USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Pittsfield > The history of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, 1916-1955 > Part 38
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Early in 1955, the plant shipped two record-breaking trans- formers to the Tennessee Valley Authority. Each unit was rated 300,000 kva and 161,000 volts. Yet such progress had been made in reducing the size and weight of transformers that each unit was shipped on a single drop-frame flat car, in upright position, ready to be slid off at its destination. Other "mon- sters," weighing 218 tons each, were under construction to operate on a 330,000 volt system for the Atomic Energy Com- mission.
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THE HISTORY OF PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
In 1947, after 44 years of service, Lewis R. ("Buster") Brown had retired. Since 1923, he had been manager of the entire transformer sales division and as such, it is generally agreed, "did more than any other man to build up the trans- former business in Pittsfield." An ardent baseball fan, he was a close friend of many of the great players, and in 1924 was president of the Pittsfield Hillies then playing in the Eastern League.
Franz X. Brugger, assistant to the plant manager, retired in 1948. An expert in finance, he later served with distinction as chairman of the city's School Building Commission. In 1949, after 47 years of service dating back to the old Stanley company, Frederick F. Brand retired as manager of engineering, later serving the city on the Infirmary Building Commission. He was succeeded by Karl B. McEachron, internationally known for his high voltage research. Shortly after his appointment, Mc- Eachron was awarded the Edison Medal of the American Insti- tute of Electrical Engineers for "outstanding contribution to the advancement of electrical science." McEachron too was active in community affairs, serving as chairman of the Traffic Commission. He died early in 1954.
Robert Paxton was transferred in 1950 to GE headquarters at Schenectady to become vice president in charge of manufac- turing policy. He was succeeded as general manager of the Morningside plant by James M. Crawford, who in turn was followed the next year by Francis E. Fairman, Jr.
The year 1952 opened with the decentralization of the Morningside plant into several separate operating departments, each with its own complete organization. The Distribution Transformer Department was headed by Raymond W. Smith; the Power Transformer Department by William S. Ginn; the Transformer Laboratories Department by Horace S. Hubbard, and the Capacitor Department by Alfred W. Hough. The ca- pacitor factory was at Hudson Falls, New York, with an addi- tional plant at nearby Fort Edward, where the small capacitor business had moved from Pittsfield in 1945.
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All of these department managers reported to Fairman, then general division manager, and later a vice president of the company. He was succeeded in 1954 as division manager by Ginn, and Joseph W. Seaman became general manager of the Power Transformer Department.
During the post-war years, there were several shifts of prod- uct from the Morningside plant in addition to the capacitor move. The making of small transformers was transferred to a plant in Holyoke. In 1952, the company began building a $25,000,000 power transformer factory in Rome, Georgia, and some members of the Pittsfield staff were transferred there. Two years later, the company announced its plan to build another large factory for small distribution transformers, near Hickory, North Carolina.
In 1955, the manufacture of industrial heating apparatus in Pittsfield moved to Shelbyville, Indiana. The Columbus Avenue plant used for such manufacture was given by General Electric to the Pittsfield Industrial Development Company to aid the latter in its efforts to attract new enterprise to the city.
In spite of transfers and dispersals, production and employ- ment at the Morningside plant remained high. Production in 1954 was valued at more than $150,000,000. As remarked before, three out of five of those gainfully employed in Pitts- field are on the GE payroll. This payroll during 1955 averaged more than $1,000,000 a week. The growth of the plant and the rise in wage and salary scales can be seen from these figures, given for December of respective years (figures are approxi- mate) :
Year
Employees
Weekly Payroll
1916
6,500
$ 88,000
1929
8,050
254,000
1932
3,000*
52,200
1942
12,850
570,000
1948
12,420
850,000
1954
10,375
1,000,000 (plus)
*During the Depression, every effort was made to spread the work through shortened and staggered work-hours.
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THE HISTORY OF PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
As General Electric's operations in Pittsfield grew larger and larger, so did the company's need for skilled craftsmen. To meet this need, GE stepped up its four-year program of appren- tice training. Before 1920 General Electric averaged about a dozen apprentice graduates each year. By 1955 the number ex- ceeded fifty. In addition to training toolmakers and draftsmen, GE began in 1955 to offer on-the-job electrician training.
