Textile Hall of Fame inducts McMichael, Draper
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, October 13, 2003
Lowell, Mass. — The late Dalton McMichael Sr. and The Draper Corp. were inducted into the American Textile Hall of Fame last month in a ceremony at the American Textile History Museum here.
The program, now in its third year, is honoring McMichael (1914–2001) for his 60-year career that created a major segment in the textile industry. He and his associates founded Madison (N.C.) Throwing Co., MacField Texturizing, Vintage Yarns and Mayo Yarns, and became world leaders in the development of industrial processes that prepared synthetic fibers for the manufacture of end-use products.
The Draper Corp., of Hopedale, Mass., is recognized as a highly successful family-owned manufacturer of textile machinery in America. Draper was once the world's largest textile machine company, thanks to Ira Draper's invention of the self-acting loom temple that maintains the width of the woven cloth on the loom, and to George Draper's Northrup loom, which set the standard for high-speed loom operation.
The ATHF board of governors includes ATHF Chairman James Fitzgibbons, retired chairman of Fieldcrest Cannon; Robert Coleman, former chairman and chief executive officer of Riegel Textile Corp. and Textile Hall Corp.; Robert Dalton Jr., Tech-Tex; Walter Elisha, former chairman and CEO of Springs Inds.; W. Duke Kimbrell, chairman and CEO, Parkdale Mills; Joseph Lanier Jr., chairman and CEO, Dan River Inc.; and Arthur Spiro, AMS Tex Enterprises.
Edward Stevens, chairman of Ames Textile Corp. and ATHM board of trustees chairman emeritus, serves as an ex-officio member. Michael Smith is president and CEO of the ATHM.
The American Textile Hall of Fame, established in 2001 with a board of governors appointed by the museum's board of trustees, honors past and present individuals, corporations and institutions that have made significant contributions to the textile industry in America, as well as those who have advanced the role and appreciation of textiles in American life.
Members of the inaugural class were industry leader Roger Milliken, chairman and CEO of Milliken; textile pioneer Samuel Slater (1768–1835); and Duke Power, energy supplier to the Carolinas. The class of 2002 included E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Co., Frederick B. Dent, James Spencer Love and Whitin Machine Works.
