You too are an American original. This is the entire reason I started following you in the first place. Read the Atlantic article and bought two copies of American Flannel the next day. Love the history of the mills.
Well said, and well written. Our hunting camp is a few miles up the mountain from Woolrich, and driving through town and seeing the old empty mill is sad. So many years of great outdoor clothing, so many jobs lost, so much quality product, just gone. It is the exclaimation point on so many of the mill towns in Pennsylvania, another one gone. Looking forward to reading the book. I try to buy American made products whenever possible, and try to avoid the AmazonWalmartTarget world as much as possible - it's not easy. Thank you, Michael.
As a fellow reluctant marketer who finds most marketing repugnant, this post was so resonant and beautifully expressed. Added American Flannel to the list.
Although my instinct was to order this book on Amazon - antithetical to its premise, right? - I suppose I’ll hold off until I inevitably see it at a better men’s store later in the year.
It is a different industry but we live in an area where some dedicated ranchers and farmers do things differently…maybe even the hard way. They coexist with predators, act as stewards of their land and endeavor to preserve a rural way of life. So much admiration for those who think about their product as a statement of values and not just bottom line. Look forward to reading this book.
Reminds me of a saying that I've seen in a few places since, but used to be (not anymore) the official motto of the Newport News Shipbuilding Company where my father-in-law and generations of his ancestors worked: "We build good ships. At a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but always good ships."
You too are an American original. This is the entire reason I started following you in the first place. Read the Atlantic article and bought two copies of American Flannel the next day. Love the history of the mills.
Well said, and well written. Our hunting camp is a few miles up the mountain from Woolrich, and driving through town and seeing the old empty mill is sad. So many years of great outdoor clothing, so many jobs lost, so much quality product, just gone. It is the exclaimation point on so many of the mill towns in Pennsylvania, another one gone. Looking forward to reading the book. I try to buy American made products whenever possible, and try to avoid the AmazonWalmartTarget world as much as possible - it's not easy. Thank you, Michael.
As a fellow reluctant marketer who finds most marketing repugnant, this post was so resonant and beautifully expressed. Added American Flannel to the list.
Although my instinct was to order this book on Amazon - antithetical to its premise, right? - I suppose I’ll hold off until I inevitably see it at a better men’s store later in the year.
Amen Michael - BT
You had a pivotal role in this book.
Hear, hear!
It is a different industry but we live in an area where some dedicated ranchers and farmers do things differently…maybe even the hard way. They coexist with predators, act as stewards of their land and endeavor to preserve a rural way of life. So much admiration for those who think about their product as a statement of values and not just bottom line. Look forward to reading this book.
Alllll the feels with this post
Reminds me of a saying that I've seen in a few places since, but used to be (not anymore) the official motto of the Newport News Shipbuilding Company where my father-in-law and generations of his ancestors worked: "We build good ships. At a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but always good ships."