To attract high-caliber young men to Pittsfield, General Elec- tric established high standards for its apprentice program. The days of the extremely low-paid apprentice were gone. In fact, GE apprentice wages were high enough for many apprentices to marry and begin raising their families. A major step in in- dustrial education took place in 1955 when General Electric negotiated with the University of Massachusetts to establish a college-level engineering program, making it possible for a young man to earn college credits while still on the job in Pittsfield.
The Morningside plant has had a labor union since 1940. The first great strike at the plant began early in September 1916, when some 5,000 workers walked out and marched two abreast in an impressive and orderly parade along Pittsfield's main streets .* Conflict had arisen when the company, in offer- ing a 5 per cent pay increase, declared that if any employees had complaints or grievances, the management would talk with them individually, or through committees of their choosing. But it would have no dealings with trade unions. National officials of two unions-the Carpenters and Joiners, and the Pattern- makers-came to aid the strikers. After a month, the State Board of Conciliation and Arbitration effected a settlement, un- der which the strikers returned to work on the terms of the com- pany's original offer.
Organization of workers in the Morningside works first began to make headway in 1937, after the historic decision of the United States Steel Company to sign a company-wide union contract with the CIO steel workers. General Electric soon agreed to discuss a similar contract with the CIO electrical
*For details of the 1916 strike, the reader is referred to pages 94-96.
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MORNINGSIDE BECOMES ELECTRIC
workers union. Organization in Pittsfield was slow. But by 1939 two locals of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Work- ers Union (CIO) had been established at the plant-one for shop workers, the other for office workers.
The next year, the locals petitioned the National Labor Rela- tions Board for an election to determine whether employees wished the UERMW to act as their bargaining agent. Voting affirmatively, the shop workers chose Local 255 to represent them; and the "white collar" workers, Local 254. John H. Callahan was business agent of Local 255 from 1943 to 1955, when he joined the national staff of IUE-CIO. Arthur J. LaBlue was elected to succeed him.
After World War II, the Morningside plant was closed down by what is still locally known as "the great strike." It was a time of rising prices and lower total wages, and the union locals asked for a pay raise of $2 a day.
When the request was refused, a strike vote was called, being conducted by National Labor Relations Board examiners. Workers voted overwhelmingly to walk out, and the strike began on January 15, 1946, continuing till the middle of March. Under the settlement, employees were granted a 10 per cent pay increase, with somewhat higher percentages for those earn- ing less than $1 an hour .*
In the late 1940s, the Communist issue split the unions and placed General Electric in an uncertain position. National law required that trade union officials swear that they were not Communists, or under Communist domination, if their unions were to be accredited officially as bargaining agents by the National Labor Relations Board. The leaders of UE declined to take the oath. Late in 1949, for this and other reasons, UE was expelled from the CIO, which organized a rival union, the International Electrical Workers, known as IUE-CIO.
To clarify the situation, General Electric had the National Labor Relations Board conduct an election among workers in all its ninety-nine plants across the country to determine which union they wished to represent them. Each plant voted as a unit.
*For details of the 1946 strike, the reader is referred to pages 214-215.
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THE HISTORY OF PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
Morningside employees chose IUE-CIO by a large majority. A UE local still functions in Pittsfield, not however at General Electric, but its membership has steadily declined.
During the early 1950s, labor-management relations at the plant were cooperative and peaceful, except for minor griev- ances. Late in 1955, General Electric and IUE signed a five year contract, something of an innovation. Locals 255 and 254 ratified the pact, which should assure some years of industrial peace in the city's largest industry and its chief source of live- lihood.
457
XIX
Clubs and Organizations
PITTSFIELD HAS ALWAYS BEEN VERY "CLUBBY." Not in the worst sense of that word, meaning that the community has divided itself up into mutually exclusive groups, though there has been some of that. But rather in the sense that Pittsfieldians have a long tradition of being "joiners," feeling a desire and obligation to be active in group affairs of all kinds. They are a sociable and gregarious people.
