Welcome to one of Michigan's Oldest Traditions! It all began in 1936 in the midst of the "worst winter in years." The whole country suffered in the grip of heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures. A New York feature writer bemoaned the "fact" that, "Here we are in the midst of an old-fashioned winter and there are no red flannels in the USA to go with it."
The local newspaper, The Cedar Springs
Clipper, owned and edited by "The Clipper Gals" Nina Babcock and Grace
Hamilton, answered the writer with the RED HOT editorial stating: " Just because
Sak's Fifth Avenue does not carry red flannels, it doesn't follow that no one in
the country does. CEDAR SPRINGS' merchants have red flannels". The story was
picked up by the Associated Press and orders began pouring in from all over the
USA!
1949 saw the true start of the red flannel
manufacturing with Mae Oppeneer stitching undies in her home and in 1952, the
business became known as the Francis Lee Red Flannel Factory. Soon, the business
grew into an industry, underwear was now being stitched on machines at the Cedar
Springs Red Flannel Factory.
Sadly, the factory suffered some setbacks over the
years and in 1994 closed with the headlines predicting "No red flannels in '95".
However, local business women kept red flannel production going in Cedar Springs
because they believed that red flannels were just too important to fade away.
Through the efforts of seventeen seamstresses, family, and friends, there were
red flannels not only in '95 but every year since.
In 2007, the company was purchased by one of the
seamstresses in an effort to keep the red flannel spirit alive. The company will
be called the Red Flannel Factory once more. With wholesale and internet tools,
Red Flannel Factory, LLC hopes to cover the world in red flannels!
Thanks for shopping with us!
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