This is only an opinion piece and talks about the bigger picture of tourism in the region but good news none the less. I posted it here instead of News because I figured it would be better appreciated. I know some members have been working hard for several years on this project.
Opinion
Economic Development in Greater Wawarsing
By Michael R. Siegel, Director, Greater Wawarsing Local Development Corp
In my last essay on Local Economic Development in the Journal, I discussed how the Greater Wawarsing Development Corporation has lined up numerous resources for financing businesses and business expansion, and has focused its efforts on being a champion of our town's existing assets: its existing businesses, its abundant natural resources, and our rich cultural history. It is absolutely clear to us that our best and most realistic opportunities for economic development in Wawarsing are in the support, creation, and expansion of destinations that feature or highlight our assets. Developing and aggressively marketing them as destinations in our town will increase foot traffic and thereby create opportunities for businesses.
As we look at our cultural history, existing businesses, and local assets, one of the truly great stories of Wawarsing's economy is the history of knife-making and its impact on our local economy. Nothing is more apparent to the local observer and student of history that the closing of the Schrade knife factory had a palpable effect on the fortunes of our local businesses. However, out of the apparent ashes of that closing has arisen a phoenix called the Canal Street Cutlery Company. This small company of dedicated fine knife-makers has had a strong impact on the national knife-making industry and also demonstrates the historic resilience of the knife-making industry in this town.
The history and tradition of fine knife-making in our area stands for the proposition of leadership and excellence and many eras of impact in the national industry. Napanoch Axes helped build the west; Ulster knives made here in Wawarsing were the signature knife of Boy Scouts across America for decades; movie cowboys carry our hometown Bowie knives at their sides and in their pelts in nearly every cowboy film; and hundreds of thousands of knife collectors everywhere have the name of Ellenville indelibly etched in their collective consciousness.
Dr. Richard Craft has recently announced that he has organized a group of enthusiasts to found a knife museum that portrays the history of knife-making in this area through the collections he and others in our area have assembled. We think Dr. Craft's plans to interpret our knife-making heritage are integral to economic development in Greater Wawarsing. It is a way to embrace the impact and resilience of this history, invite visitors to our area to explore this heritage, and there are and will be opportunities for business development around this exploration.
The writings of Katherine T. Terwilliger, Marion M. Dumond, Rhett C. Stidham, and Steve Shackleford indicate that the history of knife making in Wawarsing began in the early 1800s with names like John L. Bloomer, Ira Canfeild, Demmon C. Stone, and A. H. Southwick who manufactured axes first as individuals and then as D. C. Stone & Co, then as the Napanoch Axe and Iron Company, then as A.H. Southwick & Co., and again by Demmon C. Stone, and by John Leverett of Leverett Axe and Edge Tools, and then in succession by Gabriel Ludlum, Austin Melville, Frederick Bange, Gilbert DuBois, and by Marcus Pillsbury. While Napanoch Axes played a famous role in the covered wagons that rode west and in the Gold rush of the 1840s, the very manufacture of Napanoch Axes attracted craftsmen and entrepreneurs who stayed in this area and used their expertise to start their own factories which both became and attracted fine knife-makers into our area.
Entrepreneurs who sprang from the manufacture of Napanoch Axes included: John Russell, who started an edge tool factory in 1866 that later became the Tobacco Knife factory in 1876 and then later the John B. Russell Knife Works a company that stayed in business well past his death in 1893 and became the Humphrey Knife Factory in 1912; and The Ellenville Co-Operative Cutlery Co, that became the Ellenville Knife Company in 1872, attracted skilled blade making craftsmen trained in Sheffield, England, including Major Dwight Devine, Alfred Neafie, William Boothe, and R. H. Brodhead, and began manufacturing fine knives in 1871. The Ellenville Knife Company became the Ulster Knife Co in 1875, and became Dwight Devine & Son in the early 1900s. William Whitely founded the rival Napanoch Knife Co. in 1900 and sold out to Irving and William Carman and William L. Hoornbeek. These gentlemen sold their interests to the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. in New Haven in 1919 and after two years returned to Napanoch with John Cushner, Melvin Schoonmaker, Melvin Quick, and George F. Backley to found the Honk Falls Pocket Knife Co. in 1921, and they then reincarnated the Napanoch Knife Co.