As there are over 300 clubs and organizations in the city, space permits mention of relatively few. Those included here represent major civic groups and a number of smaller associa- tions typifying the many formed for special purposes.
League of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters of Pittsfield, founded in 1931, is a non-partisan organization that works to promote political responsibility through informed and active participation in government by all citizens. A member of the Pittsfield League is automatically a member of the Massachusetts and of the na- tional league.
Through the League's program, members work for the adop- tion and proper use of the most efficient and responsive forms of representative government. For each level of government, members adopt a program of current issues for concerted action.
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THE HISTORY OF PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
These issues are used as a tool to stimulate thinking and pro- mote citizen responsibility in the community.
Membership participation in the program is achieved prin- cipally through the unit discussion system. Several small discus- sion groups are held in different parts of the city at approxi- mately the same time. Each group discusses the same issue, and each group meets about ten times a year. In this way, every in- dividual has the opportunity to clarify and express her opin- ions. At least four general membership meetings, with speakers, are held each year.
Helping individuals to be politically effective is a year-round function of the Voters Service. These functions include (1) supplying information on elections, voting procedures, quali- fications of candidates, and ballot referenda; (2) urging citi- zens to register and to vote; and (3) and perhaps most im- portant, holding a candidates' rally for the public. The Pittsfield League has conducted a candidates' rally every year since 1933.
The League from its inception has been an action group. League action is political action. But it is political action in the public interest, in support of selected issues, not candidates- being non-partisan.
League action includes (1) providing information, (2) building public opinion, and (3) supporting or opposing legis- lation. This does not limit the activity of the League to its own members. The members are constantly reaching out into the community to develop the responsibility of all citizens.
Among the local issues on which the League has taken action are these-a non-partisan charter for Pittsfield (adopted in 1932); improved low-cost housing; improvement of the Parks and Recreation Department; building of new schools; higher standards of education; salary increases for teachers, as well as for the mayor and the councilmen; cleaning up the Housatonic River; creating a county-wide United Nations In- stitute. In 1954, the League compiled and published a useful manual, This is Pittsfield, a lucid study and presentation of the city's government and the major aspects of the community and. its problems.
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CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS
On a state level, the local League has concerned itself with tax reforms, establishment of a merit system, improved treat- ment of juvenile and women offenders, support of state teachers colleges, and protection of civil rights.
On national issues, it has actively interested itself in the legal status of women, maternal and child welfare, conservation, financial policies to promote an expanding economy, and inter- national cooperation through the United Nations, reciprocal trade agreements, and technical assistance to underdeveloped countries.
Membership in the local League increased from a small group in 1931 to 110 in 1936, and has grown to 230 in 1955. Its work is supported by membership dues and by contributions from members, friends, and public-spirited people during the annual finance drive. Mrs. Bernard D. Cook was president in 1955.
Women's Club
The Women's Club of Pittsfield, Inc., was chartered in 1954, having at the time almost 800 members, Mrs. Mary Leonard Smith was president, Miss S. Frances Gannon, executive secre- tary, and Mrs. Mary E. Mclaughlin, treasurer. Governed by an executive board of twenty-two members, the club is an amalgam of earlier organizations.
In 1915 there were two women's clubs in Pittsfield-the Working Girls' Club (founded in 1890), with Miss Ara M. West (Mrs. Harold D. Grinnell) as president, and the Busi- ness Women's Club (established in 1909), with Dr. Mary Anna Wood as president. A person interested in helping the clubs to become firmly established provided a fund adminis- tered by the Young Women's Home Association, Inc. (a hold- ing corporation organized in 1910). For a time, the donor was known only to the Young Women's Home Association. Upon the death of Mrs. Almira Cooley, however, it became known that she had been the generous benefactor.
Mrs. Cooley's son, Arthur, carried on his mother's work. He suggested that both clubs occupy the same quarters in the Park
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THE HISTORY OF PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
Building on Bank Row, which was arranged. Additional space was obtained along Bank Row in the Wood Block. Funds for rental of these quarters was supplied by the Young Women's Home Association. Classes in cooking, dancing, and gymnastics were established. Each club had its own charter, officers, busi- ness meetings, and living room. All other privileges were en- joyed by both clubs.
