Violet Ida Hollowell - life in the 20th century Courtesy of her niece and nephew, Bev and Fred Stainton
The information provided was taken from a cassette tape recorded Oct.29, 1983 speaking with Violet Hollowell who was 81 years of age at the time.
The Family
* Violet Ida Hollowell was born to Elizabeth Maud and William Hollowell in London England in 1902. Died in London, Ontario Jan 4, 1990.
- The family (parents, Violet, Arthur and Frederick ) moved to Canada in 1913 when Violet was 11 yrs. old.
- They spent one month at Violet’s aunt Maud in Harrietsville, moved to and
rented 411 Bathurst St., in 1914 rented a home on Emery St., in 1920 lived at
90 Wellington Rd., and in 1921 moved into and owned her final home, 58 High St. * There were many siblings in this family:
In England:
-Lillian Emily born June 17, 1899. Died Apr.21, 1901.
- William Thomas (Sonny) born May 15, 1904. Died May 25, 1905.
- Arthur born approx. 1906. Lived to old age in Canada.
- Frederick born approx. 1908. Lived to old age in Canada.
In Canada:
- Rosalin Elizabeth born July 27, 1914, Bathhurst St., London, Ont. Died Aug.11, 1920..
- Walter Edward born July 1, 1917, Emery St., London, Ont. Lived to old age.
- Raymond born Aug.11, 1920. Wellington Rd., London, Ont. Lived to old age.
Violet’s father, William died in 1933 when the youngest children were 16 and 14.
Violet was the oldest child and her income even prior to her father’s passing was a boon to the livelihood of her family.
Work History
- Violet had a grade 8 education
1916 - 14 yrs. old - Woolworth’s - 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. for $1/day
1916 - 14 yrs. old - Lawson and Jones Box Factory
1916 - 14 yrs. old - 3 weeks at a Raisin box factory
1917-18 - 15 yrs. old - Holeproof Hosiery on Bathhurst St. (Violet’s family rented a home at 411 Bathhurst St. In 1914.
- Violet learned to knit at Holeproof Hosiery
- after one year she moved to London Hosiery for a bit better pay
1918 - 16 yrs. - worked at a munitions factory for 9 months (until the war ended)
- interestingly, a television program broadcast at 9 p.m. on Monday
evenings on Global called “Bomb Girls” demonstrates what work
women did in a Canadian munitions factory during WWI.
- she returned to Lawson and Jones
- then she worked at Teasdale Hosiery for the following 5 years
(Approximately 1918 - 1923)
1923 - 21 yrs. - worked at Campbell’s Hosiery for the following 13 years
- ( 1923 - 36)
- Violet reported that Mr. Richmond bought out Campbell’s
1936 - 34 yrs. - continued at what was now Richmond Hosiery for 31 yrs.
- ( 1936 - 1967 )
- Violet reported that Japanese “stuff” started coming in and
Richmond Hosiery closed down.
1967 - 65 yrs. - retired
- when retired Violet babysat children in the London area
* Violet reported in the tape that when in hosiery factories she was mostly finishing products rather than “running some machine”. This might be interpreted due to “some machine” that those on machines were not considered to be the highest level of worker.
* As well as working full time at the various locations listed above Violet had her own “cottage industry” endeavour. She also had a knitting machine (auto knitter) at her home on which she made socks that were sold for additional income.
* Violet also proudly reported that no one in her family collected unemployment money from the government.
The information provided was taken from a cassette tape recorded Oct.29, 1983 speaking with Violet Hollowell who was 81 years of age at the time.
The Family
* Violet Ida Hollowell was born to Elizabeth Maud and William Hollowell in London England in 1902. Died in London, Ontario Jan 4, 1990.
- The family (parents, Violet, Arthur and Frederick ) moved to Canada in 1913 when Violet was 11 yrs. old.
- They spent one month at Violet’s aunt Maud in Harrietsville, moved to and
rented 411 Bathurst St., in 1914 rented a home on Emery St., in 1920 lived at
90 Wellington Rd., and in 1921 moved into and owned her final home, 58 High St. * There were many siblings in this family:
In England:
-Lillian Emily born June 17, 1899. Died Apr.21, 1901.
