E J Feeley's father James was a machinist for the Crane Paper Co and Pomeroy Woolen Mills in Pittsfield. E J and his brothers started working young as dyers in the mills. E J also worked as a store clerk and was hired by Kalle Chemical Co as a traveling dye salesman in 1901, working his way up to sales manager in Boston by 1910. He launched his own E J Feeley Co during WW I when German dye imports were cut off. He oversaw the last deliveries of critical dyes via U-Boat from Germany. His firm did very well, adding offices in Philadelphia and Charlotte, and during the Depression he extended credit to many woolen mill clients. E J was a meticulous dresser and gentleman of the old school, generous to a fault.
E J Feeley's father James was a machinist for the Crane Paper Co and Pomeroy Woolen Mills in Pittsfield. E J and his brothers started working young as dyers in the mills. E J also worked as a store clerk and was hired by Kalle Chemical Co as a traveling dye salesman in 1901, working his way up to sales manager in Boston by 1910. He launched his own E J Feeley Co during WW I when German dye imports were cut off. He oversaw the last deliveries of critical dyes via U-Boat from Germany. His firm did very well, adding offices in Philadelphia and Charlotte, and during the Depression he extended credit to many woolen mill clients. E J was a meticulous dresser and gentleman of the old school, generous to a fault.
