The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1894-04-27
Hartford County Enterprise.
TORY.



A Hartford county enterprise which has grown
from small beginning to considerable proper
tions is the J. c. Hollingsworth Wheel Factory,
on Winters Run, in Abingdon district, So miles
from Bel Air and miles from Emmorton.
This establishment gives employment to 20 or
80 hands, is supplied with various kinds of
labor-saSing machinery and has capacity for
turning out 200 sets of wheels complete in
week.
The head and founder of the firm is Mr.. Joel
c. Hollingsworth. Forty-four years ago, with
a poorly reconstructed mill dam and u lathe he
engaged i'll turning out wooden bucket and
grain measure handles, which were sold in Bal
timore. Six or seven years afterwards he be-
gan making carriage and wagon spokes, for
which he found ready sale The business
grew and prospered and in 1S1Ohe built a new
mill, equipping it with improved machinery.
The enterprise continued to grow rapidly and
he has since been compelled to enlarge the fac
tory four successive times, until it is now three
stories in height, covering space % by ~
feet, and contains every kind of improved
machinery needed in the construction of
wheels.
In 1887 the present company was mcorpor-
ated as The j. c. Hollingsworth Wheel Com
pany, the firm consisting of Mr.; Hollingsworth
and his two sons. Mr.. Joel c. Hollngsworth is
President Mr.. Barclay E. HollingSworth Sec
rotary and Treasurer, and Mr.. Harry j. Hol-
lingsworth General Manager.
The wheels made by this firm have Il deserved
ly high reputation among carriage builders, and
the secret of their excellence is the fact that
every piece of wood used is dried perfectly and
kept dry from the time it is first received i'll the
factory until it takes its place in the finished
wheel.
The hub blocks, which are of elm and gum, are
brought by the carload from the West. Gum
| is considered the best, but good gum being diff
| ticult to obtain, elm is more generally used.
These blocks are thoroughly kindred and
after being turned into the shape of cylinders
of various sizes, for different kinds of vehicles,
are carefully assorted, all imperfect ones being
rejected. They are then stored in Il warm dry
place and when needed are turned in Il lathe to
| the requisite shapes and again assorted and
stored in drying room.
The rims which are of the best hickory, are
obtained from the Eastern States, already bent,
and these, also, are first subjected to gentle
heat in dry room and when 'annealed, as
l il is called. to prevent warping or splitting,
are thoroughly dried and kept in that condi-
ton.
| free from knots, are obtained III the rough,
some of them from this county and many of
| th.m from Howard county. The pieces are
cut IS inches i'll length and about two inches
square. These are also dried before being
turned into shape, and at no time, from the
moment they enter the drying room until they
| are ready to be placed in the hubs are they per
mtted TO absorb moisture. Steam pipes sur
round them, even, mt the turning-lathe and
when about to be driven into the hubs. There
are now in the spoke-yard about 100000
spokes some of which have been on hand five
or six years and are therefore thoroughly sea-
soned. Many spokes are condemned, from
cracking, the wood having been cut i'll the
wrong season. The proper time to cut them is
from the first of August until hard, freezing
| weather begins. If cut in the summer they
will crack in drying If cut in the depth of
winter the conversion of the sap into sugar
renders them to prey TO worms, which ruin
| them before they are ready to be used. The
the factory. The finished wheels are readily
sold in Baltimore. Washington, Wilmington,
Philadelphia and Western Pennsylvania.
Wheels are made for vehicles of all kinds,
from the skeleton wagon of the race-track to
the heaviest farm wagon.
The machinery is all run by water power,
supplied by a turbine wheel Of 80 horse power.
There is, besides, boiler of 80 horse power
which supplies heat for the workshops and dry
! ing rooms, the latter being kept at u temporal
ture of about 100 degrees.
| Wheel postoffce is situated at this place, Mr..
H. J. Hollingsworth being the postmaster. AL
together, the j. C. Hollingsworth Wheel Fac
tory is one of the most extensive of its kind,
and by furnishing constant employment to
large number of men has been blessing to
the neighborhood.
Mr.. Nathaniel Holingsworth, brother of Mr.
Joel C. Hollingsworth, also has large grist
mill at the Raf f6 sae water ga Ss
been constructed with a view to the introduce
tion of the roller process, but the machinery
has not yet been put in.
Altogether, Wheel presents thriving, ami
mated appearance and the large business con-
Quoted there is credtable to the industry, en-
terprise and energy of Mr.. Hollingsworth
and his sons.
ARBOR DAY.
The following accounts of Arbor Day exer-
cises arrived too late for publication last week:
LA GRANGE SCHOOL.
| At La Grange school, in charge of Miss
Clara V. Stonebraker, the programme includ-
ed the following: ''Song of Arbor Day." by
third grade 'Arbor Day Queen" by first and
second grades recitations by James Rampley,
Edgar GLADDEN., Willie GLADDEN., Hattie Glad
den, Raymond Watkins and Jerry Murphy :;
''The Blue Birds Song" by the second grade :;
| ''Tall Oaks by first grade; Talking Trees"
Charlie Rutledge, Leon GLADDEN., Sadie NJ.
STREET., Archie Vckers, Ida Hopkins, Bertram
GLADDEN. and Archer Blaney; "Arbor Day
Lesson" by school "Forest Hymn, " by fourth
and fifth grades. Several fruit trees were
| named and planted.
PROSPECT HILL.
The weather did not permit tree planting,
but the indoor exercises were very enjoyable.
The school room was tastefully decorated
with green branches and arbutus and draped
with the national colors
Lack of space does not permit giving the
programme in full, but it can be truly said
that the literary exercises, consisting of read
ings, rectations, dialogues and songs, which
had been carefully prepared under the super
vision of the teachers Miss g. Lorine Smith
and Miss Alice &. Butcher, were well rendered
and thoroughly enjoyed. Among the pupils
taking part were Clara Osborn, Ida Kroh,
Annie Hatch, Dora Longer, Dora Disher,
Alice knellinger, Lucreta Skillman, Julia
Medinger, Willie Knellinger and Walter Mil
ler