“We put out a good, honest product, and people appreciate it,” says Kurt Haupt, holding up a pair of sturdy cream-colored goatskin work gloves. Just completed, each of these heavy-duty gloves has US patent number 2,719,980 stamped in green ink on the back of the thumb. The patent was issued in 1955 to Kurt’s father and namesake for this unique design, which is noted for its flexibility, strength, and proper fit. Today these gloves are still made in Randolph with the exact same pattern and craftsmanship. Many people who work with their hands believe they are the very best work gloves available. Quietly operating in Randolph, Green Mountain Glove Company makes top-quality leather gloves sought by utility companies, arborists, loggers, linemen, gardeners, and others who value a comfortable, well-made work glove that will last for years. This family-owned company founded in 1920 is now in the hands of third and fourth generations of Haupts. Every step in the gloves’ production—from cutting the tanned goatskins to the final steaming on hand-shaped forms—is done in the firm’s Pearl Street factory. “I take a lot of pride in it being a family business and being the fourth generation here,” says Heidi Haupt, Kurt’s daughter. “I have a lot of pride in the product. It’s great quality, and we stand behind it. It’s not every day you call a business and the person you talk with on the phone is the one actually making it for you,” she notes. Heidi, who knows all aspects of the gloves, specializes in sewing.
“I take a lot of pride in it being a family business and being the fourth generation here,” says Heidi Haupt, Kurt’s daughter.
A LONG HISTORY OF QUALITY Through the decades, Green Mountain Glove Company has seen lots of changes and has had its own changes in fortune. Rows of industrial sewing machines on its main floor attest to days when 30 or more skilled workers were employed there. Today a modest crew of four produces the time-tested gloves—Kurt at the helm and Heidi are joined by Daphne Herwig cutting the gloves and Evangeline Pierce sewing them. Most of the current production is for utility companies, but Green Mountain Glove also has loyal individual fans and consistently gains new fans who find them by word of mouth. In its early days nearly a century ago, Green Mountain Glove specialized in silk gloves. A lovely display in Kurt’s office features several of these graceful, long-fingered gloves with stylish cuffs. Richard Ernst Haupt, Kurt’s grandfather, had emigrated from Germany, where he reportedly apprenticed in glove manufacturing. He joined the Find image at www.uppervalleyimage.com •
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