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John C Bernhardt Oral Interview. Oral Interview Abstract Interviewers: Dr. Philip L. Cantelon and Roy L Briggs Original 92 pages Note: The 1992 interview with John Christian Bernhardt provides a lively and detailed conversation about the evolution of the furniture industry and of Bernhardt Furniture (founded 1889). Especially interesting are sections that recount the early days of mass furniture manufacturing in North Carolina. The text also provides historical background. that explains the dramatic changes in furniture marketing and wholesale/ retail distribution over the first part of the 20' century. The AFHF makes the full text of oral interviews available to serious historians, by appointment only. This summary, made available to our general readership, outlines the topics, people and companies discussed in the interview SUMMARY Mr. Bernhardt starts by speaking of his early years in Lenoir, North Carolina's Caldwell County. He tells of the founding of the town of Lenoir and relates some memories of school and friends. He explains that his grandfather was one of the early settlers on a farm located in what is now downtown Lenoir. The first full time Presbyterian minister in the area, the elder Bernhardt was instrumental in the founding of both the town of Lenoir and Caldwell County (details provided). Education: John Christian Bernhardt attended Lenoir "Graded" school (grades I 11), though the actual school building wasn't completed until 1923, the year of his graduation. (Recounts memories of grade school and a personal story about moving to the new school building.) Bernhardt relates how he came to attend Davidson College, earning a degree in English Literature. He says that he always expected to enter his father's furniture and lumber business, but when the factory burned down in 1926 just prior to his graduation, he briefly considered becoming a teacher. In 1927, Fate, he says, embodied in the person of his father's brother, sent him to cut a tract of timber in the Smokey Mountains. Bernhardt said that he "didn't see anybody for about six months after that, including razor or a bath." (Details the logging process, transportation and sawmill operations). Three years later he liquidated the on site sawmill. Logs were then sent down river on barges for transport to a larger facility the family purchased along with a small private railroad to move the timber to the mill to be airdried. By that time, Bernhardt says, he had "accumulated enough timber and enough experience to start peddling it." He elaborates about his experience selling the (mostly chestnut) lumber to the many casket companies that populated the landscape. About that same time (1928), a number of furniture companies were built in the area. Each factory was separated by a distance of about 20 miles for reasons of transportation and lumber availability. Furniture Markets: Before there was a High Point show, Bernhard notes that the Grand Rapids, MI market was dominant. "Better quality or better styled furniture" was manufactured there and there were excellent supplies of timber in the northern Michigan peninsula. Quality furniture, he continues, was also made in the New England states by old, well know names such as Hitchcock chair, Nichols & Stone, Cushman and Heywood Wakefield. No regional markets ever took hold in New England, though one did develop in New York City that was not related to production. As a young man, Bernhardt remembers that his father (John Mathias Bernhardt) showed his furniture in Grand Rapids. At that time the family factory was small and the plant inexperienced. Showroom space in Grand Rapids was limited and showroom buildings often belonged to a local factory. He recalls two such buildings. Established companies, he refers to as "the aristocracy", built these showrooms, he says, "So people like my father were just sort of gypsies". At that time the Bernhardt factory made dining room chairs, and would line them up in a hallway. Later they leased a small space, twice each year. The Grand Rapids markets, he said, were grueling. "As a child my father would tell us good bye along about Christmas... and we didn't see him until about Groundhog Day." As the industry grew, Bernhardt's father started to rent loft space in Chicago near the 12 th Street Station and split his time between the Grand Rapids and Chicago showrooms. Chicago, he relates, was a "hub city". There was more space and more transportation, a big advantage. "Sometime prior to 1925," noted Bernhardt, "There was a fellow named Billy Wilson who I think had to be a furniture representative originally. He must have been one of the world's best salesmen.... He was able to get some investors interested to take the gamble to build that old American Furniture Mart, 666 Lake Shore Drive.... At the time it was built, it was the largest building in the world. Later Marshall Field built the Merchandise Mart and it became the largest." 666 Lake Shore Drive was ready for occupancy in 1925. Many manufacturers had stopped showing in Grand Rapids by then and Bernhardt was one of the first tenants. They were on the tenth floor, then moved to the 15th for about 15 years. Later they moved to the Merchandise Mart. "We got to needing more space," said Bernhardt, "Until we organized the rebellion and moved out of Chicago." The rebellion, he explains, was organized by 12 companies who met informally at places like Chicago's Drake Hotel. The companies decided that when their leases expired that they would build showrooms in the High Point area or convert factory space to showroom use. After that, buyers started going to what they called pre market in North Carolina. They would then attend the main market in Chicago. "And then gradually," he explains, "Chicago just faded out entirely and was all down here." He also mentions (later), that the first High Point shows in January and July were attended by "mom and pop