In 1941, the Devines sold their interest in the Ulster Knife Co. to Albert M. Baer who joined forces with Imperial Knife of R.I., and then in 1946 Mr. Baer and his brother Henry purchased the Schrade Cutlery Co. of Walden renaming it Schrade Walden Cutlery Corp, a division of Imperial Knife. The Schrade Walden division moved back to this area in 1958. Albert Baer purchased Imperial Knife Associated Companies in 1983 and adopted the name Imperial Schrade, naming David A. Swindon President of the Company. During the mid 1990s, Imperial Schrade, under the leadership of Walter Gardner, was one of the largest private employers in Ulster County. Imperial Schrade went through a decline from 2002 to 2004 when it announced it was closing the plant. In 2004, with the closing of Imperial Schrade, Walter Gardner, David Swindon, and John Hufnagle banded together and founded Canal Street Cutlery, a company that today maintains a reputation of producing some of the finest knives in the country.
The history of this tradition works its way through the D& H Canal Era, the O &W Railroad era, the rise of electrical power, and the modern age of global industrialization. Yet today there are no local outlets for the collector and knife enthusiast to celebrate this history, nor are there fine outlets for the collector to come here and purchase a fine knife. We at the Greater Wawarsing Local Development Corp are exploring the development of such outlets and its impact on expanding and growing what our Canal Street Cutlers do so well. We hold it up as an example of looking at the past to illustrate a path for future growth.
I would also like to take this opportunity to announce that the Greater Wawarsing Local Development Corp. and the Ulster County Development Corp. have agreed to jointly sponsor a Business Survival Expo with the Ellenville-Wawarsing Chamber of Commerce on October 7, 2009, at the Honor's Haven Resort from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. At this event there will be a keynote address by Robert Gorland on methods for small local businesses to use their strengths to compete with various weaknesses of big box type stores, as well as breakout sessions with experts on financing business projects and drafting a business plan. I hope to see you all there that day, and interested businesses can arrange with the Chamber to set up tables that promote what they do.
Opinion
Economic Development in Greater Wawarsing
By Michael R. Siegel, Director, Greater Wawarsing Local Development Corp
In my last essay on Local Economic Development in the Journal, I discussed how the Greater Wawarsing Development Corporation has lined up numerous resources for financing businesses and business expansion, and has focused its efforts on being a champion of our town's existing assets: its existing businesses, its abundant natural resources, and our rich cultural history. It is absolutely clear to us that our best and most realistic opportunities for economic development in Wawarsing are in the support, creation, and expansion of destinations that feature or highlight our assets. Developing and aggressively marketing them as destinations in our town will increase foot traffic and thereby create opportunities for businesses.
As we look at our cultural history, existing businesses, and local assets, one of the truly great stories of Wawarsing's economy is the history of knife-making and its impact on our local economy. Nothing is more apparent to the local observer and student of history that the closing of the Schrade knife factory had a palpable effect on the fortunes of our local businesses. However, out of the apparent ashes of that closing has arisen a phoenix called the Canal Street Cutlery Company. This small company of dedicated fine knife-makers has had a strong impact on the national knife-making industry and also demonstrates the historic resilience of the knife-making industry in this town.
The history and tradition of fine knife-making in our area stands for the proposition of leadership and excellence and many eras of impact in the national industry. Napanoch Axes helped build the west; Ulster knives made here in Wawarsing were the signature knife of Boy Scouts across America for decades; movie cowboys carry our hometown Bowie knives at their sides and in their pelts in nearly every cowboy film; and hundreds of thousands of knife collectors everywhere have the name of Ellenville indelibly etched in their collective consciousness.
Dr. Richard Craft has recently announced that he has organized a group of enthusiasts to found a knife museum that portrays the history of knife-making in this area through the collections he and others in our area have assembled. We think Dr. Craft's plans to interpret our knife-making heritage are integral to economic development in Greater Wawarsing. It is a way to embrace the impact and resilience of this history, invite visitors to our area to explore this heritage, and there are and will be opportunities for business development around this exploration.
