History Works! - Workplace Stories from Endicott and Johnson City

History Works! is the oral history recording program of the Center for Technology & Innovation in partnership with

  • Union Endicott High School (UEHS), Endicott, NY

  • Binghamton University (BU), Binghamton, NY

  • Cornell University Landscape Studies Program Landscape Architecture Department, Ithaca, NY

  • Endicott Visitors Center, Endicott, NY

  • Four County Library System, Vestal, NY

  • History Channel - Save Our History program

  • Johnson City Senior Center, Johnson City, NY

  • Old Village of Union Historical Society, Endicott, NY

  • Your Home Public Library, Johnson City, NY

Borrow the CD from a library near you.  More stories in print & audio formats at Welcome to TechWorks! page.

The History Works! CD was produced by CT&I with the invaluable aid of Andrea Hammer, Cornell University; Starr Latronica, Four County Library System; and Jonathan Miller, Homeland Productions; who coached the student reporters in the art of gathering and framing stories. Debbie Williams, CT&I, and history teachers Cathy Hayes, JCHS; Nancy Dinaburg, UEHS; Mike Palmitier, UEHS; coordinated the student efforts with savvy and aplomb. Interview venues were graciously provided by Kathy Utter at the Endicott Visit ors Center, Kathy Greenblott at the Johnson City Senior Center; Doris Edwards at the Old Village of Union Historical Society, and Lori Welch at the Partners Trust Bank, Endicott.

The History Works! musical theme is a joint effort of Curt Hoover, JCHS, and Robby Aceto, Ithaca-based composer. Christine Chen and Laura Jurewicz, UEHS, and Mike Vanuga, CT&I, introduce the audio short stories. Post-production assistance was provided by Sam Latronica and Ezra Monasebian, CT&I interns, with advice from Mark Kriebel, Jonathan Miller, Michael Phillips, and Martha Wexler, who lent their expert ears as reviewers.

The History Works! graphics were designed by Elise Caroompas, and Cindy Henry, UEHS, and Mike Ziemba, Independent Consultant. The topo maps are used courtesy of the University of New Hampshire Library Digital Collections Initiative. Marilyn Blake, UEHS, coordinated PR for the project. Guidance over the course of the History Works! project was provided by local media - Elizabeth Cohen, Dave Rossie, Mary Pat Hyland, Mary Haupt, & Valerie Zehl (Press - Sun Bulletin), David Whalen (Time Warner Cable), Don Giovanni (WINR), Bob Joseph & Roger Neel (WNBF), Ken Campbell & Bill Jaker (WSKG).

