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- [Narrator] Electric 
Legacy is brought to you by,

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(upbeat music)

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- [Narrator] At MidWest 
America, we're proud

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to be a credit 
union, not a bank.

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Which means we offer 
everything you expect

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from a modern 
financial institution

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like mobile banking, bill pay

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and easy access to 
mortgages and other loans.

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But unlike a bank, we're local, 
non-profit and member-owned.

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(crowd cheers)

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So we're accountable to 
you not shareholders.

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(bubbles popping)

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And we invest in the 
community we call home.

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MidWest America 
Federal Credit Union,

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more than just a bank.

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- [Narrator] And by,

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(slow music)

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(dramatic music)

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- [Narrator] In the heart 
of Fort Wayne, Indiana,

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you will find a 
complex of buildings.

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Cold, empty husks 
being torn apart

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by the elements from 
years of neglect.

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It's a sight that many 
Americans have grown callous to,

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a relic of the Rust Belt,

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another industrial factory 
closed and forgotten.

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These buildings that have stood 
for over one hundred years,

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once teamed with 
thousands of workers.

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Its walls echoed with 
clanking, humming and whirring

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from mighty machinery, 
manufacturing multiple 
product lines,

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cranking out millions of units,

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but this story is 
not about buildings.

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It's about the people who 
worked in these buildings,

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not just how they worked, 
but how they lived.

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If these walls could talk,

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they would tell tales of 
geniuses, pioneers, mavericks

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and of workers who 
became a family.

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So what happened here?

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Why are these buildings 
now empty and silent?

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Why did it all end?

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Perhaps what's more 
interesting is how it began.

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And, all of the 
stories in between.

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(dramatic music)

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(western music) 
This whole story begins

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with the light bulb.

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Ask anyone and 
they will tell you

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that Thomas Edison 
invented the light bulb.

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Right?

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But it really isn't that simple.

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Not only was Thomas Edison 
not the first person

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to think up the light bulb,

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the idea was patented two years 
before Edison was even born.

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Edison made a better light 
bulb by improving on ideas

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that came before him.

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Before Thomas Edison 
tinkered with light bulbs

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and became America's 
most celebrated inventor,

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he was a telegraph operator for 
the Wabash Railroad Company.

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It was this job that brought 
him to Fort Wayne, Indiana

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in the summer of 1864 when 
he was just 17 years old.

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It would be another 15 years

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before inventor Thomas Alva 
Edison would triumphantly emerge

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from his lab with a practical 
incandescent light bulb

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that could change 
the world, however,

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someone other than 
Edison would be the first

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to bring electric 
lighting to Fort Wayne.

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Incandescent lamps 
weren't the only means

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of electrical illumination 
being experimented with

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at the time,

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another invention with a lot

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of momentum behind 
it was arc lighting.

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Inventor Charles 
Brush was the first

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to bring his arc light system 
to the commercial market.

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Arc lights were much brighter

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than the incandescent light 
bulb that Edison had designed.

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They were too bright 
for small rooms.

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- The first advantage 
of having of creation

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of electricity was 
lights, of course.

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Street lights and 
lights in large spaces

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such as a 
manufacturing facility,

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'cause arc lights you couldn't 
have in a room like this.

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It would, it just wouldn't work.

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- [Narrator] In 1880, a Brush 
arc light system was put

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into operation in 
Wabash, Indiana,

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making it the first city 
in the United States

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to illuminate their streets 
entirely via electricity.

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In 1881 James Jenney 
and a business partner,

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Walter S. Hicks, traveled 
to Fort Wayne, Indiana,

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in hopes of finding 
investors in a venture

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to manufacture and 
sell arc light systems.

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- Fort Wayne was already 
considered a railroad center.

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There were six rail lines 
that went North, East,

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South and West, so there 
was a lot of activity.

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The town had a 
reputation for success

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that brought businesses here.

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You had a skilled workforce.

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- [Narrator] Jenney and Hicks,

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however were finding it 
difficult to lure investors

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and their trip to the 
Summit City was proving

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to be fruitless.

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The two discouraged men 
returned to the Aveline Hotel,

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where they were staying

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and sat down for 
an evening meal.

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That night, a chance encounter

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with a fellow diner 
would change their luck

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and the course of 
Fort Wayne history.

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They struck up a 
conversation with John Kiess,

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a shipping clerk

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with the Evans-McDonald 
wholesale dry goods company.

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They told Keiss 
about their reason

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for traveling to Fort Wayne.

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Keiss eagerly made arrangements

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for them to meet 
with his employer.

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- "Yeah, I know somebody who 
might want to look at that."

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Because he knew his 
boss was an entrepreneur

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who would jump on a good 
idea and carry it through,

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to the max actually.

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And so that's how 
it was arranged.

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- [Narrator] Ranald Trevor 
McDonald was an entrepreneur

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with a penchant for investing in

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and promoting new 
business ventures.

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- There would be no 
company without him,

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I'm certain of that.

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It appears that he was 
a man who saw an idea

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and used all of his energy

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to make a successful operation.

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- [Narrator] Not 
only was he receptive

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to meeting with Jenney and Hicks

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but he immediately 
made arrangements

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for a demonstration of 
the arc light system

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in his warehouse 
that very night.

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On Monday evening, 
July 11th, 1881,

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with everything in place,

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the switch was thrown

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and a blazing light emitted

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from Jenney's arc lights.

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A newspaper account 
from the evening said

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"the warehouse was made 
as bright as the sun."

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One week later McDonald

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and several other 
investors made an agreement

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with Hicks to finance 
the manufacture

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and sale of the arc 
light and dynamo system.

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- He was able, 
certainly in the case

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of the Jenney Electric 
Lights and others

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to see into the future,

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that with the proper 
capitalization, 
investment and energy,

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one could develop a 
profit-making business

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out of this electric light idea.

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(chiming music) 
- [Narrator] And so,

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in the summer of 1881,

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the Fort Wayne Electric 
Light Company was formed.

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The products were advertised 
under the Jenney name,

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making Jenney Electric 
interchangeable

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with Fort Wayne 
Electric Company,

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at least in the public's mind.

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In June of 1883,

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the company made baseball 
history by installing lights

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at Fort Wayne's League Park.

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The first night game

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involving a professional 
team was played

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under the bright 
arc lights installed

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by the young Charles Jenney.

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R.T. McDonald was 
not just an investor

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and officer of the company

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but he was also the chief 
promoter and salesman.

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He would travel all 
over the country

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in a quest to land 
new contracts.

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Sometimes he would visit a 
town in a private rail car,

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often hiring a band 
to herald his arrival

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with fanfare and a parade.

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He would hold public meetings

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and extol the virtues 
of electricity in hopes

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the town leaders would purchase 
a Fort Wayne Jenney system

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to light the streets 
of their town.

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Around this time,

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a future Fort Wayne 
Electric Company employee

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was making a name for 
himself in New York.

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James J. Wood is frequently 
mentioned alongside

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Thomas Edison, Elihu 
Thomson and Charles Brush

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as one of the key 
pioneering inventors

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in applied electrical science.

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- Wood, I think, 
was on the level,

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at the genius level basically.

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And I think he could see 
how electricity flowed

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and then figure out 
how to build a machine

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to make it do what he wants.

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- [Narrator] Wood excelled 
at all things mechanical.

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He is credited with 
designing the machinery

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that made the connections for 
the suspension cables used

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in the construction of 
the Brooklyn Bridge.

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In 1880 he received 
his first patent

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at the age of 24

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for his design of 
an arc light dynamo.

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He had several more 
patents under his belt

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when he won the contract

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to install the first 
floodlight system

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for the newly built 
Statue of Liberty in 1885.

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As James Wood's star was rising

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in the East the sun 
was about to set

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on the Jenney era in Fort Wayne.

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Although James Jenney 
had founded the company

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with the business 
skills of R.T. McDonald,

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it was Jenney's son, Charles,

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that was the technical 
genius behind the patents.

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Charles parted ways

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with the Fort Wayne Electric 
Light Company in 1885

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and moved to Indianapolis,

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where he soon procured funding 
to start his own company,

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the Jenney Electric 
Company of Indianapolis.

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R.T. McDonald wasted no time 
in recruiting another genius

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to replace Charles Jenney.

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Marmaduke Marcellus Michael 
Slattery was employed

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as the chief electrician

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and came to the Fort Wayne 
Jenney Electric Works in 1887.

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- At that time, he was 
just had the Jenney system,

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producing arc lights 
and he foresaw

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that the incandescent 
light had a future

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and Slattery had developed 
his own incandescent system.

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- [Narrator] Slattery, who 
was known as Duke to many,

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came to America from 
Limerick, Ireland.

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He was a pioneer in the 
field of alternating current.

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Slattery had another 
interesting passion,

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battery-powered 
electric vehicles.

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Duke was often seen riding

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his battery-powered 
three-wheeled bike 
around Fort Wayne.

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During his travels McDonald 
had made a connection

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with another successful 
businessman, Charles A. Coffin

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who just happened to 
be the president of one

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of the largest 
electrical apparatus 
manufacturing companies

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in the United States, 
the Thomson-Houston 
Electric Company.

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Coffin admired 
McDonald's salesmanship 
and marketing savvy.

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- Coffin appreciated McDonald's 
unusual executive ability

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and knew him for a 
bluff individual,

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erratic and daring 
but just and shrewd.

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McDonald's methods 
were not Coffin's

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but the two men were probably

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the most successful 
merchandisers

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in the electrical 
industry in that period.

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- [Narrator] In a daring move

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to raise cash to keep up with 
production demands McDonald

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and other Fort Wayne 
investors struck a deal

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with Coffin, selling 
a controlling interest

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of the Fort Wayne 
Electric Company's stock

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to the Thomson-Houston 
Electric Company.

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- Coffin was much 
more conservative

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in his business dealings.

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He could see into the future.

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He was trying to build 
an empire, basically.

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So what he decided to do,

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"Well, I'll just buy controlling 
interest in these companies

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"and buy their patents 
at the same time."

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So he built a conglomerate. 
(dramatic music)

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- [Narrator] In 1888 a 
disastrous fire destroyed most

252
00:11:23,766 --> 00:11:26,500
of the Fort Wayne Electric 
Light Company's factory,

253
00:11:26,500 --> 00:11:28,900
putting the future of 
the company in peril.

254
00:11:28,900 --> 00:11:33,900
- In their warehouse 
was $100,000 worth

255
00:11:34,633 --> 00:11:36,000
of goods ready to go.

256
00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:39,633
Now that's a lot 
of money in 1888.

257
00:11:39,633 --> 00:11:41,100
A lot of money.

258
00:11:41,100 --> 00:11:44,500
Their production capacity to 
supply their existing customers

259
00:11:44,500 --> 00:11:49,466
for parts and the 
like were gone.

260
00:11:50,666 --> 00:11:52,200
So they weren't able 
to generate income

261
00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:55,666
from selling supplies to 
their existing companies.

262
00:11:55,666 --> 00:11:58,900
At the time they had 
a six month backlog

263
00:11:58,900 --> 00:12:01,500
of orders for new installations,

264
00:12:01,500 --> 00:12:03,466
which they could not fulfill.

265
00:12:03,466 --> 00:12:04,700
- [Narrator] Several 
offers came in

266
00:12:04,700 --> 00:12:06,700
from other cities 
enticing the factory

267
00:12:06,700 --> 00:12:08,566
to locate to their town.

268
00:12:08,566 --> 00:12:10,233
Charles Coffin announced

269
00:12:10,233 --> 00:12:13,100
that if Fort Wayne 
could raise $30,000,

270
00:12:13,100 --> 00:12:16,566
the Thomson-Houston Company 
would rebuild the factory.

271
00:12:16,566 --> 00:12:20,133
R.T. McDonald made a public 
plea and the town responded,

272
00:12:20,133 --> 00:12:21,800
raising enough money

273
00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:24,500
to ensure the Fort 
Wayne Electric Light 
Company would rise

274
00:12:24,500 --> 00:12:25,966
from the ashes.

275
00:12:25,966 --> 00:12:28,733
- They almost immediately 
found other locations

276
00:12:31,700 --> 00:12:34,300
within the city, empty 
factories or warehouse space

277
00:12:34,300 --> 00:12:36,433
where they could build up

278
00:12:36,433 --> 00:12:38,533
and start operations 
pretty quickly

279
00:12:38,533 --> 00:12:40,166
and the community 
was oh definitely

280
00:12:40,166 --> 00:12:42,933
in support of keeping it here.

281
00:12:42,933 --> 00:12:44,733
- [Narrator] In August of 1889,

282
00:12:44,733 --> 00:12:47,433
the board members resolved 
to shorten the company name

283
00:12:47,433 --> 00:12:49,433
for the purpose of 
public promotion

284
00:12:49,433 --> 00:12:51,533
to the Fort Wayne 
Electric Company,

285
00:12:51,533 --> 00:12:54,200
dropping the word 
light from the title.

286
00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:57,166
They also resolved to drop 
the use of the Jenney name

287
00:12:57,166 --> 00:13:00,500
from the company's public 
and private profile.

288
00:13:00,500 --> 00:13:02,900
The Thomson-Houston 
Electric Company had grown

289
00:13:02,900 --> 00:13:04,933
to one of the largest 
electrical companies

290
00:13:04,933 --> 00:13:06,700
in the Eastern United States

291
00:13:06,700 --> 00:13:10,166
by acquiring smaller 
companies with bright minds.

292
00:13:10,166 --> 00:13:12,700
One such asset they 
acquired was the services

293
00:13:12,700 --> 00:13:15,200
of the young James J. Wood.

294
00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:16,433
During this time,

295
00:13:16,433 --> 00:13:18,766
Wood was managing a very 
successful enterprise

296
00:13:18,766 --> 00:13:22,200
for the company in his 
Brooklyn, New York factory.

297
00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:23,633
With the Fort Wayne 
Electric Company

298
00:13:23,633 --> 00:13:25,733
in need of resources and talent,

299
00:13:25,733 --> 00:13:28,066
McDonald struck a deal 
with Charles Coffin

300
00:13:28,066 --> 00:13:31,300
to transfer control of 
James J. Wood's company

301
00:13:31,300 --> 00:13:33,066
to Fort Wayne.

302
00:13:33,066 --> 00:13:35,400
In August of 1890 
it was announced

303
00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:39,566
that the Wood System would be 
manufactured in Fort Wayne.

304
00:13:39,566 --> 00:13:42,066
Wood's Brooklyn factory 
would be relocated.

305
00:13:42,066 --> 00:13:45,033
Machinery and workers, 
including Wood himself,

306
00:13:45,033 --> 00:13:47,500
would be moving to Indiana.

307
00:13:47,500 --> 00:13:50,433
On December 3rd, 
1890 two train loads

308
00:13:50,433 --> 00:13:54,700
of machinery and tools, 
along with 127 employees,

309
00:13:54,700 --> 00:13:57,533
arrived at their new 
home in Fort Wayne.

310
00:13:57,533 --> 00:14:02,500
- Skilled workers and 
engineers, monumental task.

