Ken and Irma Dell Anderson

This 1941 image of Ken Anderson, an employee of Carolina Wood Turning Company and member of its softball team, and his wife Irma Dell Anderson is part of the Stearns-Grueninger Collection. Irving Kip Stearns (1895-1942) was president of Carolina Wood Turning Company from 1928 until his death in 1942. Stearns’ grandfather, Jeremiah Shank, started the company in 1903 as Bryson City Pump Works and it grew to be a thriving industry for the community. In 1911, Stearns was in the first graduating class of Bryson City High School. He had one son, Joseph Pease Stearns (1917-1948). In 1935, I. K. married Betty Grueninger (1896-1971)