The writings of Katherine T. Terwilliger, Marion M. Dumond, Rhett C. Stidham, and Steve Shackleford indicate that the history of knife making in Wawarsing began in the early 1800s with names like John L. Bloomer, Ira Canfeild, Demmon C. Stone, and A. H. Southwick who manufactured axes first as individuals and then as D. C. Stone & Co, then as the Napanoch Axe and Iron Company, then as A.H. Southwick & Co., and again by Demmon C. Stone, and by John Leverett of Leverett Axe and Edge Tools, and then in succession by Gabriel Ludlum, Austin Melville, Frederick Bange, Gilbert DuBois, and by Marcus Pillsbury. While Napanoch Axes played a famous role in the covered wagons that rode west and in the Gold rush of the 1840s, the very manufacture of Napanoch Axes attracted craftsmen and entrepreneurs who stayed in this area and used their expertise to start their own factories which both became and attracted fine knife-makers into our area.
Entrepreneurs who sprang from the manufacture of Napanoch Axes included: John Russell, who started an edge tool factory in 1866 that later became the Tobacco Knife factory in 1876 and then later the John B. Russell Knife Works a company that stayed in business well past his death in 1893 and became the Humphrey Knife Factory in 1912; and The Ellenville Co-Operative Cutlery Co, that became the Ellenville Knife Company in 1872, attracted skilled blade making craftsmen trained in Sheffield, England, including Major Dwight Devine, Alfred Neafie, William Boothe, and R. H. Brodhead, and began manufacturing fine knives in 1871. The Ellenville Knife Company became the Ulster Knife Co in 1875, and became Dwight Devine & Son in the early 1900s. William Whitely founded the rival Napanoch Knife Co. in 1900 and sold out to Irving and William Carman and William L. Hoornbeek. These gentlemen sold their interests to the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. in New Haven in 1919 and after two years returned to Napanoch with John Cushner, Melvin Schoonmaker, Melvin Quick, and George F. Backley to found the Honk Falls Pocket Knife Co. in 1921, and they then reincarnated the Napanoch Knife Co.
In 1941, the Devines sold their interest in the Ulster Knife Co. to Albert M. Baer who joined forces with Imperial Knife of R.I., and then in 1946 Mr. Baer and his brother Henry purchased the Schrade Cutlery Co. of Walden renaming it Schrade Walden Cutlery Corp, a division of Imperial Knife. The Schrade Walden division moved back to this area in 1958. Albert Baer purchased Imperial Knife Associated Companies in 1983 and adopted the name Imperial Schrade, naming David A. Swindon President of the Company. During the mid 1990s, Imperial Schrade, under the leadership of Walter Gardner, was one of the largest private employers in Ulster County. Imperial Schrade went through a decline from 2002 to 2004 when it announced it was closing the plant. In 2004, with the closing of Imperial Schrade, Walter Gardner, David Swindon, and John Hufnagle banded together and founded Canal Street Cutlery, a company that today maintains a reputation of producing some of the finest knives in the country.
The history of this tradition works its way through the D& H Canal Era, the O &W Railroad era, the rise of electrical power, and the modern age of global industrialization. Yet today there are no local outlets for the collector and knife enthusiast to celebrate this history, nor are there fine outlets for the collector to come here and purchase a fine knife. We at the Greater Wawarsing Local Development Corp are exploring the development of such outlets and its impact on expanding and growing what our Canal Street Cutlers do so well. We hold it up as an example of looking at the past to illustrate a path for future growth.
I would also like to take this opportunity to announce that the Greater Wawarsing Local Development Corp. and the Ulster County Development Corp. have agreed to jointly sponsor a Business Survival Expo with the Ellenville-Wawarsing Chamber of Commerce on October 7, 2009, at the Honor's Haven Resort from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. At this event there will be a keynote address by Robert Gorland on methods for small local businesses to use their strengths to compete with various weaknesses of big box type stores, as well as breakout sessions with experts on financing business projects and drafting a business plan. I hope to see you all there that day, and interested businesses can arrange with the Chamber to set up tables that promote what they do.
Especially when you think of how many folks from that town worked there!