Tracks

Track # Speaker Story Duration Reported by
1 Laura Jurewicz Welcome to Endicott & Johnson City 2:55 CT&I
2 Nellie Roth On the Avenue 0:51 CT&I
3 Floyd Bush The Clock Doctor 2:56 S. H. Kim, Cornell
4 Frank Petrilli Frank the Barber 1:45 Heather Marciniec, Corrnell
5 Pat Roberts White shirts for lepers 0:46 Cornell
6 Jack Caprio Origin of BC comic strip 3:53 Cornell
7 George Corinno Opera Cabaret 4:04 Cornell
8 Christine Chen EJ Corporation 0:46 CT&I
9 Sal Paliziano EJ factory whistles 0:46 Matthew Ball, Cornell
10 Anita Strong Finding a better life at EJ 1:33 Amelia Stymacks, JCHS
11 Sandy Scanlon Remembering George F. 3:07 Christine Chen & Laura Jurewicz, UEHS
12 Helen Klysh EJ benefits 0:54 Ryan Conroy, Jessica Johnson, & Aimee Sosenko, UEHS
13 Stephanie Frailey EJ Recreation 0:47 CT&I
14 Joe Nestor, with Alex Alexander, Joe Caldwell, Bill Dennis, & Lou Karedes En Joie Golf Course 4:16 CT&I
15 Harold McGowan Spikeless golf shoes 1:14 CT&I
16 Jack Dowd EJ's final decades 3:23 Anthony Watts, UEHS
17 Helen Klysh Factories in Johnson City 0:51 Ryan Conroy, Jessica Johnson, & Aimee Sosenko, JCHS
18 Stephanie Frailey How sneakers are made 1:16 Laura Edmund, & Marissa Margosian, BU
19 Sal Paliziano Paracord Rubber Factory 1:22 Matthew Ball, Cornell
20 Harold McGowan EJ rubber footware 2:05 CT&I
21 Ray Liguri Many steps make a shoe 7:09 Jennifer Knotting, Cornell
22 Irene Bealo Buckling & lacing shoes 2:04 Brianna Page & Srioula Xayavongsone, JCHS
23 Harold McGowan Four kinds of buyers 1:48 CT&I
24 Jack Caprio EJ Songs - Hart & Caprio 0:55 Cornell
25 Laura Jurewicz Endicott tanneries 0:33 CT&I
26 Sandy Scanlon Inside an EJ tannery 1:09 Christine Chen & Laura Jurewicz, UEHS
27 Ray Liguri From hides to leather 1:03 Jennifer Knotting, Cornell
28 Ted Warner Endicott's dump 0:34 Pat Castrenza, Cornell
29 Jack Caprio Rafting the marsh 1:34 Cornell
30 Doris Edwards History of the marsh 1:24 Cornell
31 Christine Chen IBM Plant # 1 2:54 CT&I
32 Joe Yurecka & Bill Mitchell Caroll Press Dept. 1:14 Karen Kaminski & Bill Pavlovich, BU
33 Victor LaStella IBM Special Wireman 1:56 CT&I
34 Karl Hermann, Stark Roberts, Ray Rinne, & Don Seraphim Printed Circuits 4:19 CT&I
35 Ray Rinne, Don Seraphim Research Lab # 1 1:34 CT&I
36 Harry Lewis Work practices at IBM 4:15 Mike Vanuga, CT&I
37 Frank Petrilli IBM strategy 1:52 Heather Marciniec, Cornell
38 Mike Vanuga Credits 0:46 CT&I

Summer Stories

This summer's stories celebrate the EnJoie Golf Course, Endicott, NY - home of the DICK's Sporting Goods Open.

Joseph Yurecka

Joseph Yurecka

IBM

Joseph Yurecka described his experience moving from Czechoslovakia at age eight to “Polish Heaven” in Johnson City, New York in 1930. He worked for Endicott-Johnson for three months at age eighteen, just like many immigrants in the area. His piecework job was “menial,” spraying the bottoms of shoes to moisten them before the stitchers attached the soles. However, he earned forty cents per hour working fulltime, which he noted was good money in those days. He remembered going to the EJ cafeteria with other workers (including IBMers) for an affordable meal. Joseph was drafted into the war effort and chose to enter the Navy where he learned about radar technology. After his service, he worked for IBM starting in April 1946 at the Carroll Press making punched cards, and he described the production process. He spent fourteen years in the printing department supply division. He won a $50 suggestion award for recommending that oilers grease the machines on machinists’ lunch hours. He described how he rose through the ranks, eventually working in quality control as a manager: in 1960 he was transferred to SMS Quality Department 692, where he remained for twenty years, mostly as a technician; in 1980 he came into management after much training. Joseph took free, company-sponsored courses at the IBM Schoolhouse after work (located conveniently across from his building of work) in areas such as photography, algebra, home repair, and electronics. He and his wife were IBM league bowlers and attended recreational events at the Country Club. Joseph talked about the evolution of computer technology he witnessed while at IBM until he retired in 1984, including the 1401, 360, and 370 systems. He commented on the growth of the community of the Southern Tier and the financial development of what came to be a billion dollar company. His dream was always for his four sons to work for IBM. One son did work for IBM, but was tragically killed in an accident.

