Joyce Harmon Garner
Joyce Harmon Garner grew up in Pacolet Mills and lived on
Milliken Street. Joyce graduated from Pacolet High School in 1971.
Joyce has many fond memories of her childhood in Pacolet
Mills. She remembers being able to hear the juke box at
the swimming pool at
her house on Milliken St. She also remembers the chain
gang working in the area with their striped uniforms and
chains.
Joyce’s mother is Virginia Henderson Harmon. She worked
at Pacolet Mills for over 25 years. She was working in
the main office when she left to work for the state. She
retired from the state some years later. Both Virginia
and her sister, Pearl Henderson McIntyre, remember
riding the Pacolet Textile Bus to work in the mill when
they were just out of high school. The bus traveled
throughout the area to carry people to and from work.
See photo below. When the photo was made, both the
sisters were still "Hendersons". Virginia still lives in
Pacolet. Pearl and her family lived in Fair Haven,
New York. She recently passed away in February, 2012.
Joyce’s Aunt Pearl was pleased when she was able to show
her Pacolet High School Class of 1944 photo to her
family which live in New York. The picture is on the
Pacolet Memories Website at Class
of 1944.
Joyce’s father was William Earl Harmon (July 14, 1925-
July 16, 2006). He worked for Pacolet Mills for a number
of years as a loom fixer. He also was a training
instructor for employee classes that were held in the Girl’s Club. William
obtained at least one patent, and maybe two, when he was
working for Milliken. (This was a rare event.) When the
Timken Bearing Company came to Gaffney, William left the
mill to work there. He was the third person hired by
Timken and retired from there. There is a possibility
that he also received a patent while at Timken.
As a young man, William played on the Pacolet Mills Baseball Team.
He remembered before the roads in Pacolet Mills were
paved. We don’t notice it today but there is a
considerable incline on many of the Pacolet Mills
Streets. William remembered that some of the early cars
would go backwards up the hills because they had more
power that way.
When William Harmon and Virginia Henderson were first
married they lived in the Pacolet
Mills Hotel.
Joyce is married to Rick Garner who is employed by
Timken. Rick’s Aunt, Thelma Brown, is in her 90’s. She
can remember when she and her sister rode a horse to
work in the mill. There was a stall at the mill where
her horse was kept.
Joyce worked at Timken for 37 years. Now, she is going
back to school to try a new career.
Joyce has given us a picture of a group of mill
employees that was taken about August, 1952. An article
using this photo was in the Pacolet
Neigh of that month but the people were not named.
Some few of these folks have been identified, including
Joyce's Mom and Dad, but most have not. If you know any
of the people in this picture, please let us know. (One
of the women that is identified was my maternal
grandmother, Mattie Brown Fowler.) See the picture at 1952 Pacolet Mills Group.
This picture will open in the Adobe Reader that will
allow you to zoom in and see the individuals.
This web site has
been started as a public service to share the story of
Pacolet.