Saying a Last Goodbye To Gulistan Co-Workers

I had worked many hours in developing carpet colors at the Wagram plant and wanted to say goodbye to my co-workers at that location.

The "dye house" was located on the backside of a huge plant that had once housed a J.P. Stevens towel manufacturing and dyeing operation. Gulistan leased a small portion of that mostly empty plant to use for dyeing carpet. Not long ago, 38 employees worked at Gulistan's Wagram plant. Nowhere near that many worked there when I visited the plant on Jan. 10.

I spoke with a 55-year-old laboratory technician who had dyed thousands of small carpet swatches over the almost 24 years I worked with Gulistan. I used many of those swatches to create "color lines" for styles reviewed for introductions.

I visited Range Two, a "fluid-dye range" that applied color to the majority of Gulistan carpets. Range One dyed some carpets, and some goods were "hue infused" in "becks" (large vats), but Range Two was high-speed and served as Gulistan's dyeing workhorse.

The Range Two manager said he was uncertain about where he'd find employment. He's in his 50s.

His assistant told me about anticipated "screening tests" causing concern among soon-to-be-let-go employees. She said that a large soup-processing plant near Wagram requires job applicants to take several tests.

"They cost you 10 dollars apiece, and they're not easy," she said.

One woman I spoke with worked at Range Two "roll-up," where just-dyed carpets were still being inspected during my visit and rolled onto cardboard core tubes. The goods were slated to ship to the Aberdeen plant, where they'd be "back-coated" with latex, sheared and given a final inspection.

Another lift driver who spent workdays motoring around the plant with huge rolls of carpet impaled one at a time on a long steel rod located on the front of his lift-truck expressed concern. In his 40s, he worried about "those screening tests."

A young man sitting at a table in the Wagram break room said he planned to "go back to school."

I talked with more employees and walked past rolls of undyed goods on my way out of the plant. Colors would soon flow onto those carpets, and the dye house would close. I envisioned the plant sitting someday as a dark, lonely, cavernous hull - another empty textile mill dotting the North Carolina landscape and serving as a symbol of a bygone era.

On Friday afternoon, Jan. 11, my job ended. I said "so long" to my Aberdeen co-workers and took personal belongings to my truck. Leaving hardly seemed real.

Near the company gatehouse, I turned right on N.C. 5 and drove past the Gulistan sign standing in front of the main manufacturing plant and headed for home.

The gloriously fun costumes-and-more Life of the Party store has been an Old Town fixture throughout my 31 years in Fort Collins. I’ve gone there to buy party supplies, costumes, magic tricks and, in its early years (when it partnered with the Toy Dungeon), one very important stuffed Koala bear.

Now that “Life” is threatened. Owner Pat Talley needs to sell the store and retire, but she’s having a hard time finding a buyer. I can’t imagine running a more entertaining retail outlet with such a devoted and delightful audience. Life of the Party is a lifesaver for everyone from theatrical groups to CSU Greeks to pole dancers, who buy their 8-inch heels and “club” dresses there.

Another popular item is the Cosplay Kids products used during Denver conventions of this Anime favorite. Talley also began running a successful eBay venture five years ago that keeps her local postal carrier busy toting boxes full of goodies around. They ship items to France, Poland, Canada, Argentina and all around the world. According to Talley, eBay has been a real blessing in keeping the business going.

Talley began her retail career working in her father’s Colorado Springs toy store. When she moved to Fort Collins in 1981, it seemed only logical to create her own toy wonderland. This became the Toy Dungeon at 133 S. College Ave. The store’s small costume section soon outgrew its small space in the store so, in 1986, Talley expanded next door into the “Julian’s” building with Life of the Party.

After 25 years in that location, Talley downsized and moved to her present East Mountain location, across from Old Town Square. She donated a huge amount of stock during that move.

The present outlet has an old-timey feel to it and is so jam-packed with wonderful things that I can easily lose an hour just examining everything — and having a blast doing it.

Now that we’re threatened with losing Fort Collins’ only such store, I have to wonder where we’ll turn for costumes, makeup, wigs, etc., during the Tour de Fat, as well as for Halloween, Mardi Gras, theme parties, theatrical productions and so much more. Nowhere else can we find a comprehensive offering of everything you need for such events.