Betty Stewart

Betty Stewart

Ansco - GAF

Ms. Betty Stewart worked for Ansco (Charles and Clinton Streets) from 1941-1953 during the war.  It was her first job after graduating from Binghamton Central High School.  She originally wanted to work at EJ like her parents, an immigrant family from Europe, but she got a job with Ansco right away making 42 cents per hour.  Her mother later came to work at Ansco, upon Betty's recommendation.  She cleaned machines for 25 years.  Betty Stewart worked overtime during the war, 60-66 hours per week.  There was only a ten minute break.  She worked in a darkroom, and to get in and out of the dark room, there was a maze of hallways one had to walk through so that light would not penetrate the darkroom.  She had an emergency flashlight (red or green light).  Red or green light was used depending upon the sensitivity of the film.  She acquired the ability to detect what type of film she was touching in the dark.  There was no eye strain.  The work surfaces had to be very clean of dust to protect the film.  White gloves were worn when handling film.  The job was also monotonous because she had to stand for long periods of time and placed paper in between pieces of film.  She took film from the coating department and counted sheets by hand.  She worked in this capacity as a "leader" of people who counted out and packed film.  Labeling, cutting and coating of film was done by another group of people.  As a leader, she coordinated people working in teams.  Her group was comprised mainly of women, especially when men were drafted.  Manufacturers were predominately male.  She had to distribute materials to her workers, act as a troubleshooter, and gave directions for packaging.  She also had to oversee her work environment for safety protocol.  Dollies of shelves were covered with canvas and were moved from one department to another.  Workers had to wear safety shoes with metal caps inside to protect their feet from the shelves of film that might fall to the ground.   Under Ms. Stewart's watch, a worker had pinched off her finger.  Ms. Stewart picked up the amputated finger, and brought the girl to the white light and saw that she went to the hospital.  The work surfaces had to be very clean of dust to protect the film.  

Ansco made roll film for cameras. They also assembled cameras at the plant.    They did portraits, or studio work.  They also made reproductions-big sheets of film- 24 X 36 feet-for commercial use.  They also made Xray film or gun film that was used on planes to keep track of missiles and ammunitions.  Raising the flag on Iwo Jima was made on Ansco portrait film.  Ansco was a patriotic company during the war, and employees attended many rallies.  The company received awards.  There were "going away" parties for drafted employees.  

Ansco also provided an active social life for Ms. Stewart.  Ansco brought in theatrical directors from NYC to help workers put on shows.    She also played on baseball teams and bowling leagues.  She showed an issue of the Reflector, Ansco's newsletter.  She shared photographs of Ansco Recreation Association.  This made the work community more fun, and less stressful.  Happy workers produced quality work.  

She had excellent medical benefits, such as one month payed time in the hospital for an episode of scarlet and rheumatic fever.  

After raising her children, Betty Stewart worked the night shift at GE from 1966-1986 as an electromechanical assembler.  She made parts that controlled gyros for cockpit motherboards.  She worked with microscopes, wiring, welding, and sottering.  There was no formal training for this job, she had to learn to assemble parts by acquiring sensitivity skills through experience.

Her husband worked for IBM for forty-two years.  She has four children, all college graduates.  One daughter works for IBM, another is a nurse practicioner.  Another son and daughter work in the education field.

James A. Shurtleff

James A. Shurtleff

Ansco-GAF

Mr. James Shurtleff started working for ANSCO-GAF in 1960, after he graduated from Broome Community College in 1959, holding a degree in chemical engineering. His relation with the company goes a little earlier. He took part in couple of coop-assignments in the photo lab where he was processing film strips as a technician for three months. As a chemical process engineer at ANSCO, Mr. Shurtleff and his team's task was to test the formulations of photographic emulsion (light sensitive portion applied to film), which were developed in the R&D building in the manufacturing plant. Then they would convert the formulations into continuous process. What they were looking particularly into was how to improve the efficiency and the reproducibility of the pilot plans, as  described "applied development". A typical pilot project would entail people coming together and discussing the concepts, and what kinds of equipment they would need that are available on the market. Then a group of 4 or 5 photographic emulsion technicians would design a small scale unit, a small reaction chamber, first using plastic, then glassware. Then they would go to a larger size and would purchase commercial products such as pumps and pipes. By then they were also using engineering programs, IBM computers and punched cards.  In the 1960s, while Mr. Shurtleff  was employed as a chemical engineer, he would come to the office and have a conversation with the manager about ongoing projects. When he became the section manager, he would have about 15 engineers under his supervision.