dealers from two or three nearby states. Wholesalers: Prior to making chairs (before 1915 1920) the original Bernhardt factory made bedroom furniture in a "Golden Oak" finish of quarter sawn white oak from the "unlimited supply of timber just right in your back door, your species or whatever you wanted to do." In those days Bernhardt explains, "the main distribution was from the factory to a wholesaler to the retail dealer to the consumer. And one factory would make chairs and the other factory would make tables." Wholesalers were very important. They had their offices in major cities and hired representatives in outlying territories to call on furniture retailers. They would also bring retailers into larger cities to show them samples or pictures. A wholesaler would, for example, make deals with "different people for the component parts of a suite of furniture. Then he'd take a little paddle, a little finish paddle and send it to each of those people and they were supposed to match that." (He describes the downside of this system). Larger companies such as Drexel decided to expand their production to include chairs so they could offer a complete package to wholesalers. In the early days the Southern factories were thinly capitalized, but as they grew in expertise and became better financed over time, the wholesalers became less important. Better transportation and a shift in power to the retail side through buying syndicates also made the "middle man" less essential. Bernhard goes on to describe how his father got into the furniture business by making "box shocks". These were wooden boxes made of lower grade lumber (from the mill operation). Shooks were used for packing corn flakes. Additional Passages of Interest: Page 16: Discusses the relationship of the lumber business to his father's furniture factory. He explains how Bernhardt was a small operation and that the mill was a convenience for the factory, not a necessity. Page 18: Speaks about his father's early days and adventures as a federal Marshall and land surveyor. Page 19: Bernhardt tells of his early years working in his father's lumberyard and with the draft horses. He also describes his experience doing "piece work" rubbing the dining room chairs (at one to two cents per chair) about 1920. Page 20: Speaks of an experience selling a locomotive. Page 22: Discusses the effect of the post World War I recession that put many local factories out of business. During the Great Depression the factory ran full time even though it was tough to make sales. The company hired a big name sales manager at a salary of $10,000 or more. He sold a lot of furniture but at low prices. Bernhardt gives details of the motivations of the sales manager and how he worked. He then mentions effect of 1930s economy on local rural population and details steps the factory took when sales fell off in 1932 or 1933. Page 28: By 1958, he says, after his older brother passed away, Bernhardt made dining room furniture only. They made a decision to grow and then built an upholstery plant and also a case goods plant to produce bedroom furniture. He details the reasons why factory expansion and diversification were necessary. Page 29: Speaks about the barriers to entry for case goods producers and the relatively easy entry for upholstery manufacturers. This relationship, he says, is related to the relatively fixed supply of case goods and elastic supply of upholstered goods. Page 31: He describes his feelings about the necessity for hiring "the best man" to run the Bernhardt upholstery plant. Wesley Collins (hired to run the plant) and Elliott Wood are mentioned. Pages 34-38: Bernhardt discusses involvement in WW2 making airplane parts and in the WPA. Details are given of how local companies worked with the government bureaucracy. Page 38 -39: Discusses the traditional role of women in the furniture industry (sewing and upholstery) and the hiring of women after WW2. Page 41: Speaks of growth through acquisition and details of purchase of Highbriten. Page 47: Recounts his involvement in starting the Bernhardt retirement plan. The passage also looks at employee benefits and company policies as well as employee behavior concerning race relations earlier in the companies' history. Page 49: He continues with information on financing for expansion, attitudes toward debt and Bernhardt's banking history. A discussion of the early history of North Carolina trade/ barter is given. He speaks about his (maternal?) grandfather who founded the first bank in Lenoir a "typical, conservative, Anglo Saxon, mountain pioneer, squirrel hunting, financial institution." Page 51: Discusses banking during the Depression, speaks some more about Bernhardt's banking relationships, family history and banking during the Civil War (tells some personal stories). Page 55: Brief discussion of Bernhardt's pricing philosophy. Page 56: Revisits pension fund. Page 57: Bernhardt explains about corporate responsibility and its relationship to family owned businesses. Page 58: A brief look at religion, prohibition and corn whisky. Page 59: Personal family/ business history is covered in more detail. Includes a discussion of Wesley Collins and the upholstery division. Page 62: Speaks about working with buyers, social drinking and related issues. Page 63: Begins section on related business dealings, joint ventures (including a particle board plant). Details given on personal and situations of the people involved. Interview Part II: Page 2: Looks at some family connections. Page 5: Discuss community and philanthropic activities, Hospice of Caldwell County, etc. Page 10: Association with SFMC and winning of the Ryan Award. Page 12: Revisits joint ventures including a particleboard plant and glue factory. Page 17: Mentions OSHA and feelings about NAFTA. Page 20: Personal pastimes, travel experiences and his wife's book. Companies Mentioned: American Furniture Mart Individuals & Families Mentioned:
Elliott Wood |