- William Thomas (Sonny) born May 15, 1904. Died May 25, 1905.
- Arthur born approx. 1906. Lived to old age in Canada.
- Frederick born approx. 1908. Lived to old age in Canada.
In Canada:
- Rosalin Elizabeth born July 27, 1914, Bathhurst St., London, Ont. Died Aug.11, 1920..
- Walter Edward born July 1, 1917, Emery St., London, Ont. Lived to old age.
- Raymond born Aug.11, 1920. Wellington Rd., London, Ont. Lived to old age.
Violet’s father, William died in 1933 when the youngest children were 16 and 14.
Violet was the oldest child and her income even prior to her father’s passing was a boon to the livelihood of her family.
Work History
- Violet had a grade 8 education
1916 - 14 yrs. old - Woolworth’s - 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. for $1/day
1916 - 14 yrs. old - Lawson and Jones Box Factory
1916 - 14 yrs. old - 3 weeks at a Raisin box factory
1917-18 - 15 yrs. old - Holeproof Hosiery on Bathhurst St. (Violet’s family rented a home at 411 Bathhurst St. In 1914.
- Violet learned to knit at Holeproof Hosiery
- after one year she moved to London Hosiery for a bit better pay
1918 - 16 yrs. - worked at a munitions factory for 9 months (until the war ended)
- interestingly, a television program broadcast at 9 p.m. on Monday
evenings on Global called “Bomb Girls” demonstrates what work
women did in a Canadian munitions factory during WWI.
- she returned to Lawson and Jones
- then she worked at Teasdale Hosiery for the following 5 years
(Approximately 1918 - 1923)
1923 - 21 yrs. - worked at Campbell’s Hosiery for the following 13 years
- ( 1923 - 36)
- Violet reported that Mr. Richmond bought out Campbell’s
1936 - 34 yrs. - continued at what was now Richmond Hosiery for 31 yrs.
- ( 1936 - 1967 )
- Violet reported that Japanese “stuff” started coming in and
Richmond Hosiery closed down.
1967 - 65 yrs. - retired
- when retired Violet babysat children in the London area
* Violet reported in the tape that when in hosiery factories she was mostly finishing products rather than “running some machine”. This might be interpreted due to “some machine” that those on machines were not considered to be the highest level of worker.
* As well as working full time at the various locations listed above Violet had her own “cottage industry” endeavour. She also had a knitting machine (auto knitter) at her home on which she made socks that were sold for additional income.
* Violet also proudly reported that no one in her family collected unemployment money from the government.
The Hosiery Mills of London Ontario:
The Hosiery Mills of
London Ontario:
Jennifer Lorraine Fraser
Throughout my research on the hosiery mills of London, Ontario, I repeatedly came across seven company names – two of which were renamed factories. Of the seven, five companies stand out in the collective consciousness of present day Londoners and the ephemera from the period. These companies include: Holeproof Hosiery Company, Penman’s Limited, Richmond Hosiery (which was earlier the Teasdale Company), Supersilk Hosiery Mills, and The London Hosiery Mill. Three of these exported to South Africa, New Zealand, India, China, Australia and Peru.[72]
The most information one can find on the nature of the mills and their labour practices is in a Masters of Arts thesis written by Benjamin S. Scott in the year 1930. More specifically, the librarian of the London Room, Arthur Mcclelland, gave a talk on the Holeproof Hosiery Mill on Tuesday October 11 2011 and he was kind enough to give me a copy of his work. Initially, I wanted to find specific court documents or information dealing with the Female Refuges Act and how it pertained to workers of the hosiery mills of London, and the surrounding area, including Toronto. Unfortunately, I only found a few references to women being sentenced to work in the hosiery mills and these being nearer to Toronto.