311
00:14:03,233 --> 00:14:05,133
It's interesting to me

312
00:14:05,133 --> 00:14:09,133
that Wood was able to 
convince 127 people

313
00:14:09,133 --> 00:14:11,866
who were probably from 
New York and lived there

314
00:14:11,866 --> 00:14:14,500
and had family there to come.

315
00:14:14,500 --> 00:14:16,933
- [Narrator] Titans emerged 
from the fiercely competitive

316
00:14:16,933 --> 00:14:20,400
electrical industry, the 
Thomson-Houston Company,

317
00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:22,433
the Edison General 
Electric Company

318
00:14:22,433 --> 00:14:26,233
and the Westinghouse Electric 
and Manufacturing Company.

319
00:14:26,233 --> 00:14:29,433
One prominent Edison General 
Electric Company investor,

320
00:14:29,433 --> 00:14:32,900
J.P. Morgan, instigated 
secret negotiations

321
00:14:32,900 --> 00:14:34,333
with Charles Coffin

322
00:14:34,333 --> 00:14:38,200
to discuss a merger of 
Edison with Thomson-Houston.

323
00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:40,900
The process took over 
a year to solidify

324
00:14:40,900 --> 00:14:45,500
but on June 1st 1892 the 
consolidation was announced.

325
00:14:45,500 --> 00:14:48,666
The General Electric 
Company was born.

326
00:14:48,666 --> 00:14:52,133
Charles Coffin was chosen to 
be president of the new entity.

327
00:14:52,133 --> 00:14:54,466
R.T. McDonald's stellar 
salesmanship had managed

328
00:14:54,466 --> 00:14:58,000
to keep the factories 
running at full capacity.

329
00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:02,233
In the early evening of January 
3rd, 1893 a fire started

330
00:15:02,233 --> 00:15:05,666
on the third floor of the 
largest building in the complex.

331
00:15:05,666 --> 00:15:09,333
Damage was estimated at $150,000

332
00:15:09,333 --> 00:15:12,400
and even though the loss 
would be covered by insurance,

333
00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:15,066
it would take weeks 
to repair the damage.

334
00:15:15,066 --> 00:15:17,033
When Charles Coffin 
and the leadership

335
00:15:17,033 --> 00:15:19,900
at the newly-formed General 
Electric Company learned

336
00:15:19,900 --> 00:15:22,866
about the latest calamity 
to strike Fort Wayne Works,

337
00:15:22,866 --> 00:15:25,400
they urged McDonald 
not to rebuild

338
00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:27,633
but instead move the operation

339
00:15:27,633 --> 00:15:30,266
to the sprawling facility 
that Edison had erected

340
00:15:30,266 --> 00:15:32,266
in Schenectady, New York.

341
00:15:32,266 --> 00:15:34,766
McDonald staunchly 
resisted this proposal.

342
00:15:34,766 --> 00:15:37,500
He had invested too much 
in the Fort Wayne facility

343
00:15:37,500 --> 00:15:38,900
to abandon it now.

344
00:15:38,900 --> 00:15:41,533
- I think he wanted 
to maintain the legacy

345
00:15:41,533 --> 00:15:42,833
that he had started.

346
00:15:42,833 --> 00:15:45,166
Well I think it 
was also a burden

347
00:15:45,166 --> 00:15:49,833
because he was the main man 
to protect his investors

348
00:15:49,833 --> 00:15:54,833
and his workers from monetary 
collapse, if you will.

349
00:15:56,233 --> 00:15:58,033
- [Narrator] R.T. 
McDonald and the employees

350
00:15:58,033 --> 00:16:00,033
of the new Fort Wayne 
Electric Company had

351
00:16:00,033 --> 00:16:02,533
now survived two fires together

352
00:16:02,533 --> 00:16:05,633
but a different struggle for 
survival was about to begin.

353
00:16:05,633 --> 00:16:06,800
(dramatic music)

354
00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:09,033
Global events 
would spark a panic

355
00:16:09,033 --> 00:16:12,200
that would spread like wildfire 
through the financial world.

356
00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:15,566
It was called the Panic of 1893

357
00:16:15,566 --> 00:16:18,866
and the resulting economic 
depression would see the failure

358
00:16:18,866 --> 00:16:21,500
of 15,000 companies.

359
00:16:21,500 --> 00:16:24,233
The results of this economic 
calamity were soon felt

360
00:16:24,233 --> 00:16:26,933
at the new General 
Electric Company due

361
00:16:26,933 --> 00:16:29,133
to the practice of 
extending credit

362
00:16:29,133 --> 00:16:32,100
to the buyers of 
electrical systems.

363
00:16:32,100 --> 00:16:34,666
The Fort Wayne Electric 
Company was also having trouble

364
00:16:34,666 --> 00:16:37,333
staying afloat in the 
floodwaters of bad notes

365
00:16:37,333 --> 00:16:40,100
created by R.T. 
McDonald's salesmanship.

366
00:16:40,100 --> 00:16:41,900
- He would go into 
community and say

367
00:16:41,900 --> 00:16:44,766
"I can sell you this 
system for $15,000."

368
00:16:44,766 --> 00:16:47,033
Said "Well, we only got $5,000."

369
00:16:47,033 --> 00:16:50,766
"So, well, we'll give 
you credit on the rest."

370
00:16:50,766 --> 00:16:52,266
- [Narrator] McDonald 
turned to Coffin

371
00:16:52,266 --> 00:16:55,633
and General Electric borrowing 
over half a million dollars

372
00:16:55,633 --> 00:16:57,433
in a short amount of time

373
00:16:57,433 --> 00:16:59,566
but it was not enough 
to maintain business

374
00:16:59,566 --> 00:17:02,166
and stay ahead of 
the tsunami of debt.

375
00:17:02,166 --> 00:17:04,666
- Even Coffin's company, the 
General Electric Company,

376
00:17:04,666 --> 00:17:06,200
was in trouble.

377
00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:08,100
And he wanted his 
money back (laughs).

378
00:17:10,066 --> 00:17:12,566
McDonald owed him $500,000.

379
00:17:12,566 --> 00:17:14,000
- [Narrator] McDonald 
was now prepared

380
00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:16,266
to sell the whole company 
to General Electric

381
00:17:16,266 --> 00:17:19,666
if Coffin would promise to 
keep the Fort Wayne Works open,

382
00:17:19,666 --> 00:17:22,066
guarantee the company's 
outstanding debts

383
00:17:22,066 --> 00:17:25,366
and insure that the 
local investors would 
be taken care of.

384
00:17:25,366 --> 00:17:27,966
Mr. Coffin wanted to close 
the Fort Wayne factories

385
00:17:27,966 --> 00:17:30,133
and transfer the 
entire operation

386
00:17:30,133 --> 00:17:33,433
to the General Electric 
facilities in Schenectady.

387
00:17:33,433 --> 00:17:36,566
This proposal was just not 
acceptable to McDonald.

388
00:17:36,566 --> 00:17:38,733
- McDonald realized 
that the takeover

389
00:17:38,733 --> 00:17:39,933
of the company was imminent.

390
00:17:39,933 --> 00:17:41,600
That they were gonna, 
in fact they were,

391
00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:45,733
they sent representatives 
from General Electric here

392
00:17:45,733 --> 00:17:50,700
to take the company over and 
in a vote of the stockholders.

393
00:17:52,066 --> 00:17:53,300
- [Narrator] When McDonald 
learns of this plot,

394
00:17:53,300 --> 00:17:56,700
he has only a few days 
to react to the threat.

395
00:17:56,700 --> 00:17:58,633
He soon hatches 
a plan of his own

396
00:17:58,633 --> 00:18:02,266
in which he uses his 
persuasive powers as a salesman

397
00:18:02,266 --> 00:18:05,533
to save the company with 
a legal-system shell-game.

398
00:18:05,533 --> 00:18:08,600
McDonald has a Fort Wayne 
judge appoint receivers

399
00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:12,133
to protect the company under 
a bankruptcy agreement.

400
00:18:12,133 --> 00:18:14,600
He then creates a new company,

401
00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:17,500
the Fort Wayne 
Electric Corporation.

402
00:18:17,500 --> 00:18:20,333
The receivers in turn 
ink a two-year contract

403
00:18:20,333 --> 00:18:22,966
with the new Fort Wayne 
Electric Corporation

404
00:18:22,966 --> 00:18:24,533
to conduct the business affairs

405
00:18:24,533 --> 00:18:28,900
of the now protected Fort 
Wayne Electric Light Company.

406
00:18:28,900 --> 00:18:31,500
- That mighta been, might 
not have been illegal

407
00:18:31,500 --> 00:18:34,133
but it was a pretty 
shady operation.

408
00:18:34,133 --> 00:18:38,666
But by the time the General 
Electric representatives

409
00:18:38,666 --> 00:18:40,866
came to town, it 
was a done deal.

410
00:18:40,866 --> 00:18:42,766
- [Narrator] McDonald 
had effectively saved

411
00:18:42,766 --> 00:18:43,966
the City of Fort Wayne

412
00:18:43,966 --> 00:18:46,566
from a devastating 
economic blow.

413
00:18:46,566 --> 00:18:50,100
He was heralded as a hero 
in the local newspapers.

414
00:18:50,100 --> 00:18:52,900
- I think he felt 
a real obligation

415
00:18:52,900 --> 00:18:56,933
to the local people who had 
helped capitalize this company

416
00:18:56,933 --> 00:18:58,166
and build it up

417
00:18:58,166 --> 00:19:00,000
and wanted to see 
their interests,

418
00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:02,266
monetary interests, protected.

419
00:19:02,266 --> 00:19:07,266
I think he also was genuinely 
concerned about his employees.

420
00:19:08,700 --> 00:19:11,133
- [Narrator] New catalogs and 
sales materials were printed

421
00:19:11,133 --> 00:19:13,833
and soon even the 
buildings bore the name

422
00:19:13,833 --> 00:19:16,533
of the Fort Wayne 
Electric Corporation.

423
00:19:16,533 --> 00:19:17,766
By this time,

424
00:19:17,766 --> 00:19:20,566
McDonald was connected 
with over 50 businesses,

425
00:19:20,566 --> 00:19:22,500
in seven different states.

426
00:19:22,500 --> 00:19:24,266
In December of 1898,

427
00:19:24,266 --> 00:19:28,300
he took a trip to Dallas, Texas 
where he became gravely ill.

428
00:19:28,300 --> 00:19:29,433
On the morning

429
00:19:29,433 --> 00:19:31,233
of Christmas Eve 1898, 
(violin music)

430
00:19:31,233 --> 00:19:35,866
Ranald Trevor McDonald 
passed away at the age of 49.

431
00:19:36,966 --> 00:19:39,033
The news of his 
sudden passing shocked

432
00:19:39,033 --> 00:19:40,566
and saddened many,

433
00:19:40,566 --> 00:19:44,200
especially those friends 
and workers in Fort Wayne.

434
00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:46,200
McDonald was their champion,

435
00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:48,966
someone who had brought so 
much prosperity to the city

436
00:19:48,966 --> 00:19:51,533
and had defended 
her so valiantly.

437
00:19:51,533 --> 00:19:55,400
- He had this vision of 
building a successful company

438
00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:56,400
in Fort Wayne.

439
00:19:57,866 --> 00:20:00,300
Not only for himself but 
for the people invested

440
00:20:00,300 --> 00:20:01,733
and his workers here.

441
00:20:01,733 --> 00:20:06,733
And, I don't think this 
enterprise would have started

442
00:20:10,366 --> 00:20:15,366
or been sustained without 
his vision and energy.

443
00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:19,766
- [Narrator] In January of 1899,

444
00:20:19,766 --> 00:20:22,600
less than a month after 
the death of McDonald,

445
00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:25,333
creditors of the Fort 
Wayne Electric Corporation

446
00:20:25,333 --> 00:20:27,000
filed a claim 
against the company

447
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,200
in Federal Court for 
past due payments.

448
00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:33,233
The company did not have 
enough cash to pay this demand

449
00:20:33,233 --> 00:20:36,533
and so on February 16th, 1899,

450
00:20:36,533 --> 00:20:40,100
the officers of the Fort 
Wayne Electric Corporation

451
00:20:40,100 --> 00:20:42,100
filed for bankruptcy.

452
00:20:42,100 --> 00:20:43,633
The company had to borrow money

453
00:20:43,633 --> 00:20:45,800
to meet payroll for that month.

454
00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:50,433
The outstanding debt which 
included $185,000 owed

455
00:20:50,433 --> 00:20:52,966
to General Electric was greater

456
00:20:52,966 --> 00:20:55,400
than the company's total assets.

457
00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:59,066
An auction date was set to 
sell the company and its assets

458
00:20:59,066 --> 00:21:00,766
to pay off its creditors.

459
00:21:00,766 --> 00:21:04,300
When the auction gavel fell 
with the call of "Sold!"

460
00:21:04,300 --> 00:21:05,933
It was Charles Coffin,

461
00:21:05,933 --> 00:21:08,566
representing the General 
Electric Company,

462
00:21:08,566 --> 00:21:10,166
that won the auction.

463
00:21:10,166 --> 00:21:12,033
The news wasn't all bad.

464
00:21:12,033 --> 00:21:13,533
Coffin announced 
that the factory

465
00:21:13,533 --> 00:21:16,133
could resume 
operations immediately.

466
00:21:16,133 --> 00:21:19,100
And to the delight of the 
city workers and investors,

467
00:21:19,100 --> 00:21:21,566
he proclaimed it would 
remain in Fort Wayne

468
00:21:21,566 --> 00:21:23,333
for the time being, as long

469
00:21:23,333 --> 00:21:25,666
as the company 
could be profitable.

470
00:21:25,666 --> 00:21:28,266
Charles Coffin and the 
General Electric Company

471
00:21:28,266 --> 00:21:31,400
now had full legal 
ownership and control

472
00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:34,233
over the Fort Wayne 
Electric Corporation.

473
00:21:34,233 --> 00:21:36,333
It wasn't long after 
the auction purchase

474
00:21:36,333 --> 00:21:39,600
before Coffin approached 
Wood with an offer.

475
00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:41,866
Sell all of the 
Wood System patents

476
00:21:41,866 --> 00:21:43,300
to General Electric

477
00:21:43,300 --> 00:21:47,033
and receive a 10-year 
guaranteed employment contract

478
00:21:47,033 --> 00:21:51,100
as a lead design engineer for 
General Electric in New York.

479
00:21:51,100 --> 00:21:52,933
Once Coffin had these patents,

480
00:21:52,933 --> 00:21:54,833
he could produce the 
products anywhere

481
00:21:54,833 --> 00:21:58,200
in the country he wanted 
without Wood's permission.

482
00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:01,900
- But it was the new 
ones that were valuable.

483
00:22:01,900 --> 00:22:05,633
Valued into the millions 
of dollars, probably.

484
00:22:05,633 --> 00:22:08,800
The ideas and then 
their implementation.

485
00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:10,300
- [Narrator] But 
for some reason,

486
00:22:10,300 --> 00:22:12,233
Wood rejected the offer

487
00:22:12,233 --> 00:22:16,266
and instead made a counteroffer 
seeking a 10-year guarantee

488
00:22:16,266 --> 00:22:19,233
that the operations 
would stay in Fort Wayne.

