The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1955-09-29
New Industries
Are Suggested

Route #3, Box 141
Connellsville, Pa.
September &c, 1855
Editor, The Republican
Oakland, Maryland
| Dear Sir:
For years a great deal of concern
has been expressed from time to
time about the vital need for adj
ditional industry in Garrett County
and when | say additional, |
mean something besides timber
work, mines, and farming.
In the area in which | now live,
this same need has made itself
, pressingly manifest in the past
decade. Connellsville once was the
coke center of the world. Mines
hummed with activity and beehive
coke ovens blazed day and night.
That time has passed-foreVer.
Many mines are worked out Others
are on their last legs of productive
ty A giant employment problem
has been developing here for a
long time. The entire county needs
new industry to take the place of
abandoned mines. Gradually, some
thing is being done to overcome the
deficiency in jobs. An Industrial
Development Commission has been
set up. County and town business
men and Chambers of Commerce
are working to bring in new facto-
ries. Garrett County could benefit
from such planning. Here's why.
A new factory to produce live
stock feed is going up in Everson,
four miles from ConnellSville. Out
put will be 500 tons daily. 1t will
employ a hundred or so men. This
sort of thing would be tailor-made
for Oakland. There's railroad
there and, since the feed mill will
depend to some extent on supply
of local grain, farmers throughout
the county would benefit. The
mayor and town council of Ever
son mo larger than Oakland) went
after the factory with rolled-up
sleeves. A site was provided, along
with an attractive loW-taX agree
ment. | can't see why Oakland
wouldn't be much better location
There's large plywood or
laminated wood products plant 60
ing up here too And, not far away,
new Westinghouse plant which
will employ 500 A new plant
twenty miles from ConnellSville
will make WindshieldS for older
cars-those out of the Wrap-around
class. Another new plant three
miles from Connellsville will make
all types of nails, screws, brads,
bolts, etc. Still another, right in
ConnellSville, will make uniforms
and trousers and other wearing
these would be good for Oakland
Or, perhaps lime and lime prod
uctS outfit could be attracted to
the area-a really big-time pro-
Queer. Garrett has some of the best
limestone
Right now, attracting new in
dustries is sort of a competitive
thing. West Virginia is working at
it; so are many sections of Penn
sylVania. The right men contracting
the right people can do a lot-nO
miracles, of course. Just plain
reasoning and pointing up of favor
able factS-location materials sup
ply, etc. If railway service wouldn't
fully fill a firms need, Oakland
isn't far from coaSt-to-coast Route
40, and the much-traveled Route So
1t actually isn't remote and hem
med in as many people seem to
think, and trailer trucks can move
mountains today
While many state and local of
ficials are working outside the
Garrett perimeter to latch onto
resident sustaining industry, it
might be a good time for Garrett
to put on a good stiff campaign in
a like direction.
Sincerely,
Wilbert N. Savage