Introduced By: Representatives Kennedy, Watson and Martineau
Date Introduced : June 24, 1999
Referred To: Read and passed
WHEREAS, Founded by Captain Lester Crandall in 1824, Ashaway Line & Twine Manufacturing Company is celebrating its 175th Anniversary. Today, run by direct descendants of Captain Lester Crandall, the company is still in the same business of making high-quality specialty line, and is the only United States Racket String Maker. Their products range from racket strings for tennis to the balance cords that hold window sashes in their frames; and
WHEREAS, As President of Ashaway Line & Twine Manufacturing Company, Kathryn C. "Casey" Crandall, a sixth generation descendent of Captain Crandall, is carrying on the tradition of developing new technologies to satisfy particular niche market requirements for high-quality line; and
WHEREAS, Identified by {ADD Family Business Magazine ADD} as the oldest enterprise in Rhode Island that has been under the uninterrupted control of a single family since its inception, Ashaway Line & Twine Manufacturing company's 175 year history qualifies it as one of the oldest in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Many a U.S. airman during World War II unlucky enough to find himself downed at sea was given hope by the presence of an Ashaway-made Emergency fishing Kit in his lifecraft's survival gear. Ashaway fishing lines developed a worldwide reputation for quality and enabled fishing connoisseurs of all ages to hook many of the giant denizens of the Seven Seas. The company's fly-fishing lines were so famous that the Crandall family counted among its fishing buddies such names as Western writer Zane Grey, and baseball great Ted Williams. Ashaway no longer makes its own brand of fly line, but it is a key vendor to some of the largest names in the fly-fishing business; and
WHEREAS, Ashaway Line & Twine Manufacturing Company was also the first to manufacture racket strings made from Du Pont's bulletproof Kevlar fiber, and in 1999 is offering the first racket strings made from Celanese Acetate's Vectran fiber; and
WHEREAS, Ashaway Line & Twine, while managing to maintain a balance between the desire to preserve their rich history and the need to constantly innovate technologically, is not only a Rhode Island tradition but an American one as well; and
WHEREAS, The Line & Twine, remains at heart a small family business in the traditional New England mold, and its mill on the rustic Ashawog River is the major landmark in the quaint village of Ashaway. Working alongside Casey, the President, is her brother Steven, as Vice President of Sales & Marketing, and sister Wendy, as Vice President of Manufacturing. The company's Chairman and past president is Pamela Crandall, mother to Casey, Steven and Wendy, and a major proponent of keeping the company family owned and operated; now therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations hereby offers its sincerest congratulations upon the 175th anniversary of Ashaway Line & Twine Manufacturing company; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Crandall Family.