489
00:22:19,233 --> 00:22:23,333
- He went and met with the 
General Electric executives

490
00:22:23,333 --> 00:22:27,333
and said "hey look, I 
have these patents here

491
00:22:27,333 --> 00:22:30,433
"and if you decide 
to close that plant,

492
00:22:30,433 --> 00:22:32,166
"I'm not gonna 
let you have 'em."

493
00:22:32,166 --> 00:22:34,200
- [Narrator] Coffin 
promised to keep the works

494
00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:36,600
in Fort Wayne for three years

495
00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:39,200
and Wood signed a 
10-year contract.

496
00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:42,500
However, he would retain the 
ownership of his patents,

497
00:22:42,500 --> 00:22:45,866
giving him leverage in 
future negotiations.

498
00:22:45,866 --> 00:22:47,266
Once again, the jobs

499
00:22:47,266 --> 00:22:50,166
of the Fort Wayne 
workers had been saved.

500
00:22:50,166 --> 00:22:53,333
This time their hero 
was James J. Wood.

501
00:22:53,333 --> 00:22:56,633
- Wood sort of took 
over McDonald's legacy

502
00:22:56,633 --> 00:23:01,266
but it wasn't through 
finance and salesmanship,

503
00:23:01,266 --> 00:23:03,633
it was through his 
technical skill.

504
00:23:03,633 --> 00:23:06,033
- [Narrator] It is not 
exactly clear why Wood fought

505
00:23:06,033 --> 00:23:08,600
for Fort Wayne over 
his own personal gain.

506
00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:10,133
- I think he liked the town.

507
00:23:10,133 --> 00:23:11,766
He liked the people,

508
00:23:11,766 --> 00:23:15,300
he had become integrated 
into the social network.

509
00:23:16,166 --> 00:23:17,200
You know, he was a club member,

510
00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:18,500
he went to ball games

511
00:23:18,500 --> 00:23:23,466
and I think he also was 
cognizant of the fact

512
00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:26,333
that if the factory 
moved out of this town,

513
00:23:26,333 --> 00:23:28,300
a lot of this town 
is gonna hurt,

514
00:23:28,300 --> 00:23:31,100
people are gonna be hurt 
because of his decision

515
00:23:31,100 --> 00:23:32,933
and he may not have 
wanted to take on

516
00:23:32,933 --> 00:23:35,533
that emotional 
burden, if you will.

517
00:23:35,533 --> 00:23:37,833
- [Narrator] Years later 
he was certain he had made

518
00:23:37,833 --> 00:23:39,200
the right decision.

519
00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:41,266
"With all the 
confidence in the world,

520
00:23:41,266 --> 00:23:44,600
"I signed a contract to 
operate the plant in Fort Wayne

521
00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:47,000
"on a fixed percentage 
of the earnings

522
00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:49,633
"and although I received 
nothing for the first two

523
00:23:49,633 --> 00:23:52,266
"or three years 
but a small salary,

524
00:23:52,266 --> 00:23:55,866
"neither the company nor 
myself had any reason to regret

525
00:23:55,866 --> 00:23:59,066
"that the industry was 
kept in Fort Wayne."

526
00:23:59,066 --> 00:24:00,433
James J. Wood.

527
00:24:01,633 --> 00:24:04,033
The company would soon 
get another new name.

528
00:24:04,033 --> 00:24:07,666
On May 9th, 1899, the 
Fort Wayne Electric Works

529
00:24:07,666 --> 00:24:11,166
was incorporated under 
General Electric in New York.

530
00:24:11,166 --> 00:24:13,833
The corporation would 
have seven directors,

531
00:24:13,833 --> 00:24:17,600
three from Fort Wayne and four 
in the New York headquarters,

532
00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:21,500
ensuring a majority remained 
under Coffin's influence.

533
00:24:21,500 --> 00:24:24,133
Henry C. Paul would 
be the new president

534
00:24:24,133 --> 00:24:27,233
and Fred S. Hunting 
would be sales manager.

535
00:24:27,233 --> 00:24:30,166
Both of these were roles 
that R.T. McDonald had filled

536
00:24:30,166 --> 00:24:31,900
before his death.

537
00:24:31,900 --> 00:24:34,266
James J. Wood would 
be the electrician

538
00:24:34,266 --> 00:24:37,033
and the general 
superintendent leading the way

539
00:24:37,033 --> 00:24:39,966
into this new era for the 
resilient Fort Wayne company.

540
00:24:39,966 --> 00:24:42,633
(chiming music)

541
00:24:48,033 --> 00:24:49,533
(upbeat music)

542
00:24:49,533 --> 00:24:51,633
- [Narrator] The last two 
decades of the 19th century

543
00:24:51,633 --> 00:24:53,366
had been about the light bulb.

544
00:24:53,366 --> 00:24:54,900
At the turn of the century,

545
00:24:54,900 --> 00:24:58,033
more and more communities 
had access to electricity

546
00:24:58,033 --> 00:25:01,300
and it was becoming clear it 
could be used to power more

547
00:25:01,300 --> 00:25:02,733
than just light bulbs.

548
00:25:04,066 --> 00:25:06,700
Once electricity became 
available in homes and offices,

549
00:25:06,700 --> 00:25:09,133
smaller motors were 
developed for applications

550
00:25:09,133 --> 00:25:12,033
that required less 
than one horsepower.

551
00:25:12,033 --> 00:25:15,666
These were called fractional 
horsepower motors.

552
00:25:15,666 --> 00:25:18,700
- Actually it was James 
J. Wood who was probably

553
00:25:18,700 --> 00:25:23,066
the first, that I know of 
anyway, to develop a small motor

554
00:25:23,066 --> 00:25:25,566
that was practical 
for household use.

555
00:25:25,566 --> 00:25:28,400
They were used in vacuum 
cleaners, hairdryers,

556
00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:33,366
washing machines, 
milkshake making machines,

557
00:25:34,133 --> 00:25:35,633
and that sorta thing.

558
00:25:35,633 --> 00:25:37,400
- [Narrator] One of the first 
consumer oriented products

559
00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:39,633
produced at the Fort 
Wayne Electric Works,

560
00:25:39,633 --> 00:25:42,600
that utilized an 
electric motor was a fan.

561
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:45,400
- The engineers in Schenectady 
had trouble developing

562
00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:48,733
a small motor and Wood 
said, "I can do that."

563
00:25:48,733 --> 00:25:53,600
And so he developed what was 
called the croquet ball motor,

564
00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:58,433
very small motors, they were 
specially adapted for fans.

565
00:25:58,433 --> 00:26:01,000
And before that, 
you could think,

566
00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:04,000
well, this is a kinda fan 
you had before a motor.

567
00:26:05,166 --> 00:26:07,566
- [Narrator] James J. 
Wood designed desk fans,

568
00:26:07,566 --> 00:26:11,700
ceiling fans and even a fan 
held up by an ornate metal

569
00:26:11,700 --> 00:26:15,100
fire breathing dragon 
mounted to the wall.

570
00:26:15,100 --> 00:26:17,233
The electric motor 
would be a major factor

571
00:26:17,233 --> 00:26:19,266
in shaping the 
identity of the company

572
00:26:19,266 --> 00:26:20,833
in the century to come.

573
00:26:20,833 --> 00:26:24,066
The market for motors used 
in home appliances was rising

574
00:26:24,066 --> 00:26:27,333
because of the development 
of useful household items.

575
00:26:27,333 --> 00:26:30,300
One of the biggest game 
changing appliances of the time

576
00:26:30,300 --> 00:26:32,433
was the washing machine.

577
00:26:32,433 --> 00:26:36,000
The market was huge and Fort 
Wayne had several manufacturers

578
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,333
making their own version 
of the washing machine.

579
00:26:39,333 --> 00:26:42,166
The one common denominator 
was that these appliances

580
00:26:42,166 --> 00:26:43,933
needed an electric motor.

581
00:26:43,933 --> 00:26:46,366
And the Fort Wayne Electric 
Works was stepping up

582
00:26:46,366 --> 00:26:47,666
to meet demand.

583
00:26:47,666 --> 00:26:50,400
- The motors in the fans 
were so popular that,

584
00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:52,266
I remember reading 
a story in 1913

585
00:26:52,266 --> 00:26:54,000
where they could not keep up.

586
00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:55,900
- [Narrator] Things were 
going so well in fact,

587
00:26:55,900 --> 00:26:59,033
that by 1920, the company 
responded to the demand

588
00:26:59,033 --> 00:27:02,266
by building a separate 
factory in Decatur, Indiana,

589
00:27:02,266 --> 00:27:05,766
just to manufacture motors 
for washing machines.

590
00:27:05,766 --> 00:27:07,566
Because electricity was so new

591
00:27:07,566 --> 00:27:09,533
and was still a luxury for some,

592
00:27:09,533 --> 00:27:11,966
not every home or business 
was willing to commit

593
00:27:11,966 --> 00:27:13,900
to paying a monthly bill.

594
00:27:13,900 --> 00:27:18,233
So James J. Wood provided them 
with a pay as you go method,

595
00:27:18,233 --> 00:27:21,366
by inventing a coin 
operated meter box.

596
00:27:21,366 --> 00:27:25,500
In 1911, General Electric was 
hit with an anti-trust action

597
00:27:25,500 --> 00:27:27,066
by the federal government.

598
00:27:27,066 --> 00:27:29,800
General Electric would 
no longer be able to own

599
00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:33,200
and operate companies that 
competed for the same business.

600
00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:36,066
This brought about yet 
another name change,

601
00:27:36,066 --> 00:27:37,733
the company would now be

602
00:27:37,733 --> 00:27:41,300
the Fort Wayne Electric 
Works of General Electric.

603
00:27:41,300 --> 00:27:43,100
Business continued to grow

604
00:27:43,100 --> 00:27:45,966
under the official 
General Electric banner,

605
00:27:45,966 --> 00:27:49,700
James J. Wood was 
able to convince the 
GE Board in New York

606
00:27:49,700 --> 00:27:54,566
to authorize a $1 
million expansion of 
the Broadway factory.

607
00:27:54,566 --> 00:27:58,266
- You're seeing how they were 
constructed in the early 1900s

608
00:27:58,266 --> 00:28:02,166
when it was with a 
steam powered equipment

609
00:28:02,166 --> 00:28:05,066
and horse and wagon deliveries.

610
00:28:05,066 --> 00:28:07,966
The design of the buildings,

611
00:28:07,966 --> 00:28:11,633
the thought that went 
into making them.

612
00:28:11,633 --> 00:28:16,200
- The floors are 14 to 16 
inch thick poured concrete.

613
00:28:17,333 --> 00:28:20,633
I mean, it's just, it's 
like a bomb shelter.

614
00:28:20,633 --> 00:28:23,066
You know, they are so solid.

615
00:28:23,066 --> 00:28:28,066
- Massively thick walls and 
you just don't think about

616
00:28:29,100 --> 00:28:31,433
like in the 
multistory buildings,

617
00:28:31,433 --> 00:28:33,033
the columns between floors,

618
00:28:33,033 --> 00:28:34,233
you go to the basement

619
00:28:34,233 --> 00:28:37,866
and these columns are 
huge round columns

620
00:28:37,866 --> 00:28:39,933
and each floor they 
get a little smaller

621
00:28:39,933 --> 00:28:42,466
because they're 
supporting less weight.

622
00:28:42,466 --> 00:28:45,266
It's all concrete, steel, 
brick construction,

623
00:28:45,266 --> 00:28:49,800
it's just so massive, so 
much steel in the floors.

624
00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:54,200
- It is US steel and 
that is Carnegie steel.

625
00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:59,200
We've got the same 
steel in our structures

626
00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:03,600
that was used to build the 
skyscrapers in New York City.

627
00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:06,033
- This was almost like 
four factories in one,

628
00:29:06,033 --> 00:29:08,033
we had the transformers 
being built

629
00:29:08,033 --> 00:29:10,400
on the other side of the street.

630
00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:13,733
Multiple different 
lines of motors

631
00:29:13,733 --> 00:29:18,700
where in most of the other 
facilities had one line of motor

632
00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:22,600
they built, or a product,

633
00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:27,600
here at Fort Wayne, we were 
making general purpose motors

634
00:29:28,700 --> 00:29:31,933
and appliances motors, 
hermetic motors.

635
00:29:31,933 --> 00:29:33,500
- [Narrator] The addition 
of the new buildings

636
00:29:33,500 --> 00:29:35,833
meant a greater 
responsibility was placed

637
00:29:35,833 --> 00:29:40,200
on the Fort Wayne Electric 
Works Volunteer Fire Department.

638
00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:43,566
In 1895 it was 
determined that the Works

639
00:29:43,566 --> 00:29:46,200
should have its own 
firefighting force.

640
00:29:47,366 --> 00:29:50,400
William Billy Wurtle, 
a German-born machinist

641
00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:53,866
would be named would be named 
Chief of the Firemen in 1904

642
00:29:53,866 --> 00:29:57,300
and in 1913 he was given 
the full time duties

643
00:29:57,300 --> 00:30:00,233
of fire prevention and 
firefighter training.

644
00:30:00,233 --> 00:30:03,033
The Fort Wayne GE 
Volunteer Fire Department

645
00:30:03,033 --> 00:30:05,100
would continue to 
be a well-equipped

646
00:30:05,100 --> 00:30:08,433
and well trained group 
for many decades.

647
00:30:08,433 --> 00:30:10,700
Training was conducted 
on a regular basis

648
00:30:10,700 --> 00:30:13,066
with the Fort Wayne 
City Fire Department

649
00:30:13,066 --> 00:30:16,333
including evacuation drills 
with the ladder truck.

650
00:30:16,333 --> 00:30:19,766
- I was a volunteer fireman 
back in the 70s, early 70s.

651
00:30:20,900 --> 00:30:23,333
Out here all the 
way up until I left.

652
00:30:23,333 --> 00:30:26,433
- Rudy and I were both on 
the Volunteer Fire Committee

653
00:30:26,433 --> 00:30:29,000
for Fort Wayne for GE.

654
00:30:30,333 --> 00:30:33,133
And we would do special training 
with the fire department

655
00:30:33,133 --> 00:30:34,533
on Taylor Street.

656
00:30:34,533 --> 00:30:36,433
- They would send 
us to fire school,

657
00:30:36,433 --> 00:30:39,166
we learned to put out 
different types of fires.

658
00:30:39,166 --> 00:30:44,166
- At least 100, 150 volunteer 
GE firefighters here

659
00:30:45,233 --> 00:30:47,666
and so General Electric 
was big enough,

660
00:30:47,666 --> 00:30:49,333
they could afford 
their own fire crew.

661
00:30:49,333 --> 00:30:51,366
- [Narrator] The campus of 
the Fort Wayne Electric Works

662
00:30:51,366 --> 00:30:54,766
was able to avoid any major 
fires during the first decade

663
00:30:54,766 --> 00:30:56,633
of the 20th century

664
00:30:56,633 --> 00:30:58,500
but there was one 
significant fire

665
00:30:58,500 --> 00:31:00,666
at a prominent Fort Wayne hotel

666
00:31:00,666 --> 00:31:04,100
that had a historical 
connection with the Works.

