Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 240, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 October 1912 — CENTER OF DRUM INDUSTRY [ARTICLE]

CENTER OF DRUM INDUSTRY

Massachusetts Town From Which Instruments Are Turned Out by Hundred Thousand Yearly. The town of Granville, Mass., sends out nearly half a million toy druses every year. It is no wonder that Granville lads, however soldierly, care nothing about drums, for thtey are toe old a story. As in other businesses, there is a constant demand for new models and designs, and a popular drum of today may find no sale tomorrow. A unique drum made a number of years ago has never been duplicated. It was made for advertising purposes, and the hoops were eight feet in dlameterT - A search was made all about Granville for the biggest cattle, and'a whole hide was used for a head Before the drum was put together a horse was driven through the barrel, so that an idea of its size can be obtained. The "drumsticks’’ were small telegraph poles.” The drum was taken to Boston and exhibited. The building in which it was displayed collapsed. however, and the huge drum was ruined. But its memory still lives in Granville and has become a tradition of the place. A peculiar feature in connection with the drums shipped to the Pacific coast is that the heads, which are unable to stand the dampness and heat of % tropical sea voyage, are sent across the country by rail. When the parts arrive they are set up again, and the drums are ready for sale. The drums are first put together before leaving the factory, and each part fitted, so that the reassembling is an ea3y matter. < The process of making drums reveals the same minute subdivision of labor that is shown in all modern manufacturing. How minute this is maybe shown by the fact that a single workman is able to turn out more than 2,000 pieces a day of some of the parts. The making of the heads Is ah interesting process. The sheepskins arrive in a partially dressed state, and are at once scraped and dried. Cutters are put to work and circular pieces cut out. Part of the waste is used in making snaredrums and the rest is shipped to the glue factory. The finer drumheads are made of calfskin, stretched and dried by a special process. The wooden barrel of the drum is made by a machine, which takes a log of wood and peels from it, somewhat as a skin is peeled from an apple.