Specialty Fabrics Review April 2020 - 64

Winner of the
Stuart Trophy

60 YEARS AGO ...

rt J.
Left to right: Be
illy,
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rt
be
Ro
y,
ill
Re
)
ex
(T
F.
and H.
the
Goodman. For
ami
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.
Co
g
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Aw
h
Beac
the
has been awarded
e
grand prize for th
canvas
most distinctive
ited
Un
e
th
in
awning
da.
States and Cana
J. L.
The award of the
hy
op
Tr
ld
Go
Stuart
firm at
was made to the
tion
the recent conven
nvas
Ca
l
na
tio
Na
of the
rers'
Goods Manufactu
in
Association, held
.
co
cis
an
Fr
San

1954
When the USS Nautilus, the world's
first atomic submarine, was
launched on Jan. 21, the editors of The
National Canvas Goods Manufacturers
Review boldly proclaimed that canvas
was equal to the atomic age: Three
members of the NCGMA (now IFAI) were
involved in the launch. The flags and
bows adorning the submarine were
designed by Annin & Co. of New York,
while the William T. Barrel Co. and John
Boyle & Co. supplied the fabrics used
during the reception.

THIS AWNING INDUSTRY
-YOURS AND MINE

1955
Teenager Emmett Till is murdered in
Money, Miss.; Rosa Parks is arrested in
Montgomery, Ala., for refusing to give up
her seat on the bus, setting the American
Civil Rights Movement in motion.

by R. M. Schofield, Sales Manager, Cotton Goods Division,
Glen Raven Cotton Mills, New York

A
OCTOBER 1952
You will want to
visit this beautiful
Japanese Tea
Garden in San
Francisco's famed
Golden Gate Park
when you attend the
forthcoming 39th
National Convention,
October 12-16, 1952,
Hotel Fairmont,
San Francisco.

bout 12 years ago
I recall a survey
which was conducted along certain sections of the East coast.
The survey consisted of
picking certain residential areas and asking each
home owner one question: "Have
you ever been solicited for awnings
on your home?" Results of this survey
revealed that more than 90 per cent of
those home owners had never been
solicited, while these relatively few
homes with awnings asserted that it
had been necessary to call the local
awning manufacturer.
Having traveled some, I had no reason to doubt that this same deplorable
situation existed throughout most of
this land. These figures were disgusting and, as I have said, offered little in
the way of promise to a man still young
enough to choose another occupation.
You may well ask "Why didn't you?"

My answer to you is
simply this-I became
aware of a change which
was stimulating our industry. A definite trend was
evident towards a face
lifting of our store fronts;
toward investment in
new and improved equipment;
and toward the selection of aggressive
sales personnel.
Attendance at conventions
increased, with more talk on the need
for new awning fabrics, along with a
definite interest in their development.
Advertising and programmed
solicitation had begun to appear and,
perhaps the most important of all,
the modern school of merchandising infiltrated our industry. In other
words, the non-aggressive ... thinking factor was being eliminated and
indeed a better future for our industry
seemed imminent.

A Davy Crockett-themed canvas
play tent, made by NCGMA member
J.W. Johnson Co., is given away with every
purchase of a Norge major appliance.
It is estimated that 35,000 tents will be
needed before the promotion ends.

1957
The Soviet Union launches Sputnik I, the
world's first space satellite. The launch
jump-starts the U.S. space program and
leads to the creation of NASA.
Alfred S. Procter, retired president of
the Denver Tent and Awning Co. and an
honored life member of the NCGMA,
collects his own life insurance, becoming
the only man within the 110 years of the
Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co. to have
outlived his insurance policy.

1959
Ethel Gant stitches a pair of nylon
stockings to a pair of underwear,
inventing a practical replacement for
garter belts. They are produced by
Glen Raven as Panti-Legs, the first
commercially marketed pantyhose.

From the November 1952 issue of The National Canvas Goods Manufacturers Review.

CONVENTION LOCATIONS / 1950-1959
1950

WASHINGTON, D.C.

1951

MINNEAPOLIS

1952

SAN FRANCISCO

1953

DETROIT

1954

FRENCH LICK, IND.

1955

QUEBEC CITY

1956

DALLAS

1957

NEW YORK CITY

1958

ROANOKE, VA.

1959

CHICAGO

64 REVIEW APRIL 2020

0420RV_p62-cv4.indd 64

3/23/20 10:10 PM

SAS DICKSON CONSTANT - capital 12.640.000 euros - 381 347 970 R.C.S. Lille Métropole - Photos : Landry Laurie - Trivantage and Dickson are registered trademarks of Glen Raven®, Inc

future HISTORY

Specialty Fabrics Review April 2020

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