667
00:31:04,100 --> 00:31:07,900
In the early morning 
hours of May 3rd 1908,

668
00:31:07,900 --> 00:31:11,733
a fire started in the Aveline 
Hotel and spread quickly.

669
00:31:12,633 --> 00:31:14,500
Many guests in the upper floors

670
00:31:14,500 --> 00:31:18,300
had to jump from the windows 
to escape the flames.

671
00:31:18,300 --> 00:31:22,300
12 people died before the 
fire could be contained.

672
00:31:22,300 --> 00:31:25,600
This hotel was the location 
of the first dinner meeting

673
00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:28,400
between James Jenney 
and John Kiess

674
00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:30,966
that led to the deal 
with R T McDonald

675
00:31:30,966 --> 00:31:34,800
and the beginning of the Fort 
Wayne Electric Light Company.

676
00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:39,433
McDonald himself later purchased 
the hotel before his death.

677
00:31:39,433 --> 00:31:41,733
John Kiess, the 
shipping clerk who made

678
00:31:41,733 --> 00:31:44,400
that historic connection 
at the Aveline Hotel

679
00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:47,466
decades earlier, went 
on to have a long career

680
00:31:47,466 --> 00:31:50,300
with the Fort Wayne 
Electric Light Company.

681
00:31:50,300 --> 00:31:54,333
In fact, in 1914 he was 
one of the charter members

682
00:31:54,333 --> 00:31:56,766
of the Fort Wayne 
Quarter Century Club.

683
00:31:56,766 --> 00:31:58,633
The Quarter Century 
Club was set up

684
00:31:58,633 --> 00:32:00,333
to recognize those employees

685
00:32:00,333 --> 00:32:05,100
who had at least 25 years of 
service with General Electric.

686
00:32:05,100 --> 00:32:07,433
Also among the Fort 
Wayne charter members

687
00:32:07,433 --> 00:32:08,933
were Plant Superintendent,

688
00:32:08,933 --> 00:32:12,400
Edward A. Barnes, 
and James J. Wood.

689
00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:15,000
The Fort Wayne GE 
Quarter Century Club

690
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:18,100
would continue to gain 
members as the years went on.

691
00:32:18,100 --> 00:32:20,333
- In fact the quarter 
century was so big,

692
00:32:20,333 --> 00:32:23,166
they used to have it at 
the Memorial Colosseum

693
00:32:23,166 --> 00:32:24,666
and it would be full.

694
00:32:24,666 --> 00:32:29,600
- It offers people the chance 
to meet their fellow workers

695
00:32:30,466 --> 00:32:31,866
again after all these years.

696
00:32:33,066 --> 00:32:34,833
You'll see a lot of hugs.

697
00:32:34,833 --> 00:32:36,500
- Seeing people we haven't 
seen in years, you know?

698
00:32:36,500 --> 00:32:38,800
And how they've changed.

699
00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:42,166
- [Narrator] The group 
started having annual meetings

700
00:32:42,166 --> 00:32:47,166
in 1916 and continued to 
do so over 100 years later.

701
00:32:48,566 --> 00:32:51,500
One member attended a 
meeting at the age of 101,

702
00:32:51,500 --> 00:32:53,500
having been born only one year

703
00:32:53,500 --> 00:32:56,000
after the club started 
having its meetings.

704
00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:58,866
Robert Guingrich started 
working for General Electric

705
00:32:58,866 --> 00:33:03,833
in Fort Wayne in 1941 
and served for 38 years.

706
00:33:03,833 --> 00:33:06,700
- I went out to work and 
there was a big old flats

707
00:33:06,700 --> 00:33:10,766
in my trailer just 
loaded with motors,

708
00:33:10,766 --> 00:33:12,633
boxed up in boxes.

709
00:33:12,633 --> 00:33:15,100
I said, "Where's all 
these motors coming from?"

710
00:33:15,100 --> 00:33:17,366
Well he said, "GE's got a 
plant here in Port Wayne,

711
00:33:17,366 --> 00:33:21,200
"we manufacture motors," 
and he had to deliver 'em.

712
00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:23,166
He said, "There's ever a 
job, you can get there."

713
00:33:23,166 --> 00:33:26,033
Well he said, he didn't 
know but he said,

714
00:33:26,033 --> 00:33:28,733
"Fill out an affidavit, 
put it in the mail box."

715
00:33:28,733 --> 00:33:31,433
That was on the Thursday 
and I got it Friday,

716
00:33:31,433 --> 00:33:33,733
a call to take my 
examination on Friday

717
00:33:33,733 --> 00:33:36,633
and I went to work on 
Saturday at time and a half.

718
00:33:36,633 --> 00:33:41,500
And boy, you talk about 
an upset happy person,

719
00:33:41,500 --> 00:33:42,733
it was me.

720
00:33:42,733 --> 00:33:44,233
- [Narrator] When he 
attended this meeting,

721
00:33:44,233 --> 00:33:46,800
he had been retired for more 
years than he had worked.

722
00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:52,600
Bob Guingrich's eyes had seen 
over 100 years of history,

723
00:33:54,066 --> 00:33:55,466
the same history that The 
Fort Wayne Electric Works

724
00:33:55,466 --> 00:33:56,866
would have to 
navigate throughout

725
00:33:56,866 --> 00:33:59,666
the 20th century and beyond.

726
00:33:59,666 --> 00:34:02,500
When Bob Guingrich 
was born in 1917,

727
00:34:02,500 --> 00:34:06,333
the United States was fighting 
in the First World War.

728
00:34:06,333 --> 00:34:10,000
The 360 young women of the 
Fort Wayne Electric Works

729
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:12,066
were an integral 
part of the workforce

730
00:34:12,066 --> 00:34:14,766
and had formed strong 
bonds with each other.

731
00:34:14,766 --> 00:34:16,933
The men of the company had 
enjoyed competing together

732
00:34:16,933 --> 00:34:18,400
in sports for decades

733
00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:21,266
and the women celebrated 
their strengthened comradery

734
00:34:21,266 --> 00:34:23,766
by forming their 
own sports teams.

735
00:34:23,766 --> 00:34:28,400
In 1915 several young ladies 
formed the Elex basketball team

736
00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:31,033
named after the 
Greek word elektron.

737
00:34:31,033 --> 00:34:34,766
Soon after that a core group 
asked E. A. Daddy Barnes

738
00:34:34,766 --> 00:34:37,700
for help with forming 
a GE Girls Club

739
00:34:37,700 --> 00:34:41,833
and in December of 1916, 
the Elex Club was formed.

740
00:34:41,833 --> 00:34:45,300
- And they did all kinds 
of work for the community

741
00:34:45,300 --> 00:34:47,000
and travel for the ladies,

742
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:49,766
in those days, they didn't 
want to travel on their own,

743
00:34:49,766 --> 00:34:53,333
so they took plane rides 
to New York and overseas,

744
00:34:53,333 --> 00:34:55,833
they took bus rides 
to different locations

745
00:34:55,833 --> 00:34:58,500
and it really expanded 
the horizons of the ladies

746
00:34:58,500 --> 00:34:59,833
in those ages.

747
00:34:59,833 --> 00:35:01,833
And they worked with the YWCA

748
00:35:01,833 --> 00:35:04,133
when they were founding 
the organization

749
00:35:04,133 --> 00:35:07,633
and they had supper programs 
and educational classes

750
00:35:07,633 --> 00:35:09,200
and different kind of programs

751
00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:11,433
to really educate the ladies.

752
00:35:11,433 --> 00:35:13,533
- [Narrator] The Elex 
Club continued and grew

753
00:35:13,533 --> 00:35:17,200
to 450 members by 1920.

754
00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:20,966
In 1919 a committee was formed 
to explore the possibility

755
00:35:20,966 --> 00:35:24,533
of creating a recreational 
building for the workers.

756
00:35:24,533 --> 00:35:27,633
Over the next few years 
that plan became a reality

757
00:35:27,633 --> 00:35:31,566
when the GE Club building 
was completed in 1927,

758
00:35:31,566 --> 00:35:34,600
with a gymnasium, 
stage, lockers,

759
00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:37,300
and even a 12-lane 
bowling alley.

760
00:35:37,300 --> 00:35:40,033
Total employment for all of 
the departments of the Works

761
00:35:40,033 --> 00:35:44,033
peaked at 10,000 in 1929.

762
00:35:44,033 --> 00:35:45,600
Having thousands of employees

763
00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:47,166
meant the Fort 
Wayne Electric Works

764
00:35:47,166 --> 00:35:49,600
had a very large payroll.

765
00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:51,000
Since the beginning 
of the company,

766
00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:53,133
and through most of the 1920s,

767
00:35:53,133 --> 00:35:56,566
the payroll had been paid 
out in cash every week.

768
00:35:56,566 --> 00:35:59,666
Company officials were worried 
that such a huge sum of cash

769
00:35:59,666 --> 00:36:02,366
being transported and 
distributed each week

770
00:36:02,366 --> 00:36:04,833
might become a 
target for robbers.

771
00:36:04,833 --> 00:36:07,300
A system was developed 
to safeguard the cash

772
00:36:07,300 --> 00:36:08,933
as it was delivered 
from the bank

773
00:36:08,933 --> 00:36:10,866
to the company payroll office.

774
00:36:10,866 --> 00:36:12,933
- Brink's guys 
carrying money bags in

775
00:36:12,933 --> 00:36:15,466
and guys sitting 
there with shotguns.

776
00:36:15,466 --> 00:36:17,233
- [Narrator] The company 
stopped paying with cash

777
00:36:17,233 --> 00:36:19,966
in September of 1927.

778
00:36:19,966 --> 00:36:22,000
Employees were issued a paycheck

779
00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:23,533
that they could safely deposit

780
00:36:23,533 --> 00:36:25,733
in the bank of their choosing.

781
00:36:25,733 --> 00:36:29,033
Then, on October 29, 1929,

782
00:36:29,033 --> 00:36:31,233
Wall Street Stock 
Prices collapsed

783
00:36:31,233 --> 00:36:34,066
signaling the beginning 
of the Great Depression.

784
00:36:34,066 --> 00:36:35,333
- People were laid off.

785
00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:40,266
They tried to mitigate the 
impact upon their employees

786
00:36:41,666 --> 00:36:45,700
by reducing the number of hours 
that each employee worked,

787
00:36:47,833 --> 00:36:51,600
so everybody at 
least had some money.

788
00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:53,266
- [Narrator] In this 
time of uncertainty,

789
00:36:53,266 --> 00:36:55,966
labor unions became more 
attractive to workers

790
00:36:55,966 --> 00:36:57,966
looking for security.

791
00:36:57,966 --> 00:37:01,933
In September of 1933 Fort 
Wayne GE workers charted

792
00:37:01,933 --> 00:37:05,366
a union Local of the 
American Federation of Labor.

793
00:37:05,366 --> 00:37:08,866
This would eventually 
become known as Local 901.

794
00:37:08,866 --> 00:37:11,066
The Fort Wayne 
Electric Works lost two

795
00:37:11,066 --> 00:37:12,866
of its longest serving leaders

796
00:37:12,866 --> 00:37:15,666
during the years of 
the Great Depression.

797
00:37:15,666 --> 00:37:18,233
Plant Superintendent 
Edward A. Barnes

798
00:37:18,233 --> 00:37:21,566
retired in June of 1931.

799
00:37:21,566 --> 00:37:24,000
James J. Wood, the 
prolific inventor

800
00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:27,133
and leader who fought to 
keep the works in Fort Wayne,

801
00:37:27,133 --> 00:37:30,933
died on April 19, 1928.

802
00:37:30,933 --> 00:37:34,733
He received 240 patents 
for his inventions,

803
00:37:34,733 --> 00:37:36,633
placing him fourth all-time

804
00:37:36,633 --> 00:37:39,633
among all General Electric 
Company inventors.

805
00:37:39,633 --> 00:37:42,166
The loss of Barnes and 
Wood marked a passing

806
00:37:42,166 --> 00:37:44,466
of the original 
Jenney Electric era

807
00:37:44,466 --> 00:37:48,866
into the 20th Century Fort 
Wayne Works of General Electric.

808
00:37:48,866 --> 00:37:53,800
Small motor sales had grown to 
$16 million annually by 1930

809
00:37:53,800 --> 00:37:55,066
and the Fort Wayne Works

810
00:37:55,066 --> 00:37:58,700
had 24% of the 
national market share.

811
00:37:58,700 --> 00:38:01,033
The equivalent of 
eight and a half acres

812
00:38:01,033 --> 00:38:02,666
of manufacturing floor space

813
00:38:02,666 --> 00:38:05,766
was dedicated to the 
production of small motors

814
00:38:05,766 --> 00:38:09,833
and this department alone 
employed over 3,000 workers

815
00:38:09,833 --> 00:38:14,833
cranking out 58,000 
units per week by 1937.

816
00:38:15,700 --> 00:38:17,466
Before WWI broke out in Europe,

817
00:38:17,466 --> 00:38:19,600
James J. Wood had 
the opportunity

818
00:38:19,600 --> 00:38:22,166
to take a business 
trip to Grasse, France,

819
00:38:22,166 --> 00:38:24,900
to research a new 
technology being developed.

820
00:38:26,100 --> 00:38:27,800
He hoped to learn 
from French monk,

821
00:38:27,800 --> 00:38:30,066
Marcell Antoine Audiffren,

822
00:38:30,066 --> 00:38:34,133
the inventor of the Audiffren 
Hermetic Refrigeration system.

823
00:38:34,133 --> 00:38:37,666
In October 1911, GE 
decided to manufacture

824
00:38:37,666 --> 00:38:39,733
the system in Fort Wayne.

825
00:38:39,733 --> 00:38:42,333
Wood chose Clark Orr 
to help him develop

826
00:38:42,333 --> 00:38:44,100
this modern home refrigerator

827
00:38:44,100 --> 00:38:46,333
at the Fort Wayne 
Electric Works.

828
00:38:46,333 --> 00:38:48,500
The Fort Wayne team 
collaborated with engineers

829
00:38:48,500 --> 00:38:50,700
from GE in 
Schenectady, New York,

830
00:38:50,700 --> 00:38:53,900
to produce the Monitor 
Top Refrigerator,

831
00:38:53,900 --> 00:38:55,500
that design would be one of GE's

832
00:38:55,500 --> 00:38:59,100
most successful home 
appliances for years to come.

833
00:38:59,100 --> 00:39:02,466
By 1935 the demand for 
refrigerator motors

834
00:39:02,466 --> 00:39:05,700
would exceed the demand 
for washing machine motors.

835
00:39:05,700 --> 00:39:08,966
While the Monitor Top was 
still in the prototype stages,

836
00:39:08,966 --> 00:39:11,133
a separate production 
facility was set up

837
00:39:11,133 --> 00:39:13,300
for the refrigeration 
department.

