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Home Rules: Always be honest (Proverbs 12:22) Count your blessings (Psalms 34:1-3) Bear each other's burdens (Galatians 6:2) Forgive and forget (Micah 7:18) Be kind and tender hearted (Ephesians 4:32) Comfort one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18) Keep your promises (Romans 4:21) Be supportive of one another (Acts 20:35) Be true to each other (Revelations 15:3) Look after each other (Deuteronomy 15:11) Treat each other like you treat your friends (Matthew 7:12) but most important Love One Another deeply from the heart (1 Peter 1:22). Although Thomas Lemuel Oates started Manual Woodworkers & Weavers in 1932, the story goes back further. The roots of the company can be found in Oates' entrepreneurial spirit. He and his brother used to farm the mountain areas of Bat Cave in western North Carolina. They would also help their mother find materials for her crafts. The sons began to make wooden whistles, buckets and bird-houses. They would sell their wares along with her crafts to the people from Charlotte that came through in their horse-drawn buggies on the way to the mountains. Later, Thomas worked at the Ashville Postcard Company. When the Depression hit, he lost his job, but it inspired him to go into business and sell crafts, like cornhusk dolls and woven pieces, that were produced by the local women. He had learned about the wholesale business while working at Ashville. He built a waterwheel to generate electricity at a mill, began making product and opened shop. Over the years, he expanded the company.