One of these stories is described by Michelle Landsberg in her 2012 piece on rapeshelter.bc.ca, Plight of Incorrigible Women Demands Justice. In it, she outlines the experience of Velma Demerson. Demerson’s parents were horrified that her daughter, at the age of 17, was living with her Asian boyfriend and they immediately brought her in front of the courts.[73] Being found guilty of incorrigible behaviour, Demerson was then transported to the Industrial Refuge in Toronto, and then to the Mercer Reformatory. Pregnant, and distressed at the Mercer Reformatory, Demerson was forced to make hosiery which was a part of the life inside the reformatory. Upon her release nine months later, she exclaimed, “When I put on my own silk stockings, then I knew I was free.”[74]
Histories of women in London’s factories are seemingly non-existent; those texts which do make mention of women in the workplace usually give only a passing remark, being primarily focussed on some other aspect of factory labour in London. However, using the scraps of testimony we have from working women of the time, as clearly outlined by Scott, we can have a clearer understanding of the plight of women during this era. While mere speculation, it nonetheless seems reasonable to believe that the clothing mills, and the hosiery mills in particular, were (despite the gross gender inequalities pervading the industry at the time) a place of chosen refuge for lower-class workers, as opposed to the ‘reformatory’ refuges women were often forced into by the judicial system. By the year of 1930, “50-70% of employees in the various hosiery factories were women and girls and 85% of the labour classed as skilled, and girls would be paid approximately $15-$18 dollars a week.”[75] From documented proof within the Sessional Papers of The Legislature of Ontario, it is claimed that, of the professions of the women incarcerated in the prison and charities system of Ontario, very few admitted that their means of survival was factory work. Up to the year 1890, it was documented that the occupations of the female inmates of asylums in Ontario were primarily in Housekeeping with 2565, and in Domestic Service as 1853 in total, whereas seamstresses accounted for 164, weavers 32, machinists 55, and spinsters 151.[76] This leads me to wonder what the state of affairs was twenty years later, when London became home to its first hosiery mill (the first documented or so far found) Holeproof Hosiery Mills.
Founded in Michigan as Kalamazoo Knitting Company in 1873, Holeproof Hosiery Company was originally an American company begun by Carl Freschl.[77] Moving to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1890, Kalamazoo changed its name to Holeproof Hosiery by 1897, due to claims that a pair of Freschl’s stockings could withstand wear for up to six months.[78] In 1910, “London Dry goods wholesaler, J.W. Little obtained the Canadian Rights to manufacture Holeproof socks and stockings, and the first mill was built and opened by 1911.” Incidentally, 1911 was the year that Freschl passed away.[79] Beginning with socks for men, women and children, by 1927 the factory in London was making full-fashioned hosiery for women.[80] By 1938 Nylon was introduced to the market, and 90% of their products were made from this material.[81] Manufacturing a line of lingerie as well, Holeproof Hosiery was “awarded the gold medal from the fashion academy of New York.”[82]
Another prominent Hosiery Company, this one fully Canadian, was Penman’s Limited 1919, originally of Paris, Ontario.[83] Once the furrier of the Queen, Penman’s was founded in 1868. By 1926, Penman’s, situated near the forks of the Thames, was “exclusively making full-fashioned hosiery for women and underwear.”84] Depending upon the experience of the workers, women could make anywhere up to $30 a week.[85] “Women were preferred as workers for their dexterity.”[86] However, women were subject to different working regulations than men, especially during the 1930s and 40s. One worker relates: “The job (to make the foot of the stocking) had always been done by women but all the women were aged from 30 to 45 and no newcomers had been taught for years. The laws in Ontario at that time were very strict as far as women workers were concerned. There was a minimum wage and hours of work law. It was very strict on overtime and night work was prohibited.”[87]
The London Hosiery Mills Limited, were situated on Adelaide street and were purveyors of seamless hosiery.[88] A call out to the residents of London was made, to share stories of the hosiery mills.
An account of this the London Hosiery mill is shared by Pat Messier:
“My mother, Ethel Mitchell (nee Foreman) worked at London Hosiery starting at about the age of 19 after coming from England at the age of 16 in 1929. Her older brother and an Uncle worked at Penman’s and her younger brother started at “The Hosiery” sweeping the floor and moved on to later become the Controller.