838
00:39:13,300 --> 00:39:16,033
This would be known as 
the Winter Street location

839
00:39:16,033 --> 00:39:19,266
and it would produce much 
more than just refrigerators.

840
00:39:19,266 --> 00:39:21,133
The next product 
to be the subject

841
00:39:21,133 --> 00:39:24,766
of office conversation 
was the water cooler.

842
00:39:24,766 --> 00:39:27,300
Albert Ralston developed 
the General Electric

843
00:39:27,300 --> 00:39:30,533
drinking fountain water cooler 
at the Winter Street plant

844
00:39:30,533 --> 00:39:35,533
in the 1930s and received a 
patent for his design in 1944.

845
00:39:36,633 --> 00:39:38,400
Winter Street engineer 
James H. Powers

846
00:39:38,400 --> 00:39:41,900
was issued the task of bringing 
a new product to market

847
00:39:41,900 --> 00:39:46,566
and in 1935 the GE Electric 
kitchen garbage Disposall

848
00:39:46,566 --> 00:39:47,866
made its debut.

849
00:39:47,866 --> 00:39:50,233
The developers in the 
shop gave it a nickname,

850
00:39:50,233 --> 00:39:52,433
The Electric Pig.

851
00:39:52,433 --> 00:39:55,733
Powers was also responsible 
for convincing manufacturers

852
00:39:55,733 --> 00:39:59,300
of kitchen sinks to 
standardize a larger drain hole

853
00:39:59,300 --> 00:40:02,533
to accommodate the installation 
of garbage disposals.

854
00:40:03,933 --> 00:40:06,966
As the decade of the 1930s 
was coming to a close,

855
00:40:06,966 --> 00:40:09,533
the Fort Wayne Works of the 
General Electric Company

856
00:40:09,533 --> 00:40:12,633
was about to turn its attention 
away from refrigerators

857
00:40:12,633 --> 00:40:16,300
and kitchen sinks to the 
not so friendly skies.

858
00:40:19,966 --> 00:40:21,333
(dramatic music)

859
00:40:21,333 --> 00:40:23,966
- [Narrator] On 
September 1, 1939,

860
00:40:23,966 --> 00:40:27,100
Hitler's Nazi Army 
invades Poland.

861
00:40:27,100 --> 00:40:31,366
Two days later, Britain and 
France declared war on Germany.

862
00:40:31,366 --> 00:40:34,366
In 1939, General 
Electric was approached

863
00:40:34,366 --> 00:40:37,033
by British manufacturer 
Rolls Royce

864
00:40:37,033 --> 00:40:39,100
about manufacturing 
starter motors

865
00:40:39,100 --> 00:40:42,333
for its British 
military aircraft.

866
00:40:42,333 --> 00:40:44,800
The management at Rolls 
Royce were concerned

867
00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:47,400
that German aircraft 
would bomb their factory

868
00:40:47,400 --> 00:40:49,500
in Coventry, England.

869
00:40:49,500 --> 00:40:52,933
The Fort Wayne Works was 
chosen to be the location.

870
00:40:52,933 --> 00:40:54,733
The Fort Wayne Works 
had been developing

871
00:40:54,733 --> 00:40:58,466
fractional horsepower motors 
for U.S. military aircraft

872
00:40:58,466 --> 00:41:01,233
as early as 1938.

873
00:41:01,233 --> 00:41:03,466
These motors were used 
in fighter planes,

874
00:41:03,466 --> 00:41:05,966
like the Lockheed 
P-38 Lightning.

875
00:41:08,133 --> 00:41:10,800
War rages in Europe and Asia.

876
00:41:10,800 --> 00:41:14,433
As Germany and Japan expand 
their military campaigns,

877
00:41:14,433 --> 00:41:17,633
it becomes increasingly 
clear that modern warfare

878
00:41:17,633 --> 00:41:20,066
will hinge upon air superiority.

879
00:41:21,233 --> 00:41:23,800
As Germany launches 
the Battle of Britain,

880
00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:27,566
the island nation 
only has 620 aircraft

881
00:41:27,566 --> 00:41:32,500
to mount a defense 
against thousands of 
Luftwaffe warplanes.

882
00:41:32,500 --> 00:41:36,033
The U.S. ally is in 
desperate need of aircraft.

883
00:41:37,166 --> 00:41:39,066
Not only did the 
British need planes,

884
00:41:39,066 --> 00:41:42,233
but if the United States was 
going to remain a world power

885
00:41:42,233 --> 00:41:46,600
it would also have to step up 
production of U.S. warplanes.

886
00:41:46,600 --> 00:41:49,000
There was one important 
piece of technology

887
00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:51,900
being developed at this 
time that the Allies hoped

888
00:41:51,900 --> 00:41:55,733
would give them an advantage 
in achieving air superiority,

889
00:41:55,733 --> 00:41:57,966
the turbosurpercharger.

890
00:41:57,966 --> 00:42:00,700
This device helped 
aircraft travel higher

891
00:42:00,700 --> 00:42:03,433
and faster by 
gathering up thin air

892
00:42:03,433 --> 00:42:05,700
and condensing it 
into dense air,

893
00:42:05,700 --> 00:42:08,300
increasing the amount of 
oxygen the engine takes in

894
00:42:08,300 --> 00:42:11,133
for combustion, giving 
the aircraft the ability

895
00:42:11,133 --> 00:42:14,633
to perform more efficiently 
at higher altitudes.

896
00:42:14,633 --> 00:42:18,500
By late 1940, the demand was 
rising for military aircraft

897
00:42:18,500 --> 00:42:20,333
equipped with GE 
turbosuperchargers.

898
00:42:21,766 --> 00:42:23,766
This included military aircraft

899
00:42:23,766 --> 00:42:27,300
such as the Lockheed 
P38 Lightning,

900
00:42:27,300 --> 00:42:30,066
the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt,

901
00:42:30,066 --> 00:42:32,966
the Northrop P-61 Black Widow,

902
00:42:32,966 --> 00:42:35,733
and the Consolidated 
B-24 Liberator.

903
00:42:36,866 --> 00:42:39,333
One of the most imposing 
bombers of the era,

904
00:42:39,333 --> 00:42:43,733
the B-29 Superfortress, with 
four massive prop engines

905
00:42:43,733 --> 00:42:45,566
required eight 
turbosuperchargers.

906
00:42:46,966 --> 00:42:49,700
With the looming possibility 
that the United States would be

907
00:42:49,700 --> 00:42:52,800
drawn into the war against 
Hitler's advancing forces

908
00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:55,833
in Europe, it was clear 
the military would need

909
00:42:55,833 --> 00:42:59,566
a lot of planes, and that meant 
a lot of turbosuperchargers.

910
00:43:01,033 --> 00:43:03,933
The need was so urgent that 
the United States government

911
00:43:03,933 --> 00:43:07,400
decided to finance the building 
of several new factories

912
00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:10,866
dedicated to the production 
of turbosuperchargers.

913
00:43:10,866 --> 00:43:14,766
In June of 1941, the federal 
government announced plans

914
00:43:14,766 --> 00:43:18,233
to build a massive new factory 
in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

915
00:43:19,600 --> 00:43:22,900
Over 47 acres of land was 
purchased from General Electric

916
00:43:22,900 --> 00:43:26,833
on Taylor Street just west 
of the St. Mary's River.

917
00:43:26,833 --> 00:43:28,900
The building plans 
called for a structure

918
00:43:28,900 --> 00:43:33,100
with over 700,000 square 
feet of manufacturing space

919
00:43:33,100 --> 00:43:36,100
at a cost of $25 million.

920
00:43:36,100 --> 00:43:38,866
The factory would have 
on-site testing facilities

921
00:43:38,866 --> 00:43:42,266
to simulate flight 
at 25,000 feet.

922
00:43:42,266 --> 00:43:43,866
- The turbochargers 
took a great amount,

923
00:43:43,866 --> 00:43:46,533
and it was super 
heated steam as well,

924
00:43:46,533 --> 00:43:49,600
'cause it had to be dry 
for the turbochargers

925
00:43:49,600 --> 00:43:52,033
to replicate exhaust.

926
00:43:52,033 --> 00:43:54,433
- [Narrator] Three huge 
boilers would be installed

927
00:43:54,433 --> 00:43:57,566
to supply steam for 
turbosupercharger testing,

928
00:43:57,566 --> 00:44:00,433
and all other plant operations.

929
00:44:00,433 --> 00:44:03,600
The factory would require 
over 9,000,000 gallons

930
00:44:03,600 --> 00:44:05,300
of water per month.

931
00:44:05,300 --> 00:44:08,000
Once the factory was built, 
it would be leased back

932
00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:10,900
to General Electric to begin 
producing turbosuperchargers.

933
00:44:12,433 --> 00:44:15,033
The plans were made 
public on December 5th,

934
00:44:15,033 --> 00:44:17,200
and ground was broken 
for the new factory

935
00:44:17,200 --> 00:44:20,300
on December 6, 1941.

936
00:44:20,300 --> 00:44:21,533
And then.

937
00:44:21,533 --> 00:44:26,300
(winds gusting) 
(explosions boom)

938
00:44:27,933 --> 00:44:30,600
(aircraft hums)

939
00:44:32,133 --> 00:44:34,533
(dramatic music)

940
00:44:34,533 --> 00:44:36,733
- [Franklin] Yesterday, 
December 7th, 1941,

941
00:44:42,533 --> 00:44:46,333
a date which will 
live in infamy.

942
00:44:47,700 --> 00:44:49,766
- [Narrator] The surprise 
attack on Pearl Harbor

943
00:44:49,766 --> 00:44:52,133
had suddenly pulled 
the U.S. into the great

944
00:44:52,133 --> 00:44:55,900
worldwide conflict 
sooner than anticipated.

945
00:44:55,900 --> 00:44:58,966
The American war machine 
went into overdrive,

946
00:44:58,966 --> 00:45:01,366
and U.S. factories 
joined the war effort

947
00:45:01,366 --> 00:45:03,600
with a heightened 
sense of urgency.

948
00:45:03,600 --> 00:45:06,033
Production was ramping 
up in every sector

949
00:45:06,033 --> 00:45:07,833
as the nation rushed to supply

950
00:45:07,833 --> 00:45:11,066
the United States Armed 
Forces with the weapons of war

951
00:45:11,066 --> 00:45:14,733
needed to defeat the Axis 
powers in Europe and Asia.

952
00:45:16,100 --> 00:45:18,366
At the same time, skilled 
workers were leaving

953
00:45:18,366 --> 00:45:21,166
their factory jobs to 
fight for their country

954
00:45:21,166 --> 00:45:24,033
leading to a 
shortage of workers.

955
00:45:24,033 --> 00:45:27,133
American women were asked 
to step up to the challenge

956
00:45:27,133 --> 00:45:29,333
to help their country 
achieve victory.

957
00:45:30,833 --> 00:45:33,866
A new breed of 
worker, exemplified 
by Rosie the Riveter,

958
00:45:33,866 --> 00:45:36,366
was hitting the factory 
floor ready to prove

959
00:45:36,366 --> 00:45:39,466
that women could do 
the same work as men.

960
00:45:39,466 --> 00:45:42,800
In the early months of 
1942, the last product

961
00:45:42,800 --> 00:45:46,400
meant for civilian use 
rolled off the assembly line.

962
00:45:46,400 --> 00:45:48,800
From this point forward, 
the Fort Wayne Works

963
00:45:48,800 --> 00:45:51,666
would be dedicating its 
full production capacity

964
00:45:51,666 --> 00:45:54,033
to help the war effort.

965
00:45:54,033 --> 00:45:57,466
The urgent need for 
turbosuperchargers 
made the completion

966
00:45:57,466 --> 00:46:00,700
of the Fort Wayne 
factory a top priority.

967
00:46:00,700 --> 00:46:01,866
- It was a 24 hour a day,

968
00:46:01,866 --> 00:46:05,066
seven day a week 
construction project.

969
00:46:05,066 --> 00:46:07,433
So, it was up in like 11 months.

970
00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:10,533
- [Narrator] While 
the construction 
work was being done,

971
00:46:10,533 --> 00:46:13,366
a pilot assembly line was 
set up in another facility

972
00:46:13,366 --> 00:46:15,100
to train the workers.

973
00:46:15,100 --> 00:46:16,566
- They had to not 
just build the plant,

974
00:46:16,566 --> 00:46:21,033
they had to acquire and 
move, move the machinery in,

975
00:46:21,033 --> 00:46:24,800
set it up, train employees, 
set up the production lines,

976
00:46:26,500 --> 00:46:27,866
an amazing feat.

977
00:46:27,866 --> 00:46:29,266
- [Narrator] In 
less than a year,

978
00:46:29,266 --> 00:46:31,833
the Taylor Street 
turbosupercharger factory

979
00:46:31,833 --> 00:46:33,833
was up and running.

980
00:46:33,833 --> 00:46:37,000
The first unit was produced 
by September 25, 1942.

981
00:46:38,900 --> 00:46:40,400
Thousands more would be needed,

982
00:46:40,400 --> 00:46:43,666
and it would take thousands 
of workers to do it.

983
00:46:43,666 --> 00:46:48,500
2,260 workers were hired 
and trained in 1942.

984
00:46:50,233 --> 00:46:53,333
By the end of 1943, 
the Taylor Street plant

985
00:46:53,333 --> 00:46:58,333
had 4,825 workers building 
turbosuperchargers.

986
00:46:59,666 --> 00:47:01,600
Most of the workers were women,

987
00:47:01,600 --> 00:47:04,933
but the management had 
three categories listed,

988
00:47:04,933 --> 00:47:09,433
men, women on men's 
jobs, and other women.

989
00:47:09,433 --> 00:47:14,433
- At the beginning of the war, 
1940, 20% of their employees

990
00:47:15,466 --> 00:47:17,733
over the whole 
corporation were women.

991
00:47:17,733 --> 00:47:22,666
By 1944, 40% of the workers

992
00:47:23,866 --> 00:47:25,933
in the General Electric 
Corporation were women.

993
00:47:25,933 --> 00:47:27,866
- [Narrator] The United States 
government had commissioned

994
00:47:27,866 --> 00:47:30,133
only five factories 
across the country

995
00:47:30,133 --> 00:47:32,466
to produce the 
turbosuperchargers.

996
00:47:32,466 --> 00:47:37,133
In 1943, production was 
up close to 18,000 units,

997
00:47:37,133 --> 00:47:39,566
which was second overall.

998
00:47:39,566 --> 00:47:43,500
In 1944, workers at the Fort 
Wayne Taylor Street plant

999
00:47:43,500 --> 00:47:46,166
had the highest production 
levels in the nation,

1000
00:47:46,166 --> 00:47:50,500
with almost 50,000 
turbosuperchargers manufactured.

1001
00:47:50,500 --> 00:47:53,133
By the end of the war the 
Fort Wayne factory had built

1002
00:47:53,133 --> 00:47:56,733
a total of nearly 90,000 
turbosuperchargers,

1003
00:47:56,733 --> 00:48:01,800
and over 175,000 
supercharger impellers.

