Published: July 12, 2008 12:05 am         

Silkmill hangs by thread

Lonaconing silk mill hanging by a thread

The abandoned silk mill in Lonaconing is hanging onto its existence, but only by a thread.

“If something doesn’t work out real quick, I’ll be taking one of the two sizable salvage offers that I’ve gotten,” said Herb Crawford of Frostburg, a part-owner of the historic structure on Railroad Street — a structure, by the way, that still contains the paraphernalia of the 1950s when the plant simply shut down during an employee strike and 300 workers went home.

Thursday afternoon, however, something may have started to work out.

Yuki Ide and Kazuo Onose, representing a cultural/historical organization of the Gunma prefectural government and looking for links to the Japanese historical silk industry, walked through the mill.

“They said they were blown away to see everything still in place as it was in 1957 when the plant closed,” said David Rands, a history instructor from Frostburg State University who was the interpreter. Rands admitted his interpretation of the pair’s astonishment was a loose one.

It is easy to be blown away when visiting the mill, which is a defacto museum, though dusty and without a tour guide.

A calendar still advertising A.F. Green Insurance in downtown Lonaconing hangs on the wall where, for 51 years, it has been July 1957.

It must have been raining when the employees came to work that day, the day that the owners bagged the mill. A few umbrellas are found among the other personal items left behind such as shoes and even a lady’s powder box and puff. “Gents Toilet” said the sign on the swinging door leading into a dark room.

The Japanese visitors arrived in Lonaconing after attending a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization meeting in Canada dealing with world heritage. They were made aware of the local silk mill by Tomiyo Sasaki who, with her husband, Ernest Gusella, owns and operates Social Studies, an import shop in downtown Cumberland.

Through interpreter Randes, Onose said the goal is to verify a link between the Tomioka Silk Mill in Japan and the Lonaconing facility. The Japanese plant shipped skeins of raw silk to Maryland where it was transformed into thread and then sent on to weavers, mostly in New York.

While Onose’s goal is to establish a link, Crawford’s goal is to sell the place.

“Some people put their retirement money in a 401K. I put mine in an old silk mill,” Crawford said Thursday.

Crawford, who has owned the building in partnership with Joyce Growden of Cumberland for 30 years, said his intent to sell the structure for salvage is not a bluff.

“I still want the mill saved, but I’m running out of time and money,” said the 73-year-old. “The most immediate need is for somebody to fix the roof.”

Should the Gunma prefecture establish a satisfactory trans-Pacific link between the mills, the silk industry structures could be elevated to world heritage status, opening doors to international funding.

Crawford said he isn’t going to hold his breath.

“There has been a lot of big talk over the years, but no action,” he said. “I’ve had federal and state and private people through here time after time and they ‘ooh’ and they ‘aah’ and they say they will get back to me in 90 days and I never hear from them again.”

Jack Coburn, the multiple-term mayor of Lonaconing, said he is sympathetic to Crawford’s situation and that the town will offer moral support, but has no money to help. “It’s difficult for us to get involved when something is privately owned,” Coburn said.

Security, including cameras and alert neighbors, has helped maintain the integrity of the mill and its contents.

Although several old silk mills can be found in various parts of Japan, the mill in Lonaconing, officially called the Klots Throwing Mill, is the lone survivor in the United States.

Gusella and Sasaki wonder aloud why local officials as well as those at the state level can’t see the value of preserving and capitalizing on the old, three-level mill of 48,000 square feet.

“It’s going to take somebody or some agency to lead the charge and make this work,” Gusella said. “Once it happens, it will help the entire local economy. A rising tide floats all ships.”

Contact Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com..