I have pictures of her and her friends standing outside of the plant in about 1940 when she was about 28. There were 20 or so women from the Hosiery that formed the knitting club about 1935 or so and they continued to meet every second Monday for about 60 years. When they had children, they stopped the meetings for the summer but they met at each other’s houses the rest of the year.
When I was a child my mother looped in our basement and Ray Capener (I believe that was his name) delivered bags of stuff every few days and picked up the finished product. My mother was very fast on the looper and made what she called “good money” at it. She never considered herself exploited and loved the work and the friends she made. One of these friends married into our family and one was my godmother so they were life-long friends. I think there may be 2 women who belonged to the club still living.”[89]
Douglas Flood of London, Ontario had this to say about the Richmond, Holeproof, and the Supersilk Hosiery mills.
The Supersilk Hoseiry Mill was located on Florence and Eleanor Streets. It was owned by Col Thompson and the building is still there. I have an old picture of the beginning of it when it was at the corner of Richmond and Piccadilly streets under the offices of the Supertest building. They owned it too. Also Richmond Hoseiry, was located on Ridout Street on the west side between King and York streets. When they closed John Parker and his brother Wilffred bought some of the machines and opened up a mill in Clinton and called it PAR-KNIT Hosiery. Several of the Parker family worked at Supersilk and at the mill in Clinton.
Holeproof had a strike in the early 1950s and the plant was closed and the machines were taken out and sent to a mill in Quebec. If you look at the East end of the building you can see where the bricks were replaced after the machines where removed. Eleanor Flood is a Parker and worked at Supersilk as a summer student.. Findley Carrol’s wife worked there too. He was an inspector on the London Police department then. He went to work in a suit and tie she went to work in overhauls. I worked the site during the strike when it was closing. They produced rayon as well as nylon hose. My father in law Jim Parker was a knitter at Supersilk and started at the Richmond Street location. There were toppers, seamers loopers, boarders, a dye house as well as people sizing and packaging the stockings. The mill worked pretty well 24 hours a day. My father in law died at the age of 39 years. He was full of silk dust. He contracted a lung disease from the silk dust. He was not the only one. They were all on piece work and made very good money.
The stories of work in the hosiery mills are slowly trickling in and I believe that they will continue to do so well after my due date for this publication. Speaking with 91 year old, Mrs. Dorothy White I have come to realize that the hosiery mills of London Ontario were indeed a positive work experience for many women. Mrs. White worked for Holeproof Hosiery for 27 years, from 1955 – 1987, and began working at the mill after her lodger suggested she apply. Newly divorced and with barely any work experience outside of the hard work in being a mother and wife, Mrs. White interviewed for and attained the position.[90] Eventually, she became the executive Secretary to the Vice President of the Company,[91] regardless of the fact that she “didn’t know how to type or take short hand.”[92] What she remembers most about her time with Holeproof Hosiery, is how much fun the women had while working and how respected she felt while working for her employers. She stressed how they treated her as though she was just as smart as the rest of them, even though she believed differently.[93] With this new information, I believe that I was led astray in wanting to find negative aspects of factory work on the lives of women. However, the results of my research have begun to show that experiences within London’s mills were positive. There is still the factor of incarcerated women making hosiery in Toronto and under the FRA. I do believe that there were Londoners to have been sent to the Industrial Refuges, but without being able to find the proof, this remains as speculation.
London Ontario:
Jennifer Lorraine Fraser
Throughout my research on the hosiery mills of London, Ontario, I repeatedly came across seven company names – two of which were renamed factories. Of the seven, five companies stand out in the collective consciousness of present day Londoners and the ephemera from the period. These companies include: Holeproof Hosiery Company, Penman’s Limited, Richmond Hosiery (which was earlier the Teasdale Company), Supersilk Hosiery Mills, and The London Hosiery Mill. Three of these exported to South Africa, New Zealand, India, China, Australia and Peru.[72]
The most information one can find on the nature of the mills and their labour practices is in a Masters of Arts thesis written by Benjamin S. Scott in the year 1930. More specifically, the librarian of the London Room, Arthur Mcclelland, gave a talk on the Holeproof Hosiery Mill on Tuesday October 11 2011 and he was kind enough to give me a copy of his work. Initially, I wanted to find specific court documents or information dealing with the Female Refuges Act and how it pertained to workers of the hosiery mills of London, and the surrounding area, including Toronto. Unfortunately, I only found a few references to women being sentenced to work in the hosiery mills and these being nearer to Toronto.