1004
00:48:03,233 --> 00:48:04,800
Although the work at Taylor 
Street was very important,

1005
00:48:04,800 --> 00:48:07,400
this was only a fraction 
of the Fort Wayne Works

1006
00:48:07,400 --> 00:48:09,866
contribution to the war effort.

1007
00:48:09,866 --> 00:48:12,233
The Broadway Campus was 
hard at work as well,

1008
00:48:12,233 --> 00:48:15,233
producing a wide variety 
of much needed instruments,

1009
00:48:15,233 --> 00:48:19,233
for war being fought in the 
air, on the ground, and at sea.

1010
00:48:20,433 --> 00:48:22,833
Military aircraft had 
sophisticated systems

1011
00:48:22,833 --> 00:48:25,566
that required several 
small electrical motors

1012
00:48:25,566 --> 00:48:27,833
for a variety of tasks.

1013
00:48:27,833 --> 00:48:31,600
A typical warplane 
needed 170 motors.

1014
00:48:31,600 --> 00:48:34,200
The fractional horsepower 
motor department

1015
00:48:34,200 --> 00:48:36,766
of the Fort Wayne Electric 
Works had to expand

1016
00:48:36,766 --> 00:48:40,166
its product line to build 
motors for such applications

1017
00:48:40,166 --> 00:48:44,066
as computers, compressors, 
ammunition boosters,

1018
00:48:44,066 --> 00:48:46,900
antenna reels, fuel pumps,

1019
00:48:46,900 --> 00:48:51,300
defrosters, cameras, tail 
skids, sighting seats,

1020
00:48:51,300 --> 00:48:53,866
and searchlights, 
just to name a few.

1021
00:48:53,866 --> 00:48:56,600
The Fort Wayne Works 
also manufactured larger

1022
00:48:56,600 --> 00:49:00,466
electric motors for the 
B-17 and B-29 bombers

1023
00:49:00,466 --> 00:49:04,566
to be used in landing gear, 
wing flaps, bomb doors,

1024
00:49:04,566 --> 00:49:07,333
and tail wheel actuators.

1025
00:49:07,333 --> 00:49:10,733
Those bombers were also equipped 
with rotating turret guns

1026
00:49:10,733 --> 00:49:12,833
for fending off enemy fighters.

1027
00:49:14,200 --> 00:49:17,500
GE developed a new amplidyne 
and motor control system

1028
00:49:17,500 --> 00:49:21,300
that gave gunners quicker, 
more accurate targeting.

1029
00:49:21,300 --> 00:49:25,566
Fort Wayne produced 7,500 
of these units per month.

1030
00:49:25,566 --> 00:49:29,033
The Navy also made use 
of GE amplidyne systems

1031
00:49:29,033 --> 00:49:31,233
to control the rotation 
and positioning

1032
00:49:31,233 --> 00:49:34,400
of its 40 millimeter 
anti-aircraft guns.

1033
00:49:35,833 --> 00:49:37,766
The Winter Street plant 
was charged with building

1034
00:49:37,766 --> 00:49:40,800
the entire power drive 
system for the 40 millimeter

1035
00:49:40,800 --> 00:49:44,933
Twin Mount Mark 1 Bofors 
Anti-Aircraft Gun.

1036
00:49:44,933 --> 00:49:47,166
Compressors were built 
here that were used

1037
00:49:47,166 --> 00:49:51,966
in anti-aircraft gun control 
systems and recoil mechanisms.

1038
00:49:51,966 --> 00:49:54,933
Other production at the Winter 
Street facility included

1039
00:49:54,933 --> 00:49:57,966
refrigeration units for 
food and medical supplies

1040
00:49:57,966 --> 00:50:01,900
onboard various Navy vessels, 
including battleships,

1041
00:50:01,900 --> 00:50:04,833
aircraft carriers, 
and smaller ships.

1042
00:50:04,833 --> 00:50:07,500
There was one special 
transformer component that was

1043
00:50:07,500 --> 00:50:11,800
manufactured for use in 
military communication radios.

1044
00:50:11,800 --> 00:50:15,300
The dynamotor converted 
the 20 volt DC power

1045
00:50:15,300 --> 00:50:18,466
supplied by aircraft to 
the several hundred volts

1046
00:50:18,466 --> 00:50:22,866
needed to power the electron 
tubes in radio units.

1047
00:50:22,866 --> 00:50:25,766
The Fort Wayne Works 
manufactured over 1,000,000

1048
00:50:25,766 --> 00:50:29,066
of these dynamotors during 
the course of the war.

1049
00:50:29,066 --> 00:50:31,966
A wide variety of large 
generators were built here,

1050
00:50:31,966 --> 00:50:35,266
including the 300 kilowatt 
auxiliary generators

1051
00:50:35,266 --> 00:50:37,666
used in submarines.

1052
00:50:37,666 --> 00:50:41,100
Thousands of huge diesel 
and gas powered generators,

1053
00:50:41,100 --> 00:50:43,166
some of which 
weighed several tons,

1054
00:50:43,166 --> 00:50:45,566
were made for the U.S. Army.

1055
00:50:45,566 --> 00:50:48,933
The U.S. Navy also ordered 
a variety of generators,

1056
00:50:48,933 --> 00:50:51,566
totalling 10,000, 
for use on several

1057
00:50:51,566 --> 00:50:53,366
different types of ships.

1058
00:50:53,366 --> 00:50:56,033
The transformer department 
of the Fort Wayne Works

1059
00:50:56,033 --> 00:50:59,333
went above and beyond the call 
of duty to fulfill an order

1060
00:50:59,333 --> 00:51:02,700
straight from the front 
lines in North Africa.

1061
00:51:02,700 --> 00:51:04,966
25 people gave up their weekend,

1062
00:51:04,966 --> 00:51:09,133
as all three shifts came in 
for production on Sunday.

1063
00:51:09,133 --> 00:51:12,533
All of the extra effort paid 
off as the order was fulfilled

1064
00:51:12,533 --> 00:51:16,333
and shipped out in just 
four days, instead of five.

1065
00:51:16,333 --> 00:51:18,900
This exemplified the 
work ethic espoused

1066
00:51:18,900 --> 00:51:21,900
by the entire Fort Wayne 
Works during World War II.

1067
00:51:23,300 --> 00:51:25,900
The Navy Board for Production 
Awards selected the Works

1068
00:51:25,900 --> 00:51:28,600
to receive the Navy 
E for Excellence

1069
00:51:28,600 --> 00:51:32,533
in industrial productions 
three consecutive years.

1070
00:51:32,533 --> 00:51:37,533
During 1942, 1943, and 
1944, The Navy E flag

1071
00:51:38,766 --> 00:51:41,333
was flown over the plant 
and workers could wear

1072
00:51:41,333 --> 00:51:44,033
a Navy E lapel insignia.

1073
00:51:44,033 --> 00:51:47,000
Employees didn't just give 
their time and effort,

1074
00:51:47,000 --> 00:51:49,400
they also gave their money.

1075
00:51:49,400 --> 00:51:52,300
The Fort Wayne Works 
received the Minuteman flag

1076
00:51:52,300 --> 00:51:55,600
from the U.S. Treasury 
in recognition that 90%

1077
00:51:55,600 --> 00:51:59,000
of the employees had 
given 10% of their pay

1078
00:51:59,000 --> 00:52:00,300
to buy war bonds.

1079
00:52:00,300 --> 00:52:02,733
That added up to 
a lot of dollars,

1080
00:52:02,733 --> 00:52:06,033
since the annual wartime 
payroll of the Fort Wayne Works

1081
00:52:06,033 --> 00:52:08,366
averaged over $23 million.

1082
00:52:09,633 --> 00:52:11,966
The combined employment 
at all of the factories

1083
00:52:11,966 --> 00:52:15,433
of the Fort Wayne Works 
exceeded 20,000 employees

1084
00:52:15,433 --> 00:52:18,833
during peak production in 1944.

1085
00:52:18,833 --> 00:52:22,166
Women had become a significant 
percentage of the workforce

1086
00:52:22,166 --> 00:52:25,033
and the Fort Wayne General 
Electric women's group,

1087
00:52:25,033 --> 00:52:29,866
Elex Club, had grown to 
include 2,200 members.

1088
00:52:29,866 --> 00:52:34,100
These women contributed to 
troop morale in a personal way.

1089
00:52:34,100 --> 00:52:37,233
Throughout the war, Elex 
members prepared and shipped,

1090
00:52:37,233 --> 00:52:40,466
10,000 boxes to service 
personnel to give them

1091
00:52:40,466 --> 00:52:42,033
a little reminder of home.

1092
00:52:43,233 --> 00:52:45,966
America's military might 
and industrial strength

1093
00:52:45,966 --> 00:52:48,933
combined to help turn 
the tide in Europe.

1094
00:52:48,933 --> 00:52:52,633
Less than a year after Allied 
Forces invaded Normandy,

1095
00:52:52,633 --> 00:52:57,633
Nazi Germany finally 
surrendered on May 8th, 1945.

1096
00:52:58,800 --> 00:53:01,533
Celebrations broke out 
all over the world.

1097
00:53:01,533 --> 00:53:04,000
World War II wasn't 
completely over,

1098
00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:07,566
but Americans could 
breathe a sigh of relief.

1099
00:53:07,566 --> 00:53:11,166
It was over a month after VE 
day, before the production rush

1100
00:53:11,166 --> 00:53:13,533
eased up enough at the 
Fort Wayne Works to do

1101
00:53:13,533 --> 00:53:16,666
a symbolic gesture to 
acknowledge the victory.

1102
00:53:16,666 --> 00:53:19,633
Management gave the order 
to relight the grand

1103
00:53:19,633 --> 00:53:22,366
General Electric logo 
sign, which shone out

1104
00:53:22,366 --> 00:53:24,900
over Fort Wayne from 
its perch on top of one

1105
00:53:24,900 --> 00:53:27,700
of the tallest 
buildings on the campus.

1106
00:53:27,700 --> 00:53:30,666
The sign had been turned 
off right after news reached

1107
00:53:30,666 --> 00:53:34,633
Fort Wayne about the Japanese 
attack on Pearl Harbor.

1108
00:53:34,633 --> 00:53:37,533
This sign had been a symbol 
of pride for the company

1109
00:53:37,533 --> 00:53:41,033
and Fort Wayne 
residents since 1928.

1110
00:53:41,033 --> 00:53:44,000
It stood 50 feet high 
above the rooftop,

1111
00:53:44,000 --> 00:53:48,066
giving off a blue and 
white glow from 925

1112
00:53:48,066 --> 00:53:51,566
incandescent 25 watt bulbs.

1113
00:53:51,566 --> 00:53:54,266
This sign would be a constant 
landmark on the Fort Wayne

1114
00:53:54,266 --> 00:53:57,133
skyline through the 
rest of the 20th century

1115
00:53:57,133 --> 00:53:59,266
and into the 21st century.

1116
00:54:00,666 --> 00:54:03,633
The nation's attention now 
shifted to the Pacific theater

1117
00:54:03,633 --> 00:54:05,533
and within a few uneasy months

1118
00:54:05,533 --> 00:54:08,766
that conflict too 
came to an end.

1119
00:54:08,766 --> 00:54:13,500
Japan surrendered 
on August 14, 1945.

1120
00:54:13,500 --> 00:54:15,500
Two atomic bombs had crippled

1121
00:54:15,500 --> 00:54:17,466
the heart of Japan's 
war industry,

1122
00:54:17,466 --> 00:54:20,033
wiping out factories 
and workers.

1123
00:54:20,033 --> 00:54:22,366
When the news was announced 
at the Fort Wayne Works

1124
00:54:22,366 --> 00:54:24,933
of General Electric, the 
factory whistles blew

1125
00:54:24,933 --> 00:54:26,966
heralding the victory.

1126
00:54:26,966 --> 00:54:30,100
Workers joined the 
jubilant celebration.

1127
00:54:30,100 --> 00:54:33,433
Works Manager M. E. Lord 
announced that Fort Wayne

1128
00:54:33,433 --> 00:54:36,633
GE employees were allowed 
to take two days off

1129
00:54:36,633 --> 00:54:38,166
to be with their families.

1130
00:54:38,166 --> 00:54:41,066
Soon, millions of U.S. 
military men and women

1131
00:54:41,066 --> 00:54:42,833
were returning home.

1132
00:54:42,833 --> 00:54:45,866
The women of the Fort Wayne 
Elex Club had to cancel

1133
00:54:45,866 --> 00:54:48,966
a January 1946 trip to Chicago,

1134
00:54:48,966 --> 00:54:52,400
because the railroad coaches 
were filled to capacity

1135
00:54:52,400 --> 00:54:55,533
with war veterans making 
their way back home.

1136
00:54:55,533 --> 00:54:57,533
The end of the war 
meant that the majority

1137
00:54:57,533 --> 00:55:01,466
of the military production 
was coming to an end as well.

1138
00:55:01,466 --> 00:55:04,066
The workers of the Taylor 
Street factory had fulfilled

1139
00:55:04,066 --> 00:55:06,000
their duties to 
supply the military

1140
00:55:06,000 --> 00:55:09,433
with the desperately 
needed turbosuperchargers.

1141
00:55:09,433 --> 00:55:12,066
The U.S. Government closed 
the production facility

1142
00:55:12,066 --> 00:55:14,733
in April of 1946.

1143
00:55:14,733 --> 00:55:17,600
A few days later, General 
Electric purchased the plant

1144
00:55:17,600 --> 00:55:21,766
outright from the government, 
at a cost of $5,000,000.

1145
00:55:21,766 --> 00:55:24,866
It would no longer produce 
turbosuperchargers,

1146
00:55:24,866 --> 00:55:27,666
but instead it was converted 
to a fractional horsepower

1147
00:55:27,666 --> 00:55:32,666
motor factory, and magnet wire 
mill, employing 725 workers.

1148
00:55:34,033 --> 00:55:36,033
The Fort Wayne Works of 
General Electric welcomed back

1149
00:55:36,033 --> 00:55:39,000
2,400 veterans after the war.

1150
00:55:39,000 --> 00:55:41,733
Many women returned to 
their pre-war positions,

1151
00:55:41,733 --> 00:55:44,433
or left to devote time 
to their families.

1152
00:55:45,633 --> 00:55:47,566
After the military 
contracts ran out,

1153
00:55:47,566 --> 00:55:51,233
the workforce had to be 
reduced to peacetime levels.

1154
00:55:51,233 --> 00:55:54,666
By the beginning of 1946, 
employment levels had gone down

1155
00:55:54,666 --> 00:55:58,233
from the high of 20,000 at the 
peak of the war production,

1156
00:55:58,233 --> 00:56:00,233
to 11,800.

1157
00:56:01,400 --> 00:56:03,633
As life returned to 
normal after the war,

1158
00:56:03,633 --> 00:56:05,700
young veterans who 
were glad to be home

1159
00:56:05,700 --> 00:56:08,966
wanted to settle down and 
start families of their own.

1160
00:56:08,966 --> 00:56:13,400
This led to the post-war 
housing boom and the baby boom.