Upon the death of Arthur N. Cooley, financial aid from this source was discontinued, so that in 1925 the clubs decided to operate independently of each other. The Working Girls' Club disbanded and became the Young Women's Club, with Mrs. R. H. Gamwell as president, occupying rooms in the Wood Block. The Business Women's Club continued as before and rented two front rooms in the Park Building from the Pittsfield Coal Gas Company, engaging Miss Mary Quirk as executive secretary. The membership then was about 400.
Arthur Cooley had bequeathed money to build a club house for the women of Pittsfield. From this fund the Young Women's Home Association purchased the Jones property at the corner of First and East streets. The old house on the prop- erty was fitted up for the use of the Girls' League (established in 1913), and plans were drawn up for a new building to be occupied jointly by both clubs and the Girls' League.
The onset of the Depression in the 1930s delayed these plans. Resigning as president of the Women's Club, Dr. Mary Anna Wood was succeeded by Miss Anna Solon. In 1930, Miss Maud Richardson, who had served voluntarily for seven years, was engaged as the paid treasurer of the club, filling this office until her retirement in 1953.
In June 1930, the Young Women's Club and the Business Women's Club decided to merge as the Women's Club of Pitts- field. The new club continued to use the combined rooms in both the Wood and Park buildings, which were redecorated and refurnished. Funds for this purpose were raised by rum- mage sales, card parties, luncheons, an art exchange, and similar activities.
461
CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS
During the Depression, suppers were furnished to store clerks who had to work at night, especially during the holiday season. A younger set was organized, consisting of girls aged eighteen or more who had been unable to obtain employment after leaving school. These girls, as well as adult members un- able to pay dues because of lack of work, were encouraged to use the club's facilities and classes without charge until such time as they found jobs.
At the time of the merger, each club had a summer camp. The Young Women's Club had been given Francis Island at Pontoosuc Lake, donated by the Francis family. The Business Women's Club had Camp Bluebird on Richmond Pond, with 62 acres of land, a house, and other buildings, a gift from Miss Gertrude Watson. These camps are still used and enjoyed by the members and by the general public as well.
After fifteen years of service, Miss Anna Solon resigned as president and was succeeded by Mrs. Herman S. Braun, who was in turn succeeded in 1952 by Mrs. Mary Leonard Smith, the present head of the Women's Club.
Previously, in 1937, Simon England had bought a spacious brick house at 42 Wendell Avenue, owned by Mayor Allen H. Bagg, and presented it to the club in memory of his wife, Frances S. England, long active in supporting women's pro- grams in Pittsfield. Some construction and many improvements were needed to make it suitable for use as a clubhouse. More furniture was required. Substantial contributions to this expense came from the Young Women's Home Association.
In September 1937, after twenty-eight years in crowded rooms, the club moved into its new quarters, celebrating the occasion with a banquet at which Miss Anna Solon presided and Simon England was the guest of honor.
With the new clubhouse and expanded programs, member- ship rose to its highest peak, more than 1,000 members. Open seven days a week and in constant use at all times, the clubhouse was proof that such quarters of their own were what the women of Pittsfield sorely needed. At his death Simon England be- queathed $10,000 to the club with the proviso that a note held
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THE HISTORY OF PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
by the bank be paid in full and that the remainder be used for any major repairs the clubhouse needed. In 1937, the Women's Club was accepted by the Community Chest as one of its Red Feather agencies.
As in World War I, so in World War II, the Women's Club bustled with activity in Red Cross and other programs, the members making bandages, knitting, sewing, promoting war gardens, selling war bonds, doing canteen work, serving as Gray Ladies and nurses' aides.
Fourteen members joined the armed forces. In 1943, Execu- tive Secretary Mary Quirk took a year's leave of absence to work with the Red Cross in Washington. Resigning after the war, she was succeeded by Miss Martha Hick, who served until 1949 when she became Mrs. Alexander J. Young. The present Executive Secretary, Miss S. Frances Gannon, an active board member, was then appointed. The club owes its well kept records largely to the conscientious efforts of Mrs. Carolyn R. Stickles, who served as clerk for twenty-eight years.
