The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Leather Still A Way of Life in Acton Ontario In this day and age when both tanneries and shoe crs arc closing at an alarming rate It Is difficult to remember how significant they have been In the past Tanning rivals the oldest profession as one or the ear I lest I of m a kl In America the leather Industry has a history dating from the first colonists Tor example the pilgrims establish Plymouth colony In 1620 losing over half their number In the first year but by their first tannery was In operation Similarly the Trench and Dutch established tanneries very early In their colonist periods The first Canadian tannery was establish In Levis Quebec In This pattern of growth was repeated as the colonies spread The revolutionary war was a tremendous boon to the north American Industry As supplies of English leather were cut off the need for locally tanned leather Increased Furthermore the Con tlnental Congress required each American soldier to be provided with two pairs of shoes a leather or woollen coat and a leather cap Armies also required saddlery and accoutrements In leather As a result existing American tanneries flourished and in particular saw the early beginnings of what were to become enormous leather and footwear Industries Salem and together were to house over tanneries while Lynn and Brockton were to become alive and dominated by shoe manufacturers naturally the War of had many other pi lea and produced numerous other changes not the least of which was the colonization of Upper Canada by swarms of United Empire Loyalists Like many other communities round in this era Acton was initially an agricultural site developed by the Adams family Tunning Is the second oldest Industry In Acton The first was the traditional mill which was started by the Adams family In IBIS By when the village was Incorporated Acton had already had several tanner les Including one which was forced out of business a with which we are all too familiar today At the time the main products were harness and sole leather and the process required six months to a year in order to tan and finish the leather The tanners used to stock Ire men do us quantities and used to place their entire yearly requirements well In advance making production scheduling a somewhat different problem than it is today Hem lock bark was used In great quantities and this was plentiful at first as farmers In the area teamed It In all winter long Eventually bark was brought In by train at much greater expense and for a while the local tanner les appeared to be destined for doom as new companies opened further north to accommodate the need for bark The develop ment of extracts and later chrome tanning eliminated this tendency and eventually resulted In the closure of these northern tanners In any case the economic his tory of Acton has been thorough ly Intertwined with that of leather In this country The site now occupied by Beard more and Company has houses a tannery since 1844 Including two which burnt dawn between that year and 1072 The company was acquired by In 1865 and has retained the family name ever In 1868 the WH Storey Clove Works opened as Acton third Industry manufacturing a variety of leather gloves for domestic con sumption and shipping products all across the country The Storey family also operated a tannery In town for a number of years Over the last one hundred years the town has seen a number of glove and shoe companies operate successfully at first providing much needed employment only to ultimately fall or wind up operations Shoe once operated a plant there and smaller com pan such as Shoe and Hamilton Shoe enjoyed brier periods of success The glove Industry continues to provide employment today Superior Qlove offers an excellent example of a vertically Integrated com pany retannlng Its own leather and specializing In the or Industrial gloves The company has shown steady growth In the past In a very competitive market On the other hand no pun Intended the Mario Qlove Co specializes quite successfully In the manufacture of fine quality leather gloves and ski with emphasis on deerskin items The White Tanning Co located a short distance outside of town primarily produces glove bellies and continues to find markets for Its products Prank Heller and Company has specialized quite effectively In the production of split leather and has shown steady growth over Its history of course there Is Beard more and Company Ltd a division of Canada Packers which local residents used to proudly proclaim the largest tannery under one roof In the British Empire Of course the British Empire as such no longer exists but Beard mo re con tlnues to play a very significant role both as a leader In Canadian leather Industry and as an employer In the town Over the last several years the leather heritage of Acton has become the basis of an attempt to develop a tourism facet to the local economy The adoption the eat he own pseudonym and logo and various special events and the development of the Hide House operation seem certain to serve as the basis for the continued development of tourism operations and attractions in the future GIANT If DRAW Weve filled a giant stocking with gifts from every depart ment from the Hide House the Artisan Village and a dinner voucher from Jack Tanners 500 Valuell Free Entry Form with ovary purchase Draw will bo held on Christmas Eve the olde Hide House The Town or Acton a Leather Heritage dates back to with the opening of the Tannery which by the turn of the century had become the largest In the British Empire Today several local companies operating In various aspects of the Lea t Her Industry maintain Acton role as Built in with half a million bricks and massive wood beams our square foot building served Initially as a warehouse for hides Today restored and renovated It now provides the atmosphere which combined with the leather ex pert lac and extensive Industry contacts acquired over four generations has enabled us to develop and present Canada largest leather goods store Some of our policies are also quite unique Our relatively low overhead situation and ability to buy and Mil volume allows us to price our merchandise below tradition retail levels We believe in natural products and have avoided man made Imitations such as vinyl and ultra Over merchandise Is Canadian made In December of 1981 a new stage of our evolution began with the opening of Jack Tanner Tabic a Ail I service rest equally dedicated to providing good value and tomer satisfaction The final step In the development of the Hide House project occurred with the opening or the Artisan Village This addition firmly establishes the Hide House as of Canada smost unique and exciting tourist attraction