1161
00:56:16,966 --> 00:56:19,033
(upbeat music)

1162
00:56:26,933 --> 00:56:28,400
- [Narrator] With all 
of these new families

1163
00:56:28,400 --> 00:56:32,500
building new houses, demand for 
home appliances skyrocketed.

1164
00:56:32,500 --> 00:56:34,633
For the Fort Wayne Works 
of General Electric,

1165
00:56:34,633 --> 00:56:38,266
this meant record orders 
for small electric motors.

1166
00:56:38,266 --> 00:56:42,333
By 1948, production was up to 
nearly eight million units.

1167
00:56:42,333 --> 00:56:46,466
And in 1950, over 10 
million motors were made.

1168
00:56:46,466 --> 00:56:50,400
In 1952, the local company 
newspaper changed its name

1169
00:56:50,400 --> 00:56:53,766
to "General Electric News, 
Fort Wayne, Indiana",

1170
00:56:53,766 --> 00:56:57,233
dropping the time-honored use 
of the "Fort Wayne Works" name

1171
00:56:57,233 --> 00:57:00,600
which had been used since 1899.

1172
00:57:00,600 --> 00:57:03,066
This in-house publication 
had been a great resource

1173
00:57:03,066 --> 00:57:06,366
for employees since the 
early days of the company.

1174
00:57:06,366 --> 00:57:08,900
- For a long time there 
was the "GE News",

1175
00:57:08,900 --> 00:57:12,233
a weekly paper that 
come out that covered

1176
00:57:12,233 --> 00:57:13,700
what was going on 
in the businesses

1177
00:57:13,700 --> 00:57:18,233
and usually had a few 
employee interest articles.

1178
00:57:18,233 --> 00:57:20,433
- [Narrator] Since this 
Fort Wayne factory complex

1179
00:57:20,433 --> 00:57:23,166
had enough employees 
to rival a small city,

1180
00:57:23,166 --> 00:57:25,400
there was much to talk about.

1181
00:57:25,400 --> 00:57:27,666
Along with corporate 
news about promotions,

1182
00:57:27,666 --> 00:57:29,766
retirements, and special awards,

1183
00:57:29,766 --> 00:57:33,266
there were also a variety 
of specialty columns.

1184
00:57:33,266 --> 00:57:36,166
No paper would be complete 
without a sports section

1185
00:57:36,166 --> 00:57:39,666
and there were plenty 
of employee sports 
teams to go around.

1186
00:57:39,666 --> 00:57:44,000
Bowling, softball, golf, 
basketball, volleyball,

1187
00:57:44,000 --> 00:57:47,966
water polo, soccer, 
boxing, and, of course,

1188
00:57:47,966 --> 00:57:50,633
the national pastime, baseball.

1189
00:57:50,633 --> 00:57:53,366
Employees had played baseball 
since the earliest days

1190
00:57:53,366 --> 00:57:56,000
of the Fort Wayne 
Jenney Electric Company.

1191
00:57:56,000 --> 00:57:57,966
The Fort Wayne Works 
of General Electric

1192
00:57:57,966 --> 00:58:00,700
even had its own 
professional baseball team

1193
00:58:00,700 --> 00:58:03,366
known as the GE Voltmen.

1194
00:58:03,366 --> 00:58:06,933
But perhaps the biggest Fort 
Wayne GE baseball connection

1195
00:58:06,933 --> 00:58:10,466
involves someone who was 
in a league of her own.

1196
00:58:10,466 --> 00:58:13,266
Isabel Alvarez came 
from Cuba to play

1197
00:58:13,266 --> 00:58:14,700
in the All-American Girls

1198
00:58:14,700 --> 00:58:17,900
Professional Baseball 
League in 1949.

1199
00:58:17,900 --> 00:58:19,933
She played for the 
Fort Wayne Daisies

1200
00:58:19,933 --> 00:58:23,066
during the 1951 season 
and ended up playing

1201
00:58:23,066 --> 00:58:24,800
for five different teams

1202
00:58:24,800 --> 00:58:28,666
before finishing her 
professional career 
back in Fort Wayne.

1203
00:58:28,666 --> 00:58:31,033
She started her American 
dream with a job

1204
00:58:31,033 --> 00:58:32,933
at General Electric Fort Wayne

1205
00:58:32,933 --> 00:58:36,766
and had a long career 
before retiring in 1999.

1206
00:58:36,766 --> 00:58:40,733
Another baseball story begins 
a little closer to home.

1207
00:58:40,733 --> 00:58:42,433
Bob Guingrich started working 
(upbeat music)

1208
00:58:42,433 --> 00:58:45,433
for GE Fort Wayne in 1941.

1209
00:58:45,433 --> 00:58:47,266
He was quite the 
bowler in his day,

1210
00:58:47,266 --> 00:58:49,433
playing for the 
GE Fort Wayne team

1211
00:58:49,433 --> 00:58:53,900
in the American Bowling 
Congress competition of 1955.

1212
00:58:53,900 --> 00:58:57,533
But what he remembers most 
fondly, over 60 years later,

1213
00:58:57,533 --> 00:58:59,033
is the time he spent coaching

1214
00:58:59,033 --> 00:59:01,833
the Fort Wayne General 
Electric Little League Team.

1215
00:59:01,833 --> 00:59:04,366
- That was the thing 
that really give me

1216
00:59:04,366 --> 00:59:09,200
the great happiness to 
see all those kids play.

1217
00:59:09,200 --> 00:59:10,200
- [Narrator] Gerry Love was one

1218
00:59:10,200 --> 00:59:12,266
of the young players he coached.

1219
00:59:12,266 --> 00:59:13,400
- He was a teacher.

1220
00:59:13,400 --> 00:59:15,300
He had a lotta 
knowledge and he wanted

1221
00:59:15,300 --> 00:59:17,733
to share that knowledge with us.

1222
00:59:17,733 --> 00:59:20,100
He was competitive, 
he wanted to win.

1223
00:59:20,100 --> 00:59:23,300
But most of all he 
wanted us to improve

1224
00:59:23,300 --> 00:59:24,800
and to have fun.

1225
00:59:24,800 --> 00:59:26,733
- [Narrator] Gerry took the 
time to write Bob a letter

1226
00:59:26,733 --> 00:59:29,133
thanking him for the 
impact he made on his life

1227
00:59:29,133 --> 00:59:31,066
even 50 years later.

1228
00:59:31,066 --> 00:59:34,566
- "Dear Mr. Guingrich, I was 
a short, skinny second baseman

1229
00:59:34,566 --> 00:59:37,266
"who could field a little 
but couldn't hit a lick.

1230
00:59:37,266 --> 00:59:39,600
"I remember that Saturday 
waiting by the phone

1231
00:59:39,600 --> 00:59:41,833
"to find out if I'd made a team

1232
00:59:41,833 --> 00:59:43,833
"and being thrilled 
to find it was GE

1233
00:59:43,833 --> 00:59:45,900
"because they were the best.

1234
00:59:45,900 --> 00:59:47,833
"You worked and then 
gave up your off time

1235
00:59:47,833 --> 00:59:49,300
"to teach us the game.

1236
00:59:49,300 --> 00:59:51,100
"For that I thank you.

1237
00:59:51,100 --> 00:59:54,133
"With warmest 
regards, Gerry Love."

1238
00:59:55,300 --> 00:59:57,000
- [Narrator] During 
the Baby Boom era,

1239
00:59:57,000 --> 01:00:00,400
family activities became 
increasingly important.

1240
01:00:00,400 --> 01:00:02,466
One of the events 
most fondly remembered

1241
01:00:02,466 --> 01:00:04,600
is the annual Christmas party.

1242
01:00:04,600 --> 01:00:08,800
- I went to my first 
GE Christmas party

1243
01:00:08,800 --> 01:00:12,100
at the GE Club when 
I was probably five.

1244
01:00:12,100 --> 01:00:14,966
- They'd have Santa 
Claus up on the stage

1245
01:00:14,966 --> 01:00:19,733
and all the GE kids got 
to sit on Santa's lap.

1246
01:00:19,733 --> 01:00:22,966
- It was crowded, it 
was full, it was fun.

1247
01:00:22,966 --> 01:00:24,500
Everybody was dressed up.

1248
01:00:24,500 --> 01:00:26,366
- And I brought 
my little children

1249
01:00:26,366 --> 01:00:29,266
and we would watch some 
type of a stage show.

1250
01:00:29,266 --> 01:00:32,666
And it was maybe a 
comedian or some dog act

1251
01:00:32,666 --> 01:00:34,166
or something like that.

1252
01:00:34,166 --> 01:00:36,333
And it was like a really 
nice program they put on.

1253
01:00:36,333 --> 01:00:38,366
And then when we 
walked, out my children

1254
01:00:38,366 --> 01:00:41,133
would get the stocking 
filled with the fruits

1255
01:00:41,133 --> 01:00:43,300
and the gifts for them.

1256
01:00:43,300 --> 01:00:45,100
- And maybe a nice Tonka truck.

1257
01:00:45,100 --> 01:00:48,566
- It was nice to get a 
toy and to see Santa Claus

1258
01:00:48,566 --> 01:00:51,600
because a lot of these 
people came from Ohio,

1259
01:00:51,600 --> 01:00:56,066
Michigan, Whitley County to 
work at GE in Fort Wayne.

1260
01:00:56,066 --> 01:00:58,300
- They also had these 
Saturday morning programs

1261
01:00:58,300 --> 01:00:59,833
for a while.

1262
01:00:59,833 --> 01:01:01,933
You could come watch a movie 
and they would have cereals,

1263
01:01:01,933 --> 01:01:03,200
you would come back.

1264
01:01:03,200 --> 01:01:05,000
- Bowling leagues and 
the softball leagues,

1265
01:01:06,300 --> 01:01:07,933
basketball over at the club.

1266
01:01:07,933 --> 01:01:10,300
- I was on Taylor 
Street basketball

1267
01:01:10,300 --> 01:01:12,000
and volleyball team.

1268
01:01:12,000 --> 01:01:13,966
- Played golf in 
the golf league.

1269
01:01:13,966 --> 01:01:16,433
- The social activities 
through Elex,

1270
01:01:16,433 --> 01:01:19,633
that was a big way for 
us to expand and grow

1271
01:01:19,633 --> 01:01:21,300
our friendship base.

1272
01:01:21,300 --> 01:01:23,366
- At our company 
picnic every year,

1273
01:01:23,366 --> 01:01:27,033
you know, Transformer, 
we had a tug o' war

1274
01:01:27,033 --> 01:01:28,900
and that was big 
bragging rights.

1275
01:01:28,900 --> 01:01:30,133
You had trophy.

1276
01:01:30,133 --> 01:01:34,366
- Picnics where 
you'd get to meet

1277
01:01:34,366 --> 01:01:36,166
the plant manager.

1278
01:01:36,166 --> 01:01:38,533
And the plant manager, 
he could sit down

1279
01:01:38,533 --> 01:01:40,966
at your table and you 
could eat chicken with him

1280
01:01:40,966 --> 01:01:42,433
or whatever, you know.

1281
01:01:42,433 --> 01:01:46,800
- The Local 901 Union always 
had parties and picnics.

1282
01:01:47,666 --> 01:01:48,900
They still have 'em today.

1283
01:01:48,900 --> 01:01:50,366
- [Narrator] The 
clubs, the sports,

1284
01:01:50,366 --> 01:01:52,166
the parties, the picnics,

1285
01:01:52,166 --> 01:01:55,533
all combined to make 
coworkers feel like a family.

1286
01:01:55,533 --> 01:01:57,600
- It had a big 
family feeling to it.

1287
01:01:57,600 --> 01:02:01,600
- When you work next to 
somebody every day for years,

1288
01:02:01,600 --> 01:02:04,166
you learn about them, you 
learn about their family,

1289
01:02:04,166 --> 01:02:05,833
you know it.

1290
01:02:05,833 --> 01:02:07,766
Even though they live 
in the next town over,

1291
01:02:07,766 --> 01:02:09,500
they're still your neighbor.

1292
01:02:09,500 --> 01:02:11,233
- You saw those 
folks just as much

1293
01:02:11,233 --> 01:02:12,700
as you saw your spouse.

1294
01:02:12,700 --> 01:02:14,666
- We'd have carry-ins 
if people retired,

1295
01:02:14,666 --> 01:02:16,633
carry-in if maybe 
somebody passed away

1296
01:02:16,633 --> 01:02:18,833
and they were just 
coming back to work.

1297
01:02:18,833 --> 01:02:20,666
We just had carry-ins 
for everything.

1298
01:02:20,666 --> 01:02:22,900
- Sometimes if you had a person

1299
01:02:22,900 --> 01:02:25,733
that was sick or you 
were down-and-out,

1300
01:02:25,733 --> 01:02:28,166
they'd always take up 
a collection for you.

1301
01:02:28,166 --> 01:02:29,533
- When you're in a union, 
(lively music)

1302
01:02:29,533 --> 01:02:31,666
you're brothers and sister.

1303
01:02:31,666 --> 01:02:33,200
That's how you relate.

1304
01:02:33,200 --> 01:02:36,300
So you become very close and 
you're there for each other.

1305
01:02:36,300 --> 01:02:37,766
And when you're working 
out on the factory floor,

1306
01:02:37,766 --> 01:02:40,400
if somebody's running behind, 
you go up and you help.

1307
01:02:40,400 --> 01:02:44,533
- It was just like neighbors, 
friends, and over the years

1308
01:02:44,533 --> 01:02:48,033
it was just awesome to 
develop the friendships.

1309
01:02:48,033 --> 01:02:49,533
- We were just a large family.

1310
01:02:50,400 --> 01:02:52,933
And we got along so well.

1311
01:02:52,933 --> 01:02:54,233
- [Narrator] And 
in a lot of cases

1312
01:02:54,233 --> 01:02:55,900
they actually were family.

1313
01:02:55,900 --> 01:02:58,566
- I'm fourth generation GE.

1314
01:02:58,566 --> 01:03:02,200
My great grandpa and 
my grandpa Archbold,

1315
01:03:02,200 --> 01:03:04,966
they lived in Ossian 
and they would take

1316
01:03:04,966 --> 01:03:08,166
the interurban train 
and they would ride

1317
01:03:08,166 --> 01:03:10,833
into Fort Wayne to work 
at General Electric.

1318
01:03:10,833 --> 01:03:12,666
And then my father started.

1319
01:03:12,666 --> 01:03:15,566
And my father was 
named Glen E. Archbold,

1320
01:03:15,566 --> 01:03:17,066
no middle name.

1321
01:03:17,066 --> 01:03:18,800
And one time I asked 
grandpa, I said,

1322
01:03:18,800 --> 01:03:21,000
"How come you didn't give 
my dad a middle name?"

1323
01:03:21,000 --> 01:03:22,933
He said, "Because I 
knew he'd work at GE

1324
01:03:22,933 --> 01:03:25,933
"and I wanted his 
initials to be G.E."

1325
01:03:25,933 --> 01:03:28,900
- It was a family 
tradition to work at GE.

1326
01:03:28,900 --> 01:03:30,400
- GE was big.

1327
01:03:30,400 --> 01:03:33,033
I mean, a lot of my friends 
whose fathers worked at GE.

