Page 81 - MOST RECENT

A feature of the tobacco business at Kernersville,
now almost forgotten, was the two tobacco warehouses
for the auction sale of leaf tobacco. One was the Amer-
ican Warehouse which stood at the present location of
Vance-Ballard Coal Co. This warehouse was partly de-
stroyed in the cyclone of 1893. The other warehouse
was built in the early 1880's by Mr. Henry C. Edwards,
grandfather of Clarence, James, Charles and Carolyn A leading store in the community was L. F . Davis & Son, established
in 1885. In 1919 the store was gutted by fire, but was rebuilt within the
Edwards. It is used today as a fertilizer warehouse by same walls. It stands today as the W . C. Stafford Store building. Mr.
Grant D avis (Mr. L. F. Davis' son) was the father of Mrs. Carrie Whitaker.
Greenfield Farm and Garden Store. The ancient hand
In the year 1905, Mr. W. C. Stafford and Mr. L. E. Griffith bought
hewn, peg and mortice framework still holds up. The the stock of merchandise from Mr. T . J. Willis and operated a store under
the name of Stafford and Griffith until the year 1914 when Mr. Griffith
man who moved the warehouse several years ago re- died. F rom that time until 1934, Mr. Stafford operated the store under the
name W . C. Stafford, Dealer in General Merchandise. From 1934 to 1953,
marked, "You could turn that building over and it the store was operated for the family by Miss E ugenia Stafford and Mrs.
Boyd L. Stafford. In 1953 the stock of merchandise became the property
wouldn't come apart." These warehouses were equipped of Mrs. Boyd L. Stafford and is now operated under the name of The W. C.
StaDord Store.
with bells and when the farmers would bring in their to-
bacco the bells were rung and the factory owners would
assemble to bid on the tobacco.
The L. F. Davis & Son general merchandise store
was located in a substantial brick building constructed
around 1885. It stood on the west side of North Main
Street. We are especially interested, however, in Mr.
Davis and his son, E. Grant Davis as pioneer manu-
facturers. They established the first permanent knitting
mill on Bodenhamer Street.. This was an event of great
significance for it ushered in the important knitting mill
industry to Kernersville.
The manufacture of plug and chewing tobacco
faced hard times about the turn of the century. Com-
petition of large companies and changing habits of con-
sumers brought financial problems. Following the estab-
lishment of the L. F. Davis & Son knitting 11).ill all of the
tobacco factories converted to knitting mills, their prod-
Kernersville Electric Co. Inc. was started by Moir H . Whicker in
uct mostly being men's half hose. Besides the Davis March 1953, presently located at 231 North Main Street.
Mill the following mills changed over to knitting oper-
ations: Kerner Brothers, W. H. Leak & Co., W. A. Low-
ery & Son, and J. M Greenfield. This made a total of
five knitting mills at this period. The Davis mill was
later sold to Adams-Millis and it is felt that the opera-
tion of the mills just referred to helped lay the founda-
tion of the important textile industry in our town today.
Later industries such as Vance Mills, Adams-Millis, Burl-
ington Mills, Crawford Mills and Randolph Mills found
trained workers to carry on their operations.
A business enterprise which has left a lasting im-
pression on the community can only be described as
unique. This was the Reuben Rink Decorating Company,
founded by Jule Komer, who was assisted by his younger
brother, Henry C. Korner, also known as "Little Reuben

Dr. Kenneth A. McCorkindale, Chiropractor, opened his first office in
Kernersville in the Carello Building July 29, 1951. He later bought the
Bobby Fulp home. With his wife, Naomi, a photographer, he moved his
office and residence to this location in 1957. They have a daughter, Chris-
tine. Dr. McCorkindale has a son, Douglass James McCorkindale.

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