2.A Stitch in Time
New Bedford has a long and rich history in the textile industry. The mills of our city and Fall River and Lowell still stand, some repurposed into housing and retail. I know several of the families within our own Jewish community were leaders in this field.
"Textile manufacturing dominated the region in the early part of the 20th century. After the decline of the whaling industry in the mid-19th century, leading local businessmen invested heavily in textiles and the region became one of the leading cotton cloth manufacturing centers in the Northeast. At the height of the industry, Fall River and New Bedford had over one hundred mills between them. This created a demand for skilled labor, as well as designers, textile chemists and mill managers. When the mills first opened in the mid-nineteenth century, skilled labor was imported from England, while the unskilled jobs went to local residents and the thousands who immigrated to the region from different countries to take advantage of these jobs," shares UMass Dartmouth in "The Textile Industry and Textile Education in Massachusetts, 1895 - 1947."
What made me think of this era in local history was an article in New York Jewish Week, "This tight-knit Jewish family has run Mendel Goldberg Fabrics since 1890." "Today, the business is owned and operated by Alice Goldberg, Mendel’s great-granddaughter and the fourth-generation owner of Mendel Goldberg Fabrics. Over the decades, the shop has expanded its inventory from threads and tailoring supplies to silks and other high-end fabrics. 'The store is completely different now, because every generation did something different in this business,' said Alice Goldberg, who grew up watching her father at the store."
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