From the 3rd floor
of the Webb City Public Library
Webb City Area Genealogical Society
In 1963, the Webb City Sentinel ran a series of articles titled “Area Industry In Review.”
The Jan. 25, 1963, article was about a local shirt factory, Elder Manufacturing Company, that was located at the northwest corner of Webb and First streets.
At the time, about 330 employees (mostly women) were turning out the famous Tom Sawyer shirts for boys and the Mark Twain branded shirts for men. The Webb City factory was one of seven factories. The others were located in Carl Junction, Dexter, Bloomfield, St. Genevieve and St. Louis, McLeansboro, Ill.
Edmund Kluba was the general manager at the Webb City factory in 1963. He had been with the company for 24 years, and it was noted that some employees had been there even longer than him.
The Webb City factory was started in 1920.
“Elder’s” as it was referred to by the locals, produced shirts sold at Sears, J.C. Penney Co. and Macy’s.
In the process of making a shirt there were 96 different operations from the time the cloth was delivered until the finished shirt was ready to be shipped.
Prior to the plant closure, the Sentinel ran a story about Elder’s, with these photos (and the one at top), including some of a Christmas party.
The Webb City Sentinel isn’t a newspaper – but it used to be, serving Webb City, Missouri, in print from 1879-2020. This “newspaper” seeks to carry on that tradition as a nonprofit corporation.
© All Rights Reserved 2025
DIY website design by Bob Foos
