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Dorothy Copus Brush Flannel has Nina and Grace to thank Our recent weather brought the long johns
out of storage. Nothing helps fight the chills of low, low winter
temperatures better than long johns, especially if they are red
flannel. And therein lies the tale of two women responsible for
making a small Michigan town the Red Flannel Town of the country. Nina Babcock was a native of Missouri, and
Grace Hamilton was born in New York state. They met in New York
City where they both wrote for magazines and became close friends.
The year was 1932, and the Great Depression was in full swing.
The two women learned about a weekly newspaper in Cedar Springs,
MI, that was for sale and they became owners of the Cedar Springs
Clipper. It wasn't long until they were known as the
Clipper Girls. Nina was the editor, and Grace the business manager.
The work was dull and matched the woebegone spirits of the Depression
era. During the winter of 1936 the snow was deep and the temperatures
cold. Then one day the women read a feature in the New York Sun
newspaper bemoaning the fact there were no red flannels left
in the entire 48 states. "Not true," said the Clipper Girls
because they knew their local dry goods store sold red flannels
to the hunters who came annually. Editor Nina sent off an editorial
to the Sun saying, "Just because Saks Avenue or Bergdorf
Goodman do not carry red flannels, it doesn't follow that no
one in the country does. We've got red flannels in Cedar Springs!"
That editorial was picked up on the wire services and was carried
across the nation. Orders began pouring in, and by 1938 the factory
was swamped. At that time the plant had only three seamstresses
working to keep up with the demand. Such a response convinced
the Clipper Girls they had hit on a good thing and in 1939, just
before hunting season, they introduced Red Flannel Day in "Cedar
Springs, the Red Flannel Town." That first celebration featured a Red Flannel
Queen, a parade with horse-drawn floats, and the Clipper Girls
rode bicycles. After that success a Red Flannel Club was organized
to promote tourism and resort business, and the Cedar Springs
Clipper published all the news of the activities. From that humble, really accidental beginning,
the town of Cedar Springs was no longer just a small dot 15 miles
north of Grand Rapids, MI. It had its own unique identity with
red flannel underwear. As for the Red Flannel Factory it grew
and grew and was known as makers of the finest quality drop-seat
long johns for more than a half century. More than 90 employees are involved in the
process of turning each roll of red flannel about 500 yards long
into not only long johns but flapless union suits, sleepwear,
sportswear and college logo boxer shorts. Every year on the first weekend in October
more than 30,000 visitors gather in Cedar Springs for the Red
Flannel Festival. They are greeted by red plywood long johns
hanging from lamp posts on Main St. In the taverns they can order
"red flannel cocktails" made of vodka and cranberry
juice. Former Grand Rapids Congressman and later President Gerald
R. Ford was always in attendance at the festival when his schedule
allowed. The Clipper Girls who put Cedar Springs' red flannels on the nation's map sold the newspaper in 1955 but remained active in other businesses until their deaths. |