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Acknowledgments My interest in Cannon Mills as a research subject began in the early 1990s during work for my master’s degree. The current work, however, developed from my doctoral dissertation, which was directed by Dr. Richard V. Damms at Mississippi State University. As my major professor, Dr. Damms skillfully guided me through the creation of the dissertation on Cannon Mills and in the process made me a better researcher and writer. Many archivists and librarians gave assistance and advice during the research phase of this book, including William Erwin at the Perkins Library at Duke University, Richard Pipes at Wingate University Library, Terry Prather at the Cannon Memorial Library in Kannapolis, and Larry Hayer and the Kannapolis History Associates. Thanks to Wayne and Mary Ann Vanderburg for a place to stay during my many research trips to Duke. The time to develop my dissertation into a book was provided by Gardner-Webb University with a sabbatical in the fall of 2008. Thanks to Dr. Donna Ellington, Chair of the Social Sciences Department, for covering my classes while I was on the sabbatical . Quiet and rejuvenating environments were provided by friends so I could focus on writing. Thanks, James and Valeria Polk, for the use of your condo at Southport, North Carolina, and Cathy Huffman, for the use of your condo at Cherry Grove, South Carolina. For assistance in developing my research into a book, I thank Dr. Bob Carey at Gardner-Webb University for help with photos and illustrations. The comments and suggestions of Dr. George Loveland guided me in focusing on the main themes and thesis of the book. Special appreciation goes to Dr. David Zonderman for his detailed, thoughtful, and encouraging remarks. And lastly, thanks to Scot Danforth and Kerry Webb at the University of Tennessee Press, who saw the potential in this project and worked to make it better than I had imagined. Any shortcomings of this book are solely mine. ...

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