In this line of work Iāve gained a sense of duty to be a protecter of history, whether that be in the form of repairing war-torn garments, digging up artifacts from times-past or reworking discarded objects into something of utility.
To most people this is just a picture of a dirty old work apron, but it happens to be one of the few pieces in our shop that I wonāt sell. Thereās always a shred of regret when a rare piece of Americana is sent overseas but feeling is compounded if itās a piece that has a local connection. This apron is as local as it gets.
112 S Edwards St. is literally a stoneās throw from our storefront. I could hit the large teal building (which is now an embroidery/screen-printing company) with a rock from the roof of our shop.
A web-search for āNewberg Lumber Yardā comes up with nothing but a few ad placement from the ā50s in an archive of the local college newspaper. I might be able to find information about the company at Newberg City Hall but as far as I know, this apron may be the last standing piece of hard evidence of the companies existence.
Ironically, this piece was spotted in an Instagram post by @buttersworth_vintage_company in Devon, England and Holly was gracious enough to work with me to get it back home to Newberg, Oregonā¦ and for that gesture I will be eternally grateful. (at Velour)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CjLuv00PBYh/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
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