[PRCo] Re: Stuff That's Gone- West Penn Railways

[John Swindler]

Nothing like a mill job to provide some incentive for college work.


> From: bob.dietrich1 at verizon.net
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Stuff That's Gone- West Penn Railways
> Date: Sat, 30 Oct 2010 18:24:55 -0400
> 
> I suppose I should throw in my Mill job.  I was at Homestead for about 18
> months between 1968 & 69.  The most significant remembrance I have is guys
> being forced to take something like 8 weeks vacation then coming back and
> trying to recall what they were supposed to do.  You see I was working in
> the computer department.  The computer was just inside the 8th Ave entrance
> and I never got any further.  Truth is I never wanted to go any further.
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of Dwight
> Long
> Sent: Saturday, October 30, 2010 12:13 PM
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Cc: Dennis Lamont
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Stuff That's Gone- West Penn Railways
> 
> John
> 
> There was a lot of slack time in my job at Crucible as well.  But woe befall
> any laborer who failed to heed the whistle at the cold roll station when the
> operator--who was on incentive--needed oil, scrap toted away, or whatever!
> Slack time was particularly bad on night shift.  One night all the laborers
> (myself included) were sacked out on shelves in the warehouse.  The foreman
> was really pissed when he found us--cold roll needed rolling oil.  He said,
> can't at least one of youse guys stay awake?  But no one was disciplined for
> it.
> 
> I just missed you at Homestead.  I was based there, in the transportation
> office, for a short time in early 1965. That was a blast--got to see all the
> USS Valley mills, ride the Union RR, etc.  and got paid for it!
> 
> Dwight
>   ----- Original Message ----- 
>   From: John Swindler 
>   To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org 
>   Sent: Saturday, 30 October, 2010 11:54
>   Subject: [PRCo] Re: Stuff That's Gone- West Penn Railways
> 
> 
> 
> 
>   I spent the summer of 1966 in Homestead works as a grinder.  The job
> involved grinding imperfections out of steel plate, which would then be
> welded, and we would then grind the weld smooth.
> 
>   My favorite story was first shift on night turn.  There were two of us
> college students.  We worked for about an hour grinding 5-6 plates when an
> old timer came over to us and said:  "you boys need to take it easy for the
> rest of the night.  Otherwise, when you go back to school, the 'incentive'
> will be ruined for this job".
> 
>   I remember that whenever I see closed, rusted factory buildings.
> 
>   Cheers
>   John
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>   > From: hwandrews at wowway.com
>   > To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>   > Subject: [PRCo] Re: Stuff That's Gone- West Penn Railways
>   > Date: Sat, 30 Oct 2010 11:34:17 -0400
>   > 
>   > Hell is right here in Michigan.  No, I don't mean Detroit - there is a
> city
>   > named Hell just to the west of Detroit.
>   > (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell,_Michigan)
>   > 
>   > I think many of us from the 'burgh had interesting summer jobs.  
>   > 
>   > I was a hooker at the Homestead works for a summer.  That's the guy on
> the
>   > floor who places the crane hooks to lift and move a load of steel - what
> do
>   > you guy thing?  
>   > 
>   > My toughest job was laboring in a Gray Iron Foundry in Lawrenceville.
> One
>   > of the elevators for reclaiming the mold sand needed repair.  My job was
> to
>   > stand in the elevator pit and shovel the sand that fell off back onto
> the
>   > elevator belt.  Guess that was cheaper than doing the repairs....  and
> by
>   > the end of the summer I had a great set of biceps!  
>   > 
>   > 
>   > -----Original Message-----
>   > From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
>   > [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of John
>   > Swindler
>   > Sent: Saturday, October 30, 2010 11:05 AM
>   > To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>   > Subject: [PRCo] Re: Stuff That's Gone- West Penn Railways
>   > 
>   > 
>   > Very interesting Dennis
>   > 
>   > My father once commented that flying over the Allegheny Mtns. towards
>   > Pittsburgh at night - my guess would be 1945 -  was like descending into
>   > Hades. 
>   > 
>   > As for college - I was more fortunate - didn't spend two summers in
> 'hell'.
>   > Instead spent summer of 1968 and 1969 as a full time temporary CTA bus
>   > driver, and achieved similar results.  Suspect many are glad they went
> to
>   > college then, instead of now.
>   > 
>   > Isn't Hell north of Georgetown in the Cayman Islands???
>   > 
>   > Cheers
>   > John
>   > 
>   > 
>   > > From: trombone at windstream.net
>   > > To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>   > > Subject: [PRCo] Re: Stuff That's Gone- West Penn Railways
>   > > Date: Sat, 30 Oct 2010 09:24:49 -0400
>   > > 
>   > > Great stuff.  If you go the coke oven section and then select Shoaf, 
>   > > you will see a short film featuring coke production.  This is very 
>   > > similar (our coke pulling process was different) to where I worked at 
>   > > Carpentertown Coal & Coke (Sharon Steel) facility on Scrubgrass Creek 
>   > > in Armstrong County during the summers of 1973 & 74.  Yes, there were 
>   > > still beehive ovens in production and my college friends who saw it 
>   > > from the top of the hill at night referred to me working in "hell."  
>   > > They could not believe such a place existed.
>   > > 
>   > > I made $6,000.00 in 2 summers.  My undergraduate degree cost me about 
>   > > $10,000.00.  Other jobs provided the rest of the money and I graduated
> 
>   > > debt free, a life style I still attempt to maintain.  (No wonder my 
>   > > credit score is only 15 points from perfect.)
>   > > 
>   > >           Dennis F. Cramer
>   > > http://home.windstream.net/dfc1
>   > > 
>   > > 
>   > > 
>   > > 
>   >       
>   > 
>   > 
>   > 
>   > 
>          
> 
> 
> 
>