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Wm. J. Mills & Co.
1.800.477.1535 (In the US) 1.631.477.1500 (International) Website: http://www.MillsCanvas.com |
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The First Mills Canvas Bag |
| This is the story of how the first canvas bag was made by Wm. J. Mills & Co.
I was ten years old and had just gotten my first job as a newspaper delivery boy for news store owned by a Mr. Ging. The year was 1951. I used my bicycle to deliver the papers. The bag that was supplied to us was flimsy, designed to be slung over the shoulder, and quite awkward to attach to the handlebars of a bike. It was also subject to getting soaked in the rain and gave little protection for the papers. I complained to my father and told him what I thought would be a better bag. I hoped he might know where I could find one. He brought me to Wm. J. Mills & Co., which at the time was located on the southwest corner of Front and Main streets. My father introduced me to a Mr. Mills. Which of the Mills it was I have no idea. He was fairly elderly and very friendly. My father outlined what I had in mind, but Mr. Mills had no such bag available. He suggested that he could make one if I could tell him what I wanted. Mr. Mills listened intently to my specifications: My bag had to be made of very sturdy, somewhat stiff, canvas with stitching that would not unravel. It had to not allow rain to soak through to the papers. It had to be the dimensions to hold about fifty newspapers standing on edge, spine up flat and unfolded. The straps were not to be sewn into the top of the bag because they would not hold up under heavy load. They were to wrap around the whole outside of the bag. It has to have two straps so that it could be carried by hand and placed on my bicycle. The straps had to fit snuggly over the handlebars in such a way that the bag would sit lightly on the front fender but not with great weight. The straps were to bear the weight. Inside the bag, a flap the width and depth of the bag was to be sewn so that it would lie flat against the inside of the bag. This flap was to be sewn on the front inside of the bag on the side away from me. It has to be easy to pull the flap out, toward me, and across the top when the bag was full and when it started to rain. Also inside the bag, on the side facing me was to be a pocket about eight by six inches so in which I could keep my money on collection day. During all of this I felt quite self-conscious by my being so serious with this gentleman who made sails for ocean going ships and expecting him to accept my meager little job. To all of this Mr. Mills listened very seriously and he assured me that he could make this bag to my specifications. His charge would be five dollars. I agreed. A week or so later, I was called to pick up the bag. It was exactly what I had intended it to be. I was delighted. That bag served me very well on my morning paper route. A couple of years later, I also took on an afternoon route for Newsday. That bag survived twice daily delivery of papers into my high school years. My papers never got wet. It outlived my bicycle. When I finally gave up newspaper delivery, it was just an old unneeded tool and was put by the wayside. I do not know what ever happened to it. On day, quite a while later, I saw very similar bags on display in the window of the store on Front and Main. The most identifiable attribute was the outside wrapped straps. Years later I saw similar bags for sale by L.L. Bean. Wow, I thought, I invented those! Once on reminiscing with my father about that bag me that after I had gotten Mr. Mills to make my bag, Mr. Mills had told him how tickled he was that a ten year old boy was so specific and sure of what he wanted. He was so tickled, he said, he would have done it for nothing but that would not be a good lesson for a boy. He was a wise man indeed. Although I did not make the bag, my mind and my labor were directly responsible for it and I was proud of it. Knowing my feeling for Mr. Mills, my father made it point to call me when Mr. Mills had passed away. Although I do not remember ever seeing him again in all those years, I felt I had lost a friend and the world a great artist. Every bit of this story is true except that I do not know as a fact that my bag actually did influence the creation of what today is commonly known as a tote bag but I do know that the first Mills canvas bag never showed up in a window or on a website. It showed up on the front of my bicycle. D. M. Coral Springs FL December 24, 2004 |
| Canvas makes it better, and Mills makes it best. Since 1880--serving you today! |
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