After Mr. Shurtleff completed an M.A. in engineering administration in Syracuse University in 1970, he became a section manager. His lab did also move to a special plant for process engineering only. His job became involving with directing and interacting with engineers, writing reports and talking to, or "communicating with" the management. Until 1975-76 Mr. Shurtleff was coding -basic step in photographic film base- and developing small scale emulsions.

After 1975, he transferred to waste water treatment plant, the waste water that resulted from the film based manufacturing. It was the same job of section manager, with different responsibilities. James left ANSCO-GAF in the 1980s. Before he left the company he became a licensed professional engineer in 1979, something he values highly that ANSCO was interested in sending employees to schools and contributing into their professional development, which he didn't observe for IBM. What happened during the 1980s was that GAF went under demise and sold out ANSCO and the film division to ANATECH because it was not profitable. Mr. Shurtleff explained to me the reasons of this: the rate of silver, which was used in film processing, went from 5 to 60 per ounce. KODAK had its own silver mines or silver stocks and could go over this crisis. But ANSCO was buying all of its silver from the market. For sometime Mr. Shurtleff worked for finding ways to conserve silver, identifying leaks etc., which was an idea of the administration. He left ANSCO just before ANATECH took over.

Between 1981 and 1996, Mr. Shurtleff worked for IBM. He and his team were producing multi-layered circuit boards of copper clay for high speed for larger computers. His first couple of years at IBM was very successful that they managed to build 2000-2400 circuit boards. After two or three years he took a manager's job, when he completed a school in Manhattan for PC programming, where he also took some management courses. Then he became a section manager at IBM. He worked in IBM-Owego for three years in a task of making military circuit boards smaller. In concluding our interview when asked, James commented that he is from "older culture" when people would spend much time at work rather then with family.

Sandy Scanlon

Sandy Scanlon

George F. Johnson's Granddaughter

George F. Johnson was an American businessman and owner of the Endicott Johnson Corp, a company based on Endicott, Johnson City, and Binghamton. Sandy Scalon, his granddaughter, talks about George F. Johnson’s rules in relation to “hobos.”

Roger Russell

Roger Russell

Endicott Johnson Shoe Company

Mr. Roger Russell (b. 24 September 1931) moved to Endicott and started working for EJ in 1951 as a leather handler. He was handling leather which came out of a "hot room" and gave it to lasters so that they could make them uppers for shoes. He worked in this capacity for 6 months before "Uncle Sam called" him to the Korean War, where he spent the next three years. Reflecting on this time, Mr. Russell said that he would have been "better off" if he had stayed longer in the military. Coming home from the war, he went back to work for EJ, getting a job in a survey crew. This job had him working mainly outdoors going from site to site where houses were built. His next job was for the EJ fire department. After learning that he would probably be laid off, Mr. Russell left and worked as a taxi-cab driver for a short time. He then got a position in one of the five EJ warehouses in the Triple Cities (which was located where the present Price Chopper off Oakdale Ave is) in shipping and receiving. For the next 30 years, Mr. Russell would work in a warehouse (the last 4 years was at a warehouse in west Endicott). For his first job at the warehouse, he was a "piler". This meant that he had to pick up the orders (which were piles of boxes filled with shoes), and send them "downstairs" on a conveyor belt, which were then loaded onto trucks to be shipped. Mr. Russell wheeled boxes of shoes (there were 16 pairs of shoes per box; 30 boxes per order; and approximately 60 orders a day) and set them up in the aisle. He described the warehouse as being a three-story building. "Packers" worked on the first floor, "pilers" on both second and first floors, and order-clerks were based on the second floor. The conveyor belt went from the second to the first floor. There were four order-clerks (two on each side of the conveyor). His next job was as an order-clerk where as he says, shoes were piled for him. The workday was an eight-hour shift, with a lunch hour, from 7am to 4pm. Mr. Russell noted that he volunteered for overtime work "whenever [he] could get it."

Roger discussed how, at the beginning of his career at EJ, the benefits were comprehensive - such as free medical - until the late 50's and early '60's. Then, according to him, because "some people got greedy" and "abused" the system (by taking too many sick days, and excessive time off) that EJ was no longer willing to provide the same comprehensive healthcare. Instead workers were covered by BlueCrossBlueShield, which they split paying with EJ. His wife and children were covered under this plan (children only until age 21).

