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Roy T. Bishop was born in Crawfordsville, Oregon in 1881. Mr. Bishop's family heritage was deeply rooted in the textile industry. His father was Charles P. Bishop, founder of Pendleton Woolen Mills. C. P. Bishop was originally a retailer in Crawfordsville, McMinnville and Salem. There, he married Fannie Kay and joined in partnership with his father-in-law, Thomas Kay in forming the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill Company. C. P. bishop personally operated Bishop's, a fine men's clothing store in Salem, for many years. In 1905 C. P. and Fannie Bishop, together with their sons, Clarence, Roy, and Chauncey, purchased Pendleton Woolen Mills. Together they redirected the mill to specialize in blankets using the Pendleton Native American designs as the motifs.

During these early days, businessmen looked for investments in their own communities to provide employment and economic growth for the area. In 1917 Roy T. Bishop was approached by the Chamber of Commerce to convert the Willis Mohair Mill. The war was on and uniforms were needed for the soldiers. So the property was purchased with the assistance of several prominent Portland business leaders.

Mr. Bishop took out the mohair machinery and built new reinforced concrete structures to connect the good brick buildings of the early mill. He then installed worsted wool machinery. Thus began Oregon Worsted Company, which used the fine long-staple wool that the valley sheep produced. The mill manufactured worsted wool yarns and fabrics. This was a bold venture at the time when most of

the big mills were on the East Coast.

Following the shortages of the First World War, demand for worsted wool yarns and fabrics was strong and Oregon Worsted Company, the only worsted mill west of the Mississippi River, soon established itself as a viable manufacturer. The mill had 300 employees and ran three shifts. From 1938-1950 the company had a mill with a spinning department and an office in Long Island, New York to compete with the factories in the East. Many of Carl Jantzen's early knitted bathing suits were made with our worsted yarn. During World War II, Oregon Worsted Company supplied the United States Armed Forces with worsted wool blankets. At one point in its history, the company was the largest manufacturer of necktie lining with offices in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Portland.