Knoll as We Remember
A “Working in the Valley” Project
Knoll As We Remember is the first edition of “Working in the Valley,” a program to expand the regional history holdings of the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center. In this program, we partner with employees to document and share their experiences of working for a local employer. Our initial goal is at least one public program and a series of oral history interviews for each featured company to be preserved in the archive. However, the outcomes depend upon community members’ desires and abilities. Due to volunteer enthusiasm, the first series was launched for The Knoll Furniture Company.
Knoll, with its production plant in the Valley since 1941, has been central to the economy of the Upper Perkiomen Valley as well as an international style setter. This juxtaposition provides a fascinating angle to explore. The merger with Herman Miller in 2021 and previous closure of the museum at the Knoll East Greenville plant also allows an opportunity to document the relationship between the company and the people of the region.
In this collaboration, we held a public program in April 2024, which combined providing a history of the company with a public sharing of experiences working there. A panel of four past employees kicked off audience discussion. Because these shared stories could not represent the lived experiences of all employees, we followed in October 2024 with a weekend of oral history interviews with 23 people, and the interviewing is ongoing. While the archive cannot represent everyone’s perspective, the hope is that the variety of people interviewed will provide a complete picture of Knoll’s relationship to the community. An exciting twist is that due to the enthusiasm for this local history story, the Heritage Center is now creating a new permanent exhibition to debut in fall 2026 with funding from an anonymous donor who was inspired by the initial public program.
Video of the public program and audio tapes of the oral histories are archived at the Heritage Center. Transcripts and indices also exist for the oral histories to support future researchers. Some of those who were interviewed donated photographs and small objects to the Heritage Center collection or allowed for digitization of personal materials. These also will be available for researchers.