R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press Escanaba Steam Laundry employee Scott Brunette loads laundry into the mangle.

R. R. Branstrom

rbranstrom@dailypress.net

EDITOR NOTE: The Daily Press will be featuring a series of articles on local businesses, highlighting their history and what makes them unique. The series will run on a regular basis in the Daily Press.

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ESCANABA — Escanaba Steam Laundry, an exceptionally long-running operation, reportedly had the town’s first phone number — 0101. The business was founded before the turn of the century — not the most recent one! — by a Mr. Gilmore and N.G. Parker in 1891 and moved to its current location at 707 Ludington Street either 10 or 13 years later. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places, which lists it as being constructed circa 1901.

Prior to relocating to the south side of Ludington, Escanaba Steam Laundry operated across the street in the building now called Ludington Post Suites. Gilmore and Parker owned another similar operation in Sault Ste. Marie, which was run largely by Gilmore; Parker managed the Escanaba one.

An early mention of the business and its founder was published in The Newberry News in April of 1894:

“Col. Parker, of Escanaba, at one time editor of the Herald, is reported to be dying. The Col was once a very wealthy man, but never recovered from the panic of 1873. He has been engaged in the newspaper business nearly all of his life time, was a fluent writer and was recognized as an able journalist. Three years ago he left the newspaper business and started the Escanaba steam laundry with which business he has been connected ever since.”

That same year, Charles Miller and Orion Wolf bought the business. Only two more names — E.A. Grabowski and John Bissell — would claim a period of ownership of the laundry before it came into Baribeau hands. Grabowski bought it in 1908, Bissell in 1939.

John A. Baribeau, who began working for Bissell as a bookkeeper in 1946 and was later promoted to manager, purchased Escanaba Steam Laundry from the Bissell family in 1966. Today, his son Philip owns it, and John A. Baribeau’s grandson William (Phil’s nephew) is an operating partner.

Business hasn’t changed a lot, the equipment perhaps less so. Walking through the building is like entering a time capsule of iron, wood, brick, and steel. There are massive boilers, seven-foot-tall washers that look like pizza ovens, and machinery that still is in regular use but was made by manufacturers that no longer exist.

A huge machine called a mangle takes clean, wet sheets in on one end and sends them through a series of rollers, whereafter they emerge dry, pressed and folded on the other end, which is practically across the room. William guessed that this beast of a machine was from the 1950s or 60s and said that when a part broke, they had to have a welder replicate it since replacements aren’t produced anymore.

William indicated a few modernizations, like more efficient ways of adding detergent –the composition of which is also different — but for the most part, processes are unchanged.

The business processes laundry — washing, fluff drying, pressing, folding, dry cleaning — for personal, commercial and industrial customers. Rows of shelves in multiple rooms house linens and other items that cycle through on a rental basis. These include bath towels, bedsheets, table linens, floor mats, aprons, uniforms, shop towels, bar towels and more.

When K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base was operational, they used Escanaba Steam Laundry; “That was a nice government contract,” Phil said.

Deliveries around Escanaba are done daily; an Iron Mountain route is twice a week.

Randy Monson, who works doing both maintenance and delivery, said that he’s been driving to customers in Manistique and Wisconsin, because apparently dry cleaners are hard to come by.

A handful of employees have remained with the company for decades. Betty Willyard, who does all the alteration work that comes through the doors and said she manages the floor and helps keep others on track, has worked for Escanaba Steam Laundry for 50 years.

Like at any business that’s been open as long as they have, hundreds of employees have come and gone. Monson, who’s worked for Escanaba Steam Laundry for over 25 years, said that people hired through Lakestate Industries are often some of the best and most reliable workers, along with people over the age of about 50.

Philip said that a notable difference he’s seen from the time he began working at the laundry in the early 1980s after serving in the military to now is the types of clothes that come through have changed.

“People don’t wear suits anymore. … Even business people don’t dress up much anymore,” he said. “There’s a lot more synthetics.”

They see fewer hand towels, which in many places have been replaced by electric dryers or roller towels, the latter of which are rented out by Escanaba Steam Laundry.

As business picks up all over as tourism increases, so too does work at the laundry, for much of their clientele is made up of restaurants, hotels and resorts in the Upper Peninsula and Northern Wisconsin.

William and Philip shared that the business helps out some organizations, particularly charitable ones. To name a few, Honor Flight, Pregnancy Services of Delta County, Delta Animal Shelter, Salvation Army, Knights of Columbus and some local churches all receive service or supplies for free or at a discount. This winter, Escanaba Steam Laundry participated in Coats for Kids.

American flags are cleaned and repaired free of charge.

Discounts are given for veterans, Chamber members, first responders, and school teams.

Doors are open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.