Common Ties A History of Textile Industrial Institute, Spartanburg Junior College and Spartanburg Methodist College By Katherine Davis Cann ISBN: 978-1-891885-54-9 296 pages, 6x9 30 illustrations Publication Date: October 2007 $14.95

People said he was different and possessed by a dream, but such comments did not deter David English Camak as he worked to fulfill his vision of a common school for textile mill workers. Using his considerable persuasive skills, Camak convinced prominent citizens of Spartanburg, South Carolina, to support the establishment of Textile Industrial Institute.

Common Ties is the story of that school from its establishment in 1911 through its time as Spartanburg Junior College and now Spartanburg Methodist College, a two-year liberal arts institution approaching its centennial. Katherine Davis Cann, a professor of history at SMC, brings the school's rich and unique history to life through the voices of students and the countless men and women who gave their best to assure its future.

“Professor Cann provides us with the definitive story of the twentieth century effort to provide education for textile mill workers in upstate South Carolina,” says Dr. A.V. Huff Jr., professor emeritus of history at Furman University. “With careful research and skillful writing, she recounts empathetically the plight of the workers and the heroic struggle of David English Camak and his successors.”