Stillwater Memoriesof Ruth M. (Jeffrey) Cook

World War I had ended and my father Arthur E. Jeffrey returned to Methuen, MA and soon got a job in the mills of Lawrence, MA. Work was slack there. He met some friends who were moving to Harrisville, RI to work at Stillwater for Mr. Levy. He and our mother decided to move. It was in the early 1920’s.

After getting settled in Pascoag, Dad soon got a job in Harrisville as a Dresser Tender. He appreciated the steady work and pleasant conditions of the mill. He ended up also working in Greenville and Mapleville mills. I remember he would tell us that Mr. Levy came to visit the area where he worked— he would take his jacket off, roll up his sleeves and work right along with his help. Dad respected him for that.

Mr. Levy brought a trio of men into town in 1921— one a virtuoso violinist, a cellist and Mr. Rihm, a pianist. They formed a Harrisville Glee Club. Dad joined and was soon singing in the operettas in the Assembly [Theater].

We were excited a new idea was taking place and each worker would get a 2-week vacation with four weeks pay. This was unheard of. We liked the idea, as a summer vacation was new to us. Our Mum checked the ads in The [Woonsocket] Call [newspaper] and as a result, one year we stayed at Lang Meadow on the Bay; another year, Button Woods— both on Narragansett Bay thanks to Mr. Levy.

One night Dad came home all excited. As we listened seated around our kitchen table that day in 1944 we heard the story about Edward, Duke of Windsor. He had made a tour of the mill and Dad had shook his hand. Imagine what that meant to this English family, especially Mum who was born in England.

After my sister and I graduated from high school in the mid-‘40s, we worked in the main office in Harrisville. Some terms we had heard for years such as warp, slasher, wool and combing all took on a new meaning to us. We were now a complete Stillwater Family.

— Ruth Jeffrey Cook
October 7, 2006



Uncle Wilbert's Bar-b-cue roast in full swing. Held every Thursday in the boiler room at No. 2 Mapleville. (The Stillwater News, Vol. IX, No. 6, December 15, 1951, page 36.)

Top, left to right: Eileen Latondresse (roasting a "dawg"), Henry Lillibridge, Norman Ducharme, Arthur Jeffrey, Willard Colwell, Joe Pout, and Bill Steere.

Bottom, left to right: Bill Steere, Arthur Jeffrey, Dorothy Courtemanche, Mildred Fasteson, Joe Pout, Louis Trinque.