One of these stories is described by Michelle Landsberg in her 2012 piece on rapeshelter.bc.ca, Plight of Incorrigible Women Demands Justice. In it, she outlines the experience of Velma Demerson. Demerson’s parents were horrified that her daughter, at the age of 17, was living with her Asian boyfriend and they immediately brought her in front of the courts.[73] Being found guilty of incorrigible behaviour, Demerson was then transported to the Industrial Refuge in Toronto, and then to the Mercer Reformatory. Pregnant, and distressed at the Mercer Reformatory, Demerson was forced to make hosiery which was a part of the life inside the reformatory. Upon her release nine months later, she exclaimed, “When I put on my own silk stockings, then I knew I was free.”[74]
Histories of women in London’s factories are seemingly non-existent; those texts which do make mention of women in the workplace usually give only a passing remark, being primarily focussed on some other aspect of factory labour in London. However, using the scraps of testimony we have from working women of the time, as clearly outlined by Scott, we can have a clearer understanding of the plight of women during this era. While mere speculation, it nonetheless seems reasonable to believe that the clothing mills, and the hosiery mills in particular, were (despite the gross gender inequalities pervading the industry at the time) a place of chosen refuge for lower-class workers, as opposed to the ‘reformatory’ refuges women were often forced into by the judicial system. By the year of 1930, “50-70% of employees in the various hosiery factories were women and girls and 85% of the labour classed as skilled, and girls would be paid approximately $15-$18 dollars a week.”[75] From documented proof within the Sessional Papers of The Legislature of Ontario, it is claimed that, of the professions of the women incarcerated in the prison and charities system of Ontario, very few admitted that their means of survival was factory work. Up to the year 1890, it was documented that the occupations of the female inmates of asylums in Ontario were primarily in Housekeeping with 2565, and in Domestic Service as 1853 in total, whereas seamstresses accounted for 164, weavers 32, machinists 55, and spinsters 151.[76] This leads me to wonder what the state of affairs was twenty years later, when London became home to its first hosiery mill (the first documented or so far found) Holeproof Hosiery Mills.
Founded in Michigan as Kalamazoo Knitting Company in 1873, Holeproof Hosiery Company was originally an American company begun by Carl Freschl.[77] Moving to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1890, Kalamazoo changed its name to Holeproof Hosiery by 1897, due to claims that a pair of Freschl’s stockings could withstand wear for up to six months.[78] In 1910, “London Dry goods wholesaler, J.W. Little obtained the Canadian Rights to manufacture Holeproof socks and stockings, and the first mill was built and opened by 1911.” Incidentally, 1911 was the year that Freschl passed away.[79] Beginning with socks for men, women and children, by 1927 the factory in London was making full-fashioned hosiery for women.[80] By 1938 Nylon was introduced to the market, and 90% of their products were made from this material.[81] Manufacturing a line of lingerie as well, Holeproof Hosiery was “awarded the gold medal from the fashion academy of New York.”[82]
Another prominent Hosiery Company, this one fully Canadian, was Penman’s Limited 1919, originally of Paris, Ontario.[83] Once the furrier of the Queen, Penman’s was founded in 1868. By 1926, Penman’s, situated near the forks of the Thames, was “exclusively making full-fashioned hosiery for women and underwear.”84] Depending upon the experience of the workers, women could make anywhere up to $30 a week.[85] “Women were preferred as workers for their dexterity.”[86] However, women were subject to different working regulations than men, especially during the 1930s and 40s. One worker relates: “The job (to make the foot of the stocking) had always been done by women but all the women were aged from 30 to 45 and no newcomers had been taught for years. The laws in Ontario at that time were very strict as far as women workers were concerned. There was a minimum wage and hours of work law. It was very strict on overtime and night work was prohibited.”[87]
The London Hosiery Mills Limited, were situated on Adelaide street and were purveyors of seamless hosiery.[88] A call out to the residents of London was made, to share stories of the hosiery mills.
