community, evident as early as 1927 when they added the Clocktower that would become a preserved monument even as the site leaves its industrial and returns to becoming a residential area once again.
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