504
COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES
176, R oyal Arcanum . Politically he is a sup porter of the Republican party. H e is one of the trustees of the present Berwick M ospiul board. C H A K I> E S C. B A R G E R, senior member of the firm o f Barger, Bains & Munn, p ivprietors of the Bloomsburg Hosiery M ills, was bom a l I’ hiladclphia, Pa.. Sept. 14, 18(13. o f Benjamin Barger.
- n»e jxatcmal greal-grandfathcr w as a res
ident o f Philadcljdtia, the fam ily being an old and rei>resenl.ativc one of the Slate. (ieorge iiargcr, the grandfather o f Charles C . B aig cr. w as also a resident o f I’hiladelphia, and early in life w as one of the watch men employe<l to call out the hours of the night. When the police force of the city w as organized he naturally lM.*came one o f its mem tors. and continue'] a useful citizen until his death, in 1874. H e w as the father o f two children, Beniamin and .Annie. Benjamin llargcr. son o f ('.eorgc Barger, and father o f C la rie s C. Barger, w as a native o f Phila'lclphia. where his energetic life was s)>cnt. For thirtv-five years he w as with the firni o f Cliarles M cN eal 9c Co., giving most faithful scrx'icc. T h e death o f this excellent man occurred in 1905. Benjam in lU rpcr m ar ried Cordelia Streeter, and their 'ihildren w ere; G eoige. David. Charles C.. Louis, Cor delia. W illiam and M a iw re t. C harles C . B a ig e r affonls in his career a splcndi'l examjilc o f what a man can accom plish through str.idy, faithful and persistent effort. When still a lad he secured employ ment in a hosiery mill. an«l he has continued to w ork along this line ever since, concentrat ing all his energies towards advancement therein. H is first employer was a man by the name o f Thom as Brown, and when Mr. Barger left him he went into other Philadel phia hosiery mills, learning the business so thoroughly that when he embarkc'l in business fo r him self, in A pril. u/>2. he was able to do so IntcHigently and successfully. In KJ04 Mr. B arger took Edw ard B.iins into partnership, .m'l they ojieratcd under the firm name o f B arger & Bains until two years later, when the present firm was oiganize«l. F . W. Munn becoming the junior member. T he main office of the mills is at .-Vdains and Jasp er streets. Philadelphia. In Ju ly . 1906. M r. B arger came to Blooms burg and built his present plant there, which has been materially enlargc<l since. When he began operations in Philadelphia he had only ten machines, whereas 350 arc in operation
now in the plants in which he is interesiol ciiiployinent being gix cn to 150 workers. The output of the firm comprises infants’, ladies’ and to y s ’ hosiery. T he Bloomsburg plant b housed in a brick building containing .iboat five thousand square feet o f fioor space, and the annual output is 200.000 dozen pairs of in fants’ hose, the Philadelphia plant manufac turing the ladies’ hosiery. In A p ril. 19 14 . Mr. B arger started work on the construction o f a plant at NescojwcL Pa., which was opened Ju ly 15. It is equipped with 150 machines and gives employment to seventy-live [>eo]>le, engaged in the piwluction a heavy stocking fo r toys. The total daily outjiut of the three mills at present is seventeen hundred dozen jiairs. M r. Barger is general man.igcr o f all the mills and vice president of the company, and he is ably as sisted by his son Paul, who has dcvelope'l rcnarkable fitness for the (>osition. M r. B arger m arried Catherine I-audwhcre. a daughter o f Jonathan Paul lau d w h ere. and they have the following children; Conlelia. who n arric d (icorgc Robbins: J . l^ u l. who is employed with his fa th e r; Elsie, who is a stu dent at the State Normal .School: and Rosk. In 1 9 1 1 Mr. Barger built the toautiful resi dence at Bloomsburg which is now the family home. Me and his fam ily arc Methodists in religious faith. W hile it is the aim of the firm to priHlucc the tost quality o f hosiery manufacturixl. Mr. Barger takes an equal amount o f pride in ito sanitary condition o f his plants. In equip ping them he has given special attention to furnishing a'lequate sanitation and is always ready to adopt new methods i f certain they will further his idc.as along these lines. The l(Kal mill affords employment to a numtor of families o f Bloomsburg. and the industry is an imjiortant one in Columbia county. J 0 . E P H G . S W A N K, farm er, and ex8 county commissioner o f Columbia county, rcsiiling in Mifflin township, was to m at Lime K i'lgc. Pa.. N ov. 2. 1844. son o f Jolm and Caroline (K irk en d all) Swank. Cteorge Sw ank, grandfather o f Joseph (ISw ank, w as to m in N ew Jerse y, where he was a farm er 'luring his younger days. Comii^ to Columbia county. Pa., he settled at Lime Kidge, where he engaged in the lime busines.s. and later he moved to Hetlers'ille. where he died. John Sw ank, son o f George Swank .and father o f Joseph (V Sw ank, w as bom in New Jerse y, whence he came to Lim e Ridge with