An account of this the London Hosiery mill is shared by Pat Messier:
“My mother, Ethel Mitchell (nee Foreman) worked at London Hosiery starting at about the age of 19 after coming from England at the age of 16 in 1929. Her older brother and an Uncle worked at Penman’s and her younger brother started at “The Hosiery” sweeping the floor and moved on to later become the Controller.
I have pictures of her and her friends standing outside of the plant in about 1940 when she was about 28. There were 20 or so women from the Hosiery that formed the knitting club about 1935 or so and they continued to meet every second Monday for about 60 years. When they had children, they stopped the meetings for the summer but they met at each other’s houses the rest of the year.
When I was a child my mother looped in our basement and Ray Capener (I believe that was his name) delivered bags of stuff every few days and picked up the finished product. My mother was very fast on the looper and made what she called “good money” at it. She never considered herself exploited and loved the work and the friends she made. One of these friends married into our family and one was my godmother so they were life-long friends. I think there may be 2 women who belonged to the club still living.”[89]
Douglas Flood of London, Ontario had this to say about the Richmond, Holeproof, and the Supersilk Hosiery mills.
The Supersilk Hoseiry Mill was located on Florence and Eleanor Streets. It was owned by Col Thompson and the building is still there. I have an old picture of the beginning of it when it was at the corner of Richmond and Piccadilly streets under the offices of the Supertest building. They owned it too. Also Richmond Hoseiry, was located on Ridout Street on the west side between King and York streets. When they closed John Parker and his brother Wilffred bought some of the machines and opened up a mill in Clinton and called it PAR-KNIT Hosiery. Several of the Parker family worked at Supersilk and at the mill in Clinton.
Holeproof had a strike in the early 1950s and the plant was closed and the machines were taken out and sent to a mill in Quebec. If you look at the East end of the building you can see where the bricks were replaced after the machines where removed. Eleanor Flood is a Parker and worked at Supersilk as a summer student.. Findley Carrol’s wife worked there too. He was an inspector on the London Police department then. He went to work in a suit and tie she went to work in overhauls. I worked the site during the strike when it was closing. They produced rayon as well as nylon hose. My father in law Jim Parker was a knitter at Supersilk and started at the Richmond Street location. There were toppers, seamers loopers, boarders, a dye house as well as people sizing and packaging the stockings. The mill worked pretty well 24 hours a day. My father in law died at the age of 39 years. He was full of silk dust. He contracted a lung disease from the silk dust. He was not the only one. They were all on piece work and made very good money.
The stories of work in the hosiery mills are slowly trickling in and I believe that they will continue to do so well after my due date for this publication. Speaking with 91 year old, Mrs. Dorothy White I have come to realize that the hosiery mills of London Ontario were indeed a positive work experience for many women. Mrs. White worked for Holeproof Hosiery for 27 years, from 1955 – 1987, and began working at the mill after her lodger suggested she apply. Newly divorced and with barely any work experience outside of the hard work in being a mother and wife, Mrs. White interviewed for and attained the position.[90] Eventually, she became the executive Secretary to the Vice President of the Company,[91] regardless of the fact that she “didn’t know how to type or take short hand.”[92] What she remembers most about her time with Holeproof Hosiery, is how much fun the women had while working and how respected she felt while working for her employers. She stressed how they treated her as though she was just as smart as the rest of them, even though she believed differently.[93] With this new information, I believe that I was led astray in wanting to find negative aspects of factory work on the lives of women. However, the results of my research have begun to show that experiences within London’s mills were positive. There is still the factor of incarcerated women making hosiery in Toronto and under the FRA. I do believe that there were Londoners to have been sent to the Industrial Refuges, but without being able to find the proof, this remains as speculation.