In 1989 or 1990, Roger was given an "ultimatum" to retire - he refused, and instead he was sent to a different warehouse in west Endicott. He noted that this warehouse was "newer" with "fancy machinery" but that "it wasn't as fast as they thought it was." He retired in 1993 at the age of 62. He missed his full pension by two years. He was forced into retirement because there were two people working in the same position and the company was making cut-backs.

 Mr. Russell noted that there was "talk" of unionizing at EJ. He said that the "union got into the tanneries". As a result, the tannery workers got better pay (and got more money than IBM workers at one time). He said that management ("they") discouraged the workers from joining a union. He said that people who tried to organize unions were fired. He did not want to be the first or one of a few to sign - he said "if they all went [to sign], I would have signed." Mr. Russell also noted that IBM was not unionized because they had a pay-scale comparable to union-wages.

Patricia Roberts

Patricia Roberts

St. Paul's Church, Endicott, NY

IBM white shirts

Talks about her mother's St. Paul's sewing circle who turned IBMers' worn white shirts into hospital gowns for leper colony. 

Michael O'Hara

Michael O'Hara

Ansco - GAF

Mr. Michael O'Hara, who is of Irish descent, has an entire family history closely intertwined with ANSCO in Binghamton.  His father, Arthur Dunbar O'Hara, was the first chemist to work for ANSCO, and other members of his family worked at ANSCO in different positions (such as his grandfather, father-in-law, and mother-in-law).  In 1967, Michael began his career at ANSCO as a chemical packer; he spent one month in training for this job. The workday shifts were from 7am - 3pm, and from 3pm - 11pm. Each shift had 15 workers. As a "batchmaker", he worked mostly with preparing liquids and powders, which were packaged separately into containers ("chemical packers"), to be shipped to consumers - both for commercial and personal use. Because of the potential danger in handling the materials, Mr. O'Hara had to wear a protective facemask while on duty. He did not enjoy the job very much but stuck with it for 6 months when, at the verge of wanting to quit ANSCO, he put in a bid to switch jobs - to the Energies division. He found this division much more agreeable and enjoyed it enough to stay for 31 years.  His first job at the Energies division was as a "pump man", which was by his account, the "lowest category" position within the division. This job entailed taking readings of pumps and making sure they were running properly. He worked on a "swing shift" schedule, which were 8 hr shifts from 3pm-11pm, and from 11pm-7am, 365 days/yr with rotating days off. Because it was a demanding job, he often had to work 20 hours a day for 3 shifts in 8 hour shifts.  It would regularly effect his sleeping as well as eating hours - machines had to be fixed before anything else could be done. Mr. O'Hara worked as a pump man for 10 years before being promoted to the job of utility operator, where he would work and regulate the various machineries. Mr. O'Hara spent 6 years at this level before being promoted to the rank of operating engineer. He spent 3- 6 months in training for this position. The tasks associated with this job consisted of checking on different machines to see if they were functioning properly (this meant needing to check temperature and humidity regulators necessary for the production of film). Mr. O'Hara stated that his favorite job at ANSCO was as an engineer, because it was "away from production" and it gave him the opportunity for more outdoors work - he stayed there for 13 years. Much like his position at Energies, it involved repairing broken machines. During this job, he entered into a union - International Operating Local 422, which had 50 employee members in Binghamton. Mr. O'Hara noted that every job at Ansco was unionized.

He related the hazards of working in an age where workplace hazards were unknown: factories would often be "coming apart in pieces" with layers of ceiling and wall crumbling from old age and from the moisture of their environments.  When this happened, they would take a white, dry powder and applied it moistened onto the holes to seal them.  Later this powder, asbestos, was found to be carcinogenic.  It was not until International Paper bought the plant, that he was given the proper training about this material and the hazards that go along with it.

