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In about 1948 William Collie decided to retire and left his sons to manage the mill. His son James E. Collie took over management of the business and later William's grandson James S. Collie joined the business along with Ralph Brown, son-in-law of James E. Collie.The 1980s were tough financial years for the Collie Woolen Mills. Supplies such as poly-cottons and acrylic yarns were hard to get and the economy was moving towards overseas labour and production. In 1987 the company went into receivership and the Ontario Development Corporation became the legal owner in April 1987.
In August 1987, under new owners, the mill reopened as a numbered company, 724597 Ontario Limited, and operated under the name 'Appletex'. The mill continued to struggle financially. New investors came forward in 1989 injecting capital into the business however, in March 1992 all operations ceased and the premises were abandoned.
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This storyline was produced by the North Lanark Historical Society and the North Lanark Regional Museum in Appleton, Ontario (Town of Mississippi Mills). The majority of the research for this project was conducted at the North Lanark Regional Museum using the collection, archives, library and 2012 oral history interviews. The oral history interviews were part of the 2012 "Digitally Preserving the Past for the Future" project, funded by the Museums and Technology Fund through the support of the Government of Ontario, Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. These oral interviews are a great source of local history. Summaries of the interviews are available on our website and the full interviews can be viewed on-site at the museum.To learn more about the Collie Woollen Mills in Appleton please contact the staff or volunteers at the museum:
WEBSITE: www.northlanarkregionalmuseum.com
PHONE: 613-257-8503
EMAIL: appletonmuseum@hotmail
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