Receiving about a fifth of its income from the Community Chest, the Women's Club is largely self-supporting through membership dues and various activities to raise money. Open every day from nine in the morning till ten at night (and later, if specially arranged), the club has kept its original policy of being a community center for all women and girls over seven- teen desiring to join for educational, recreational, social, and civic activities. Among the many community projects in which the Women's Club participates is the sponsorship each year of the drive for funds for the Berkshire Benevolent Association for the Blind of Pittsfield and Berkshire County.
Community Chest organizations are granted the free use of the club for their meetings. Rooms are rented to a number of societies and for many private parties, showers, receptions, and similar gatherings, the rentals providing a not inconsiderable source of income.
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CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Golden Age Club
The Pittsfield Golden Age Club was organized in 1949 through the efforts of the Pittsfield College Club and the De- partment of Parks and Recreation. The club's founding owes much to Walfrid T. Victoreen, retired director of manual train- ing in the public schools, who recognized the need for an older citizens' group and vigorously promoted its formation. With an attendance of 69 at the first meeting, the membership steadily increased until by 1954 it exceeded 600.
Each week, representatives of the College Club and the De- partment of Parks and Recreation attend meetings to assist however they can. There are no dues or fees. Any Pittsfield resident 65 years of age is eligible. Membership is limited to city residents because the municipal government annually ap- propriates, through the Parks and Recreation Department, some money for supplies, materials, and bus trips.
The club meets regularly at the YMCA for varied pro- grams of community singing, movies, dancing exhibitions, music, plays, contests, speakers on many subjects, round and square dancing, and hobby shows. The average attendance is two hundred or more.
A local bakery donates each week a birthday cake to be pre- sented at the meeting. Another bakery presents appropriately decorated cakes to couples celebrating their 50th wedding anni- versary. Others have donated cakes and cookies for refresh- ments.
Many Pittsfield merchants and individuals have been gen- erous in giving prizes for card parties and contests, and money to equip a woodworking shop with power and hand tools. The workroom, in the basement of the Berkshire Museum, can be used by members at any time.
The Golden Age Club has several group projects. On Friday afternoons, the Sewing Club meets at the Museum. With mate- rial purchased from Golden Age Club funds, articles are made for the New England Home for Little Wanderers and the City Infirmary. In addition, the Sewing Club has undertaken com- munity projects such as making flags for the grade school safety
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THE HISTORY OF PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
patrols, Red Cross banners, and costumes for the City Ice Revue. Another group meets weekly during the fall and winter for book reviews, travel talks, discussions, and hobby displays.
Requests for part-time help in such jobs as baby-sitting, gar- dening, and repairing are cleared through the club's own "em- ployment bureau." Members have been serving on jury duty, working at winter sports areas, acting as judges at playgrounds, assisting in the local hospitals, and serving at the local Day Care Center as carpenters, artists, and general maintenance help.
The club has its own "girls' choir" and "boys' choir", both very popular groups not only at Golden Age Club meetings, but at gatherings of other organizations-some as far away as Cummington and Springfield.
The Golden Age Club orchestra, consisting of violin, flute or guitar, trumpet, and accordion, plays at the club's meetings and is in demand for Grange and other entertainments. Orig- inal plays, written by members, have been presented at meetings and repeated by request before other organizations.
Bus trips are most popular and are free to all members. A destination with a dance floor is usually chosen. College Club members, the Parks Department Supervisor of Recreation, and a volunteer nurse accompany all trips to assist where needed.
The Golden Age Club has been the place where old friend- ships have been renewed, new friends made, old talents reborn, new talents developed, loneliness dispelled, and a zest for living during the "golden years" awakened. In 1955 George J. Gottsche was club president.
YMCA
The Pittsfield YMCA was chartered in 1886. Edward N. Huntress was the first general secretary. On his retirement in 1926, he was succeeded by Arthur B. Nicholls, who served until the appointment in 1938 of Elliott M. Preble, the present exec- utive. Harold D. Barnes was president in 1955.
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