To the editor:

Eventually everything comes to an end, but the employees of Sandhurst (Sara Lee) hoped to see the “old homeplace”come alive again. That hope has come to an end, as the plant’s demolition has begun.

When Sandhurst finally closed the doors and Betty Searcy (now deceased) and I were the last employees, we hoped daily that someone would come through the door and tell us that it wasn’t true. We always hoped it would reopen. Now that hope has gone forever. The middle of the plant has been gutted out, and the rest will be demolished in the next week or two. It is so sad to ride by the plant and see the destruction.

For many years, so many families worked there. It wasn’t just a workplace — we lived there, our children were raised there and eventually, many of them worked there. It was the largest company in the area. We were families who stuck by each other. Our bosses cared for us, something you do not see anymore. I’ll never forget the time I had a sick family member and when my late boss Tommy Baxley found out about it, he told me to do what I needed to do and come back to work when I could.

That was the way the company treated its “family” back then. When the doors of Sandhurst were closed, the phasing-out of Sara Lee continued at the Aleo plant. The saddest day of my life was when I was told, after 35 years, “You no longer have a job.” I was so shocked. Even though we had heard rumors, we didn’t believe it — but it finally happened, Now the “old homeplace” is finally being torn down.

Yes, we had problems and we didn’t agree with a lot of things, but we stayed there because we knew we had a good place to work. Even after all these years, when I see a former co-worker, we greet each other with a hug. Many Sandhurst people live in the county and surrounding counties. It is almost impossible to go to the grocery store, doctor’s office and other establishments without running into an old friend. We’re still “connected” — and always will be!

The big companies might have shut down Sandhurst (Sara Lee) and took our jobs away, but they can’t take away our memories.

This is my farewell to Sandhurst. I hope others will take the time to say goodbye.

Lois Napier Chandler

Rockingham

The writer worked as a label sewer, panty seamer, personnel and human resources assistant and worked in the data room for Sara Lee Hosiery’s Sandhurst plant in Rockingham.

Photo contributed by Lois Chandler
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_Sandhurst-plant-skybox.jpgPhoto contributed by Lois Chandler