Hand Made Baskets: How a Scotchtown Basket Factory is Managed
(Middletown Daily Press, 30 June 1893)

A basket maker from Scotchtown arrived in Newburg, says the Register of that city, this morning with a wagon load of corn baskets he had made for the Lawson Hardware Co. This man makes his baskets today just as his forefathers did before him a half century ago. The white oak he cuts at Yankee Pond, Sullivan county, and draws it to Scotchtown by team. There it is cut up without aid of machinery, the strips turned out by drawknife, and the baskets put together by hand. When asked today how many could be made in a day, he replied: “If I get up early enough and work late enough at night, I can finish two. In winter I am at it before it is daylight.” As the baskets sell at retail for fifty cents, some idea of the amount of wages possible can be found. The secret of success comes in having a large family, so that all may assist in the various departments. He started with his load for Newburgh at 4 o’clock this morning and arrived here about 10 o’clock. He says he travels as far as Poughkeepsie. When that city is his destination he starts at 4 a.m., drives to Newburg, crosses the ferry and thence to P’keep. Having delivered his load he returns to Newburg, and arrives home about daylight, thus requiring about 24 hours in the trip. Owing to the bulky character of the baskets and their small value, it would be impracticable to ship them as freight by rail. He says that 150 baskets can be placed on a load, with extension shelves on the wagon.