Harold McGowan

Harold McGowan

Endicott Johnson Shoe Company

Harold McGowan was born in Pennsylvania in 1920. He graduated from High School at 15. Harold McGowan began his career with Endicott Johnson in 1946 in the accounting department at the Archibald, PA factory. After a brief stint in the army reserves during the Korean War, Mr. McGowan returned to work with Endicott Johnson and moved to the Southern Tier.

While in New York held many positions in EJ. He started in the accounting office. While there, he standardized the forms used by each of the factories. He also worked as the company controller. As controller, Mr. McGowan was in charge of bookkeeping, costing, quarterly reports.

Mr. McGowan was president of the company from 1969 to 1985. During his tenure, he made many changes to the company. He changed the medical from company doctors to Blue Cross/Blue Shield. He realized that there were some areas where Endicott Johnson couldn’t compete with the cheaper working foreign workers. He believed that if you couldn’t compete, then you needed a new idea. So he ditched a line of uppers and started focusing on firemen’s boots. He also introduced spikeless golf shoes to the United States after seeing them in England.

As President, Mr. McGowan had two rules: 1) He answered his own phone and 2) Anyone who worked for EJ could come by and see him. He was the only president of EJ to retire. All the other presidents either died while still working or were fired. Sadly, Mr. McGowan died on December 1, 2006. He was 86 years old.

Duane Manning

Duane Manning

Roberson Lumber

Mr. Duane Manning worked for Roberson Lumber for 7.5 years, from 1947 to 1955, starting at age 18.  His father worked there as well.  He started working in the door room with a dozen other men, which was on the second floor of the three-story factory. He was the youngest among his coworkers.  Mr. Manning often worked as a "floater" working at each different station.  His starting pay rate was $0.75 an hour.  

Roberson Lumber manufactured interior and exterior doors, storm doors, windows, windowsills, floor sills, spiral staircases, wooden exterior blinds. The company had its own fleet of trucks for delivery.

Mr. Manning described the process of making a door. Lumber (mostly ponderosa pine) arrived by rail. The train stopped right behind the factory.  Boards were unloaded by hand one at a time.  Men would climb into the boxcar, slide the boards down onto sawhorses and iron wheeled wagons.  The large boards were balanced so that they could pull the cart from one end.  A tractor with an extension arm that hooked onto the cart pulled the wagon.  The lumber was put on an elevator to go to the upper floors (storm doors and windows were made on the third floor).

The foreman of the door department laid out all the boards for each type of door, and marked them with a pencil.  The cutters, at the chainsaw station, were given a list of what length and width to cut the boards and how many of each size.  The chainsaw station had a table that moved up and down, as the saw remained stationary.  The door then went a machine called the "style."   This machine cut the outside of the door, smoothing and rounding the edges.  The style was also where the crosspieces or "tendons" were cut.  Each door normally had at least two tendons - a top and bottom rail (depending on the type of door there were more tendons).  Doors are two pieces at this point in the process, a "front" and "back" side.  Door pieces were loaded on carts and wheeled around between each workstation.  Then the slots for the windows were cut at the machine called the "chopper."  The chopper could cut 45-degree angles.  The chopper was operated with a foot press/pedal.  Moldings were also cut with the chopper.  The moldings were attached after the door had been sanded.  The sanding machine could handle doors up to 4 feet wide.  The doors went through the sander twice, once for each side.  Then the doors were put into a squaring apparatus.  This machine made of iron allowed workers to square the edges of the whole door and the window slots.  After that the pieces of the door were "sandwiched" together using one-inch pins to set it and then gluing and hammering it together.  This "sandwich" process was all done by hand.  The hammers used had heavy steel handles with rubber heads, so that the head of the hammer didn't damage the wood.

Mr. Manning said they made about 100 doors a day.  The doors were stacked against a pole and pushed around the corner onto a cart.  Then the doors had windows inserted before they were shipped.

