General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

2

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Predominantly off-white wood and metal table; black metal semi-circular form; motor has dark grey metal casing; black rubber (?) covering on electrical cord and plug head.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

88.3 cm

Width

84.5 cm

Height

106.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Agriculture

Category

Crop processing

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Kelco

Country

United States of America

State/Province

Maine

City

Milbridge

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Nova Scotia

Period

This machine probably used c. 1980s +.

Canada

Unless they are homemade, today all Christmas wreaths are made using this technology and this specific model line of machines. The vast majority of natural Christmas wreaths sold in Canadian retail outlets, through print advertisements and on-line are manufactured in Lunenburg Country, Nova Scotia. Since the 1950s, starting in early October, rural women in Nova Scotia and in particular Lunenburg County have found temporary work either on a piece- work basis or at minimum wage making Christmas wreaths on set-ups like that of the Lord family. The boughs used to make the wreaths are often "off-cuts" or trimmings from Christmas trees harvested by the owner of the operation. Richard Lord had a seasonal shop containing five Kelco machines; he wholesaled his production to retail firms that would then market them through newspaper advertisements and more recently on-line. [Ref. 1]

Function

Used to stitch together small bundles of coniferous tree boughs, and then to stitch those bundles onto a wire form.

Technical

This Kelco K102 is a specialized tool designed to mechanize what initially would have been a manual job. Although these machines are produced in a range of sizes, like the Howey #3, the K102 is the most commonly used size of wreath making machine. The device works in a similar fashion to an electric sewing machine, bringing a strand of fine wire down, around, and up and over the stem ends of the bundles of boughs. [Ref. 1]

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Markings on machine control panel read : "Kelcro/ Industries/ MILBRIDGE, MAINE (USA)/ K102 WREATH AND ROPING MACHINE/ MODEL/ K-102"; on and off switch and indicator light are also present. Markings on motor include "U.S. ELECTRIC MOTORS/ DIVISION OF EMERSON ELECTRIC CO./ ST. LOUIS, MO./ MODEL 7895-8ER./ H.P. 1/3 R.P.M. 1725 Hz. 60/ V. 115/ 208-230 A.6.0/ 3.0/ S.F. 1.15/ S.F.A. 6.2/ 3.1/ FRAME 56 BRGS. BALL/ TIME RATING CONT./ MFG. MODEL 063FNT-4183".

Missing

Unknown.

Finish

Predominantly off-white wood and metal table; black metal semi-circular form; motor has dark grey metal casing; black rubber (?) covering on electrical cord and plug head.

Decoration

N/A