William Raymond Holt, “Ray” as he was known, is
shown in the 1947 picture above operating the new cloth
press which had just been installed as part of the
$1,500,000 modernization program announced by Mr. Louis D.
deLoach, newly appointed Executive Vice President and
General Manager of the mills.
The press was capable of baling about twice as much cloth
per week as the old machine it replaced. Operated by
a hydraulic pump powered by a 20hp electric motor, the
press is capable of baling upward of 60 to 65 bales per
day containing some 100,000 yards of cloth. The cloth was
baled and shipped to the J. L. Stifel Co. headquarters in
Wheeling, W. V. for finishing and printing.
Ray, the son of Roland and Mae Gault Holt was a
native son of Glendale. Going to work in the mill at
early age, he worked himself up to being Supervisor of the
cloth room operations. He married another Glendale native,
Anna Thelma Reaves, the daughter of Joseph Malcom and
Stella Putman Reaves. They were the proud parents of two
children; a daughter, Harriet and a son, Roland M. Holt.
To my knowledge Ray and his family never lived outside of
Glendale until after he left Glendale when the mill was
merged with Indian Head Mills.
Ray and his family were members of the Glendale
United Methodist Church while living in Glendale and he
was a WW11 army veteran. Raymond’s obituary published in
the Spartanburg Herald and Journal stated that he had died
March 20, 1989 in the Spartanburg Regional Hospital. He
was 83 years of age. He had retired from Converse Mills in
Converse, South Carolina and was living on South Church
Street in Spartanburg at the time of his death. He was
survived by his wife and two children; Harriet H. Thompson
of Pacolet, South Carolina and Roland M. Holt Sr. of
Spartanburg; five grandchildren and five great
grandchildren.. Funeral services were held at the Glendale
United Methodist Church with interment in the Glendale
Cemetery.
Thelma Holt died May 4, 2001
at the age of 92. Living and working at Glendale
until the mill closed, she was then employed by
Arkwright Mills, Arkwright, South Carolina, from which
she retired. Though she had been a member of the
Glendale United Methodist Church some 70 years, she had
joined the Arkwright Baptist Church a few years before
her death. This writer had the pleasure of seeing her
there many times while I was serving as Interim Pastor
for the Church. Her obituary published in the
Spartanburg Herald and Journal on Sunday, May 6, listed
her daughter, Harriet Thompson and son, Roland M. Holt
Sr. along with five grandchildren and nine great
grandchildren as survivors. Funeral services were held
at Floyd’s Greenlawn Chapel with interment following in
the Glendale Cemetery. This writer considered Ray and
Thelma Holt dear friends for more than seventy years. No
one could have had and enjoyed better friends than Ray
and Thelma. I know, for they were my dear friends until
the end! They also had two fine children.