Mr. Manning enthusiastically spoke about how the factory was powered.  All of the equipment was twenty years old when he started working there.  Every machine, except for two electric saws, was run by a steam engine.  There was a system of boilers, pulleys, and a flat leather belts (approx 4 inches wide) that worked together to power the whole factory. This system was basically self-propelled.  The steam engine was on the third floor of the factory.  It ran on 100lbs of steam pressure. The pulleys and belts for the machines were above the workstations at the ceiling level.  There was a line shaft system housed in between the ceiling and the floor of each level. There was also a central shaft that acted as a vacuum. Each machine had a pipe coming out of it. These pipes connected to the central "vacuum" shaft that ran to the top floor.  The sawdust was constantly being sucked through the pipes.  If there were chips or dust on the floor, workers would just sweep it up and take it to the central shaft.  The central shaft had sliding doors where workers could open the door and the pile would be sucked up the shaft.  Mr. Manning said there were only two maintenance men for the entire factory, which employed approximately 100 people.  The steam engine heated the factory as well.  Factory floors were hard wood (he thinks it might have been maple) covered with sawdust.  This combination made it easy to slide heavy items from place to place in the factory.

Mr. Manning emphasized that Roberson used every bit of wood to its advantage.  When a board had knots, the knots were cut out, collected and burned in the steam engine boilers. Wood chips and scraps from the factory floor were burned to fuel the steam engine. Any five-inch scrap pieces were sold to Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company (for women's shoe heels). Thin scraps were sent to the blind room.  Scraps that were 1" thick, depending on the length, were used as moldings for storm doors or windows or other products.

Mr. Manning remembers working with cypress wood to build the doors for the Broome County Airport.  Manning recalls keeping the wood wet with a mixture of water and sawdust.  Slivers from cypress are poisonous.  Workers did not wear gloves.  If they got a sliver they picked it out with a sharpened jack knife, which Manning called a "sliver picker."

Sometimes, when work was slow, Mr. Manning also cut screens to size and inserted them into doors or windows.  The mesh screen was attached to the frame with a tool that was essentially a rolling bar with wheels.  The edges of the mesh were rolled into the groove that had been cut by the chopper.  Roberson purchased the screen mesh from Cortland Wire Co. in NY.  Then moldings were stapled over the top.  The staples were pins that were hammered in by hand with a rubber mallet.

In 1953 or 1954, the State came to inspect the factory.  Inspectors told the Roberson management not to run the steam engine system any more, because it did not meet state standards.  The company switched to electric power.  A 50 hp motor was installed where the steam engine used to be, at top of the line shaft, to run the belt system.  A 100hp motor was needed to power the fan.  After the first electric bill, company ordered another smaller steam engine to run the fan (vacuum).  It was shortly after this that Roberson began to go out of business.  A company from Pennsylvania bought Roberson.  The new parent promised innovation and growth, but the employees felt the end coming.  Manning said he know he was going to be laid off, before he actually was.  When he was laid off in 1955, he was making $1.25 an hour.

Mr. Manning's favorite aspect of his time at Roberson was coming in and knowing that he might get to do any one of the jobs in the door room.  He liked the variety of being a "floater."  

Listen to audio below

Doris Edwards

Doris Edwards

IBM

Doris M. Edwards, 86, of Endicott passed away February 3, 2011 at her Endicott home where she was born and lived her entire life. She is predeceased by her parents Jasper Daniel Edwards and Olive Warner Light, her sisters Marion L, Florence L, and Ethel A, and her infant brother, Richard W. She is survived by numerous cousins and many loving friends. Doris was born on April 28, 1924. She graduated from Union-Endicott High School in 1942. A year later, in May 1943, she joined IBM and was a loyal employee for 41 years until her retirement in 1984. While working there, she was very active in many IBM activities. As a member of IBM's Quarter Century Club she served as Treasurer, Vice president, and then President. One of her biggest loves was traveling around the world and she was a long-time member of the IBM Travel Club where she also served as its President.

Doris makes several appearances in the video below

F.V. Johnson

F.V. Johnson

GE

The Center for Technology & Innovation Leadership Award is named in honor of Fritihof V. “Fritz” Johnson (1909 - 2010), an avionics pioneer with General Electric who spearheaded the art of navigating with gyroscopes in the early 1930s.  Mr. Johnson moved from GE-Schenectady to lead an aeronautical engineering group at GE-Westover, NY from 1964 until his retirement in 1975.  In 1977, F. V. Johnson was named an IEEE Life Fellow for "contributions in inertial sensors and avionic systems," and in 1979 he was the first recipient of the IEEE Charles Proteus Steinmetz Award.  In 1946, GE presented Mr. Johnson with the Charles A. Coffin Award and the GE Aircraft Control Systems Department created the F. V. " Fritz" Johnson Award for Engineering Excellence in 1991.  Fritz Johnson maintained a lifelong involvement in civic, cultural, and church activities throughout his retirement. The core of the Center for Technology & Innovation’s  F. V. “Fritz” Johnson Leadership Award is his durable legacy of inspiring both technological and community advancement.

