The Hyde Park Bedding Company, a long-standing fixture of the Berks County industrial landscape, evolved from a modest machine shop into a nationally recognized manufacturer of high-quality mattresses. Its history is a testament to local entrepreneurship, wartime adaptability, and family stewardship.
Founding and Early Years (1911–1916)
The company was officially incorporated on October 2, 1911, in Hyde Park, Muhlenberg Township, along Kutztown Road. It was founded by Abraham Schlegel and J. Wallace Miller originally as a machine shop. By 1916, the leadership included J.W. Miller as president, with Jarius H. and Charles H. Madeira serving as vice-president and secretary, respectively.
The transition into bedding began almost by accident. The firm had purchased 40 tons of miscellaneous steel at a bankruptcy sale in Baltimore, which happened to include two carding machines. Schlegel and Miller made these machines operational to process cotton fibers into “cotton batting” for mattresses. This sideline eventually became the core of the enterprise.
The Spatz Era and Expansion (1916–1935)
In 1916, Ellwood J. Spatz joined the company, investing $1,000 to become secretary. His dedication was legendary; he famously commuted seven miles each way from Jacksonwald to Hyde Park by bicycle, arriving daily by 7 a.m.
The company’s first major breakthrough occurred during World War I. In 1917, the Fred G. Hodges Bedding Co. of Reading was overwhelmed by a government order for 10,000 mattresses and asked Hyde Park to take over their production for Pomeroy’s department store. This solidified Hyde Park’s reputation for quality “cotton-felt” units, which at the time were sold by weight (ranging from 45 to 60 pounds).
Key milestones during this period included:
- 1924: The company began advertising its “Betterest” mattresses and “Adjustorest” box springs.
- 1929: The name was formally changed to the Hyde Park Bedding and Manufacturing Co., and Ellwood Spatz acquired controlling interest.
- 1932: The firm joined the Spring Air Mattress Co., allowing it to produce nationally advertised products under strict specifications.
- 1935: To accommodate rapid growth driven by salesman Alexander O. Whyte, the company moved its operations to the former Miller Hat factory at 4th and Bingaman Streets in Reading.
Hyde Park Bedding & Manufacturing Company — a truckload of cotton batting for mattress production, photographed on Duryea Drive in Reading, circa 1930.
Hyde Park Bedding & Manufacturing Company, 4th and Bingaman Streets in Reading.
Wartime Effort and Modernization (1940s–1960s)
During World War II, the factory became a hub of military production, manufacturing cot-size mattresses for military camps. These were shipped directly from the plant via special tracks laid from a nearby freight station.
Following the war, the company continued to innovate. In the 1940s and 50s, they transitioned to innerspring mattresses containing hundreds of coils. Ellwood’s son, Reginald R. Spatz, who had learned the business from the ground up, became secretary in 1951 and eventually succeeded his father as president in 1961.
Final Decades and Legacy
Under Reginald Spatz’s leadership, the company expanded its retail reach, opening the bedding departments in local Boscov’s stores and later supplying their entire chain. In a notable bit of pop-culture history, Vanna White, the famous hostess of Wheel of Fortune, performed promotional work for the company in the 1980s.
Reginald R. Spatz, company president from 1961 to 1993, is seated on the couch with Vanna White and Betty Spatz.
Reginald operated the Spring Air Mattress Co. until his retirement in 1999. The business was sold to a Spring Air associate in 1993, and the iconic factory at 4th and Bingaman was eventually purchased and razed by Berks Packing after 2001.
Former location of Hyde Park Bedding
Former location of Miller Hat Factory
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