Happy memories from staff at the factories that made Christmas
WHILE some Christmas trimmings are seen as old hat, many of us love nothing more than getting in the Christmas mood by putting up some tinsel and baubles on the tree, with some festive music playing in the background. But have you ever thought of where your trimmings came from, or where they were actually made?
Chances are that some, if not most, of your old family Christmas decorations were made at a couple of factories spread across the Rhondda Valley.
They’re long gone now but the sense of community and camaraderie that the people who worked there felt is evident when we asked: “What are your memories of either working at or shopping at Rhondda’s Porth Decorative Products AKA Porth Textiles?”
The people who worked at one of the company’s sites, whether it was at Dinas, Llwynypia or the Treorchy sites, responded in their droves and the one thing that kept on coming up was how much they loved working there.
For some, it was their first job after leaving school and the factories, like Polikoff’s in Ynyswen, were among the biggest employers in the Valleys.
Marianne Elliott said: “I worked at Porth decorative products in Llwynipia. My aunty worked in the office for years as well. She used to go to the Harrogate trade fayres and trim the trees there. I think I worked there from 1987 until 1991, I started on the twilight shift on Lametta then I worked nights on baubles. From there I went over to the metalliser, which turned the plastic baubles into the shiny metal delights that were then decorated often by hand.
“I have lots of happy, fun-filled memories of working with lovely people. My mother and her sisters worked there along with my father’s sisters as well. It was like a big happy family.”
Another told of how her father worked in Porth Textiles during the ’50s and ’60s and that he designed many of the trimmings and baubles, adding that their whole house was like a grotto at Christmas.
Another reader, Neil Davies, got in touch about his grandmother working at the company’s first Porth store in 1945, when it first opened above a shop in Hannah Street.
He said: “My late grandmother Gazella Davies and her friend Ethel Coles were the first employees of Porth Textiles. Where Mr Clause Benedict Snr worked alongside them.
“My late grandmother used to tell me about her time at Porth Textiles. She died in 1976 but I remember Mr Benedict Snr visiting every Christmas Eve her and Mrs Coles with Christmas hampers for them. As a child, I always thought what a lovely gentleman.”
As you can see from the pictures we have unearthed from our archives – it really looked like a fun place to work. Over the years that the factories were operational, the company supplied Christmas trimmings all over the world, exporting to Belgium, France, Germany and Holland among others.
The workforce was saved many times over the years. However, during the mid-’90s, Porth Decorative Products was dissolved, leaving many without a job.
For some in the Valleys, Christmas was never the same again.