Stan Hayes

Stan Hayes

Link, EJ, Ozalid

Between Mr. Stan Hayes and Mr. Bill Camp, they worked a combined total of 45 years for Link. The interviews, which were but a few short hours, only skimmed the surface of their rich experiences and histories. However, significant themes emerged from their words and expressions such as "creativity" and "meaning".

Ed Link's personal motto/philosophy was to be creative, but more importantly, their jobs required them to be so if they were going to be able to perform. Their work required initiative, vision, resourcefulness, patience, and practicality. An anecdote from Mr. Hayes illustrates this mentality: In the early years of his time with Link, Mr. Hayes was going to the airport early every morning before work for Civil Pilot training program - part of a meteorology program which he enrolled in on his own accord and by his own means - which invariably made late for work. When management confronted him (to reprimand him) he explained what he was doing and why - to gain further knowledge, understanding, and tangible applications in the field of flight training, which would surely make him better at his job in mechanical design. His supervisors were more than surprised, and they encouraged him to "be as late as he wanted to be" if that was the case.

Mr. Camp related to us how much it meant for him to be able to "follow through to the end" of a project.  Many times, he was involved on a project from inception to creation and, finally, to implementation. The fact the he, and others, were involved from beginning to end, allowed them to be actively and meaningfully involved in the project; this was more than just a professional endeavor, for it allowed a crucial human element of nurturing to it. The groups of engineers, designers, programmers, supervisors, flight trainers, etc. were united in a collective effort. This was integral to the success of the projects. Further, Mr. Camp told us of the personal and professional satisfaction he felt when he would run the program, or when he would push the button and the project would come to life. His telling of the account expresses that it was more than just a product, or a project, and it goes beyond just "innovation" - it was an act of creation.

Mr. Hayes was part of the "thumb and rule" designers, meaning he went through his "schooling" on the job - and that this school was ongoing. Always learning, always looking ahead, and always reaching for the stars. That type of mentality, Mr. Hayes alluded had something to do with the fact that Link Aviation was part of the Apollo Program, but more importantly because people were always pushing the limits of technology, and imparting meaning to a field that had not yet been written.

Stephanie Frailey

Stephanie Frailey

Endicott Johnson Company

Mrs. Stephanie Frailey worked in the Jigger Factory, stitching, and ended up in Sunrise Factory working on the hot iron cutting patterns. It wasn't that hard and they got so used to it that they could work in their dreams. In the Jigger factory, they had the top of the sneaker done. They had to put it through a machine before sending it on to get it soled. They put all the small pieces together and then it was ready for the oven. Everything was in the same building.  

EJ was very sincere in caring for people. They took care of all medical needs, sold dinners for 15 cents. Anyone could eat there, even if they didn't work there. Kids would come in from school. There were 7 diners around town. Mrs. Frailey had many jobs over the years. For example, at the Scout Factory, she worked at insoles off and on between having children.  They had a good time in the factory. They talked as much as they could, but they were busy working, so they had to concentrate a lot, and the machines could get loud.

They did have coffee breaks, and they made their own coffee. It was a good place to work. Candy boys would come around and sell snacks during the morning and afternoon breaks. In each department, sequentially, operations ceased for 10-15 minutes while the Candy boys sold their wares and the employees took a break.The factories where glueing occurred had a distinct odor, but were quieter than the sticheries. The sticheries were very loud, but had no smell. She liked the factories where she could work at her own pace unlike the conveyor belt.  The guys would put lasts down, then the girls would put the rubber in. The conveyor was there, and each girl would put a piece on - rubber, lining, toe piece, soles, etc.