QUILT HISTORY STORIES
ELGIN, ILLINOIS
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Rudolph Petzelt Connection Story
Book 6
Susan Wildemuth, Atkinson, IL
Rudolph F. Petzelt
Courtesy of June Siffrar and Janet Petzelt-Franke
The Rudolph Frank Petzelt Connection
An agreement of merger was reached between Mid-City Engineering Company Rudolph F. Petzelt, President and Collingbourne Mills, Inc. Parker F. McMahan (Attorney-at-Law), President and was legally certified with the State of Illinois on January 29th 1943. (7) $1.00 was exchanged by each party to the other and the two companies became one. (8) The name Mid-City Engineering Company was retired and the surviving corporation would be known as Collingbourne Mills, Inc. The office of the newly merged Collingbourne Mills, Inc was located at 367-383 Bluff City Boulevard in Elgin, Illinois. (9)
The purpose of Collingbourne Mills, Inc. was redefined in State of Illinois documents as:
1. To manufacture, buy, sell and deal in thread, yarn, tape, braids, cords and all other articles of merchandise and to dye, mercerize and treat by other processes the foregoing articles.
2. Engineering, designing, creating, repairing, operating, and selling special machines, machine parts, tools, and dies.
(10)
The first Board of Directors were:
Parker F. McMahan 408 Park Street Elgin, Illinois
Ralph R. Trimarco 908 Wagner Street, Glenview, Illinois
James Culbertson 404 Sunset Lane, Glencoe, Illinois
Rudolph Petzelt 6133 N. Nararre Avenue Chicago, Illinois
Franklin Schultz 245 Lavergne Avenue, Hillside, Illinois
(11)
The name Collingbourne Mills, Inc. was retired into the history books on April 8, 1943, when Rudolph Petzelt, President of the corporation changed the name from Collingbourne Mills, Inc. to Dexter Mills, Inc. (12)
This name choice would cause some confusion to future researchers and needs to be clarified. In 1943 Pelzelt’s company was incorporated under the name Dexter Mills, Inc. not Dexter Thread Mills, Inc., a name which would appear later in this story in connection with LeeWards. Rudolph Petzelt would eventually move his company Dexter Mills, Inc. to 4310 North Kedzie Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. (13) He remained owner of Dexter Mills, Inc. until he retired some time in the mid 1950s.
