2 minute read
Publisher’s Note
from CCR Issue 7
PUBLISHER
PUBLISHER’S PAGE by David Corson
Why the ‘old days’ are still the best
Recently, my sister’s boyfriend was on a jobsite providing quotes for an older lady for vegetation control at her home on Long Island, New York. After using the little boys room, something caught his eye as he was heading back to the job. In the back of the house sat an old upholstered chair. It stopped him in his tracks.
The tag on the old chair with the seat cushion lifted up said Crestline Furniture, a division of Corson Furniture Industries. The chair, which could have been 60 years old, looked brand new. My sister and her boyfriend have known each other forever, so he knew our family was in the furniture business (before it was attacked by overseas manufacturing) My Grandfather, Nat Corson, started the firm in 1956. After unexpectedly dying from a heart attack in 1967, my father and his youngest brother were afforded the opportunity to purchase the firm. In their early 20s, it was a great way to learn on the job. They worked their tails off in a very competitive upholstery industry, eventually becoming one of the largest privately held furniture companies in the country back in the late ’70s. With 1,500 employees, executive offices in Great Neck, New Jersey, and its main base in Valdese, North Carolina, they had plants all over the South. The company consisted of three divisions: Crestline Division, which manufactured country and early American upholstered furniture; the Hickory Hill Division, which produced traditional upholstered furniture; and the Pinehurst Division, which made contemporary upholstered furniture. As I have written about before, my father passed away in a plane crash on Jan. 7, 1978, while coming to see me play an ice hockey game against a rival Prep School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. My uncle decided to carry the Corson torch from there. At the time, the company was booming—a shame that my father was not able to see what it would become. In business, there are hindrances you cannot control. Due to the mid-’80s recession, inflation and US manufacturing outsourcing to offshore countries, the furniture industry was turned upside down. Like many businesses in the USA in various sectors, it simply could not compete with the low ball offshore pricing and eventually had to close its doors. What makes this chair so special is that it showed how great USA manufacturing was back in the day—the chair is still standing. My sister’s boyfriend said it looked awesome
due to high quality materials, superior craftsmanship and pride behind the logo. Unlike today, where products are built to break and be replaced, and there are few lifetime warranties, furniture today just does not hold the same quality. It turns out, my sister’s boyfriend is in the process of purchasing the chair from the lady so that they can have a piece of family history. It really makes me think of my father who we we still miss every day. As we enter the last quarter of 2021, we wish you a great finish to the year. Here’s to safe travels, good health and happy holidays ahead. As always, keep the faith.