1328
01:03:33,033 --> 01:03:34,633
My aunt worked at GE.

1329
01:03:34,633 --> 01:03:37,266
- My mother had worked 
there during World War II.

1330
01:03:37,266 --> 01:03:39,733
- One of my uncles 
worked at Decatur GE

1331
01:03:39,733 --> 01:03:42,166
and some of his family members

1332
01:03:42,166 --> 01:03:45,966
and one of my aunts worked 
at Fort Wayne GE at Motors

1333
01:03:45,966 --> 01:03:48,433
and my brother worked 
there for a while.

1334
01:03:48,433 --> 01:03:49,933
- A couple cousins.

1335
01:03:49,933 --> 01:03:52,666
- My mother worked at GE, 
all my aunts and uncles

1336
01:03:52,666 --> 01:03:54,133
worked at GE.

1337
01:03:54,133 --> 01:03:57,433
- I was in my late teens, early 
20s and sort of floundering,

1338
01:03:57,433 --> 01:03:59,233
trying to figure out 
exactly what I wanted to do.

1339
01:03:59,233 --> 01:04:00,866
And my grandfather and, in fact,

1340
01:04:00,866 --> 01:04:03,800
a lot of my relatives had 
worked at General Electric.

1341
01:04:03,800 --> 01:04:05,866
My grandfather came 
home so proud one day

1342
01:04:05,866 --> 01:04:08,700
that he'd gotten me into the 
Tool and Die Maker Program

1343
01:04:08,700 --> 01:04:10,933
at GE like he had gone through.

1344
01:04:10,933 --> 01:04:13,200
And I had to sadly 
tell my grandfather,

1345
01:04:13,200 --> 01:04:16,433
who I loved very much, 
that tool and die machinery

1346
01:04:16,433 --> 01:04:17,833
was not really what 
I wanted to do.

1347
01:04:17,833 --> 01:04:21,266
- I met Dan Lovinger who 
was the General Manager

1348
01:04:21,266 --> 01:04:23,200
of Specialty 
Transformer Operation

1349
01:04:23,200 --> 01:04:26,233
and after several years we 
developed a relationship

1350
01:04:26,233 --> 01:04:27,966
and we ended up getting married.

1351
01:04:27,966 --> 01:04:31,633
- The people are my favorite 
thing about working at GE.

1352
01:04:31,633 --> 01:04:34,366
I mean, I even married 
one (laughing).

1353
01:04:34,366 --> 01:04:35,866
- [Narrator] Because 
General Electric

1354
01:04:35,866 --> 01:04:39,100
was such a major employer in 
Fort Wayne for over a century,

1355
01:04:39,100 --> 01:04:41,166
a lot of people in the 
town have some kind

1356
01:04:41,166 --> 01:04:43,566
of personal connection to GE.

1357
01:04:43,566 --> 01:04:47,166
- Just about anybody in 
the city of Fort Wayne

1358
01:04:48,600 --> 01:04:52,000
has had a relative or a neighbor

1359
01:04:52,000 --> 01:04:55,600
or an acquaintance, 
somebody, somehow,

1360
01:04:56,566 --> 01:04:59,333
sometime has worked here at GE.

1361
01:04:59,333 --> 01:05:02,266
- I got orders to go to Vietnam.

1362
01:05:02,266 --> 01:05:06,600
As soon as I got there, 
would you believe

1363
01:05:06,600 --> 01:05:08,866
there was a guy that 
picked me up there

1364
01:05:09,766 --> 01:05:11,400
from Fort Wayne, Indiana.

1365
01:05:11,400 --> 01:05:13,000
And you know where he worked at?

1366
01:05:16,000 --> 01:05:17,400
Right here at GE.

1367
01:05:17,400 --> 01:05:19,966
- The number of 
employees that GE had had

1368
01:05:19,966 --> 01:05:23,133
over the years compared 
to the population

1369
01:05:23,133 --> 01:05:25,100
of Allen County,

1370
01:05:25,100 --> 01:05:27,600
and if I remember correctly,

1371
01:05:27,600 --> 01:05:31,100
I think we come up with on 
average one out of nine people

1372
01:05:31,100 --> 01:05:33,833
had worked at GE 
sometime or another.

1373
01:05:33,833 --> 01:05:36,833
- Came to Fort Wayne in 1959.

1374
01:05:36,833 --> 01:05:39,966
I think the employment was 
around 10,000 to 12,000.

1375
01:05:39,966 --> 01:05:43,566
- Started our first 
job at GE in 1964.

1376
01:05:43,566 --> 01:05:45,666
I made $1.80 an hour.

1377
01:05:45,666 --> 01:05:49,966
- I started in 
September of 1973.

1378
01:05:49,966 --> 01:05:50,966
I think I started off

1379
01:05:50,966 --> 01:05:54,966
at about 3.50, 4.17 an hour.

1380
01:05:54,966 --> 01:05:56,200
It was piece work.

1381
01:05:56,200 --> 01:05:57,533
- And one of the 
first impressions

1382
01:05:57,533 --> 01:05:59,333
was just how sprawling it was.

1383
01:05:59,333 --> 01:06:01,700
- This place was huge.

1384
01:06:01,700 --> 01:06:03,066
- Big and scary (chuckles).

1385
01:06:04,233 --> 01:06:08,533
- Busy, everybody busy 
working like a busy bee.

1386
01:06:08,533 --> 01:06:11,100
- I couldn't believe 
that many buildings

1387
01:06:11,100 --> 01:06:12,800
had that many people 
working in 'em.

1388
01:06:12,800 --> 01:06:15,533
- Smells of the varnish, 
different varnishes,

1389
01:06:15,533 --> 01:06:16,466
different places 
where they treat

1390
01:06:16,466 --> 01:06:18,000
the motors and transformers.

1391
01:06:18,000 --> 01:06:20,500
- Any time you were in 
GE, you would come out

1392
01:06:20,500 --> 01:06:22,033
smelling like GE.

1393
01:06:22,033 --> 01:06:24,566
And nobody could ever lie 
and say they went to work

1394
01:06:24,566 --> 01:06:26,033
because when you came home,

1395
01:06:26,033 --> 01:06:27,866
you definitely had that smell. 
(Rudy laughing)

1396
01:06:27,866 --> 01:06:30,000
- Sound of the punch 
presses hammering away.

1397
01:06:30,000 --> 01:06:32,166
- Boom, boom, boom.

1398
01:06:32,166 --> 01:06:33,266
- And everybody talked loud.

1399
01:06:33,266 --> 01:06:34,100
They hollered.

1400
01:06:34,100 --> 01:06:34,933
(both laughing)

1401
01:06:34,933 --> 01:06:36,166
- Yeah.

1402
01:06:36,166 --> 01:06:37,100
- Because the noise 
level was so high

1403
01:06:37,100 --> 01:06:38,366
and then you'd get outta GE

1404
01:06:38,366 --> 01:06:39,133
you're still like that. 
- You're still hollering

1405
01:06:39,133 --> 01:06:39,966
at each other.

1406
01:06:39,966 --> 01:06:41,400
(both laughing)

1407
01:06:41,400 --> 01:06:43,133
Said, just calm down, 
you're not at work no more.

1408
01:06:43,133 --> 01:06:44,366
(both laughing)

1409
01:06:44,366 --> 01:06:47,300
- The shift whistles, I 
remember hearing those

1410
01:06:47,300 --> 01:06:50,166
so I had an idea when 
the first shift ended

1411
01:06:50,166 --> 01:06:52,566
and when the second shift ended

1412
01:06:52,566 --> 01:06:54,366
and when the third shift ended.

1413
01:06:54,366 --> 01:06:59,266
- After work, there was a bar 
across from the 901 Union Hall

1414
01:06:59,266 --> 01:07:02,766
and we called that 
901 1/2 because that's 
where you would go

1415
01:07:02,766 --> 01:07:05,000
after work to talk about work. 
(upbeat music)

1416
01:07:05,000 --> 01:07:08,300
- A number of the neighborhoods 
that still survive

1417
01:07:08,300 --> 01:07:10,033
started to spring up around GE.

1418
01:07:10,033 --> 01:07:13,133
A lotta folks wanted 
to live near the plant.

1419
01:07:13,133 --> 01:07:15,966
- General Electric 
Company was very important

1420
01:07:15,966 --> 01:07:17,233
to the community.

1421
01:07:17,233 --> 01:07:19,966
They had a lot of 
employees and that was

1422
01:07:19,966 --> 01:07:22,633
your bread and butter 
to come and work at GE.

1423
01:07:22,633 --> 01:07:25,733
- Good wages, terrific benefits,

1424
01:07:27,166 --> 01:07:31,900
good retirement, and it 
enabled a lot of families

1425
01:07:32,633 --> 01:07:33,900
reach their dreams.

1426
01:07:33,900 --> 01:07:37,033
- I made enough money to 
send my kids to college.

1427
01:07:37,033 --> 01:07:40,100
They went to college, 
had everything paid for.

1428
01:07:40,100 --> 01:07:43,600
And I had good health 
insurance for the family.

1429
01:07:43,600 --> 01:07:44,800
- [Narrator] 
Employees could enjoy

1430
01:07:44,800 --> 01:07:46,500
some of the fruits 
of their labor

1431
01:07:46,500 --> 01:07:48,666
by shopping at the 
Employee Store.

1432
01:07:48,666 --> 01:07:50,100
- We bought all GE appliances.

1433
01:07:50,100 --> 01:07:51,600
They used to have a 
GE appliance store

1434
01:07:51,600 --> 01:07:54,500
over on Sweeney Avenue, 
across from the credit union.

1435
01:07:54,500 --> 01:07:57,100
Well, we'd get better 
deals on coffee pots,

1436
01:07:57,100 --> 01:07:59,133
toasters, just 
anything they had.

1437
01:07:59,133 --> 01:08:01,033
So that was a big 
thing at Christmas

1438
01:08:01,033 --> 01:08:04,100
was to go to the GE 
Store on Swinney Avenue

1439
01:08:04,100 --> 01:08:07,433
and pick out your hairdryers, 
whatever you might want.

1440
01:08:07,433 --> 01:08:08,766
(blender whirring)

1441
01:08:08,766 --> 01:08:12,866
♪ Hear the newest most 
exciting sound in town ♪

1442
01:08:12,866 --> 01:08:15,100
♪ It's a General 
Electric blender ♪

1443
01:08:15,100 --> 01:08:17,266
♪ That's going around

1444
01:08:17,266 --> 01:08:19,733
♪ Completely new 
from base to lid ♪

1445
01:08:19,733 --> 01:08:22,033
♪ Take it apart, 
see what they did ♪

1446
01:08:22,033 --> 01:08:24,566
♪ The nonskid base is the 
lowest you'll ever see ♪

1447
01:08:24,566 --> 01:08:28,300
- [Man] The decanter has a 
36-ounce blending capacity.

1448
01:08:29,700 --> 01:08:33,733
- [Narrator] In 1968, GE Fort 
Wayne had 8,000 employees

1449
01:08:33,733 --> 01:08:36,700
producing a variety of 
motors, transformers,

1450
01:08:36,700 --> 01:08:38,400
and other products.

1451
01:08:38,400 --> 01:08:42,466
The 1970s saw the 
advent of globalization.

1452
01:08:42,466 --> 01:08:47,366
- The system was such that 
it just was not compatible

1453
01:08:47,366 --> 01:08:50,066
with keeping up with where 
the market was going.

1454
01:08:50,066 --> 01:08:52,800
- [Narrator] By 1977, 
the Fort Wayne workforce

1455
01:08:52,800 --> 01:08:56,000
had been pared down 
to 5,500 employees

1456
01:08:56,000 --> 01:08:57,833
as production continued 
to be divvied out

1457
01:08:57,833 --> 01:08:59,966
to other locations.

1458
01:08:59,966 --> 01:09:02,733
- Through the '60s and the '70s

1459
01:09:02,733 --> 01:09:07,466
and up till about 
the early '80s,

1460
01:09:07,466 --> 01:09:09,166
very early '80s,

1461
01:09:09,166 --> 01:09:12,666
we were able to get 
frequent price increases

1462
01:09:12,666 --> 01:09:13,466
in the market

1463
01:09:15,300 --> 01:09:17,766
to cover our escalating costs

1464
01:09:17,766 --> 01:09:22,333
of labor contracts, cost of 
materials, and those things.

1465
01:09:22,333 --> 01:09:24,600
By the time we'd 
reached the '80s,

1466
01:09:24,600 --> 01:09:27,600
it was nearly impossible 
to get a price increase.

1467
01:09:27,600 --> 01:09:29,433
It was a thing of the past.

1468
01:09:29,433 --> 01:09:31,000
- [Narrator] Soon 
General Electric

1469
01:09:31,000 --> 01:09:35,333
was announcing plans to build 
two new plants in Mexico.

1470
01:09:35,333 --> 01:09:40,300
- The company built a 
plant in Juarez, Mexico,

1471
01:09:41,433 --> 01:09:44,200
and that plant started 
to pick up product

1472
01:09:44,200 --> 01:09:45,700
out of Taylor Street.

1473
01:09:45,700 --> 01:09:48,233
The 40 frame and 30 frame 
motors went down there.

1474
01:09:49,333 --> 01:09:52,833
That move probably was driven

1475
01:09:54,000 --> 01:09:56,866
by the need to get 
lower cost products.

1476
01:09:56,866 --> 01:09:59,066
- [Narrator] Weldon 
Shaefer was asked to travel

1477
01:09:59,066 --> 01:10:01,366
from Fort Wayne to 
help set up the factory

1478
01:10:01,366 --> 01:10:04,300
and train workers 
in Juarez, Mexico.

1479
01:10:04,300 --> 01:10:07,100
- Most of the workers were paid

1480
01:10:07,100 --> 01:10:11,366
a rather low wage, which 
was pretty much standard

1481
01:10:11,366 --> 01:10:13,166
with all the other work

1482
01:10:13,166 --> 01:10:17,533
that went across the 
(speaking in foreign language)

1483
01:10:17,533 --> 01:10:18,933
they called it.

1484
01:10:18,933 --> 01:10:22,500
It was a transition of 
American industry into Mexico.

1485
01:10:23,900 --> 01:10:26,866
Quite a number of people 
that were probably not happy

1486
01:10:26,866 --> 01:10:30,466
that I was helping 
with that transition

1487
01:10:30,466 --> 01:10:34,133
but I did feel it was 
part of my responsibility

1488
01:10:34,133 --> 01:10:36,533
no matter what and I understood

1489
01:10:36,533 --> 01:10:38,966
it was a thing that 
was gonna happen.

1490
01:10:38,966 --> 01:10:41,666
There was nothing that 
we're gonna do to stop it.

1491
01:10:41,666 --> 01:10:43,466
Might as well make 
the best of it.

1492
01:10:44,600 --> 01:10:45,900
- [Narrator] The board 
at General Electric

1493
01:10:45,900 --> 01:10:48,133
corporate headquarters 
were looking for someone

1494
01:10:48,133 --> 01:10:50,833
who could steer the ship 
through the uncharted waters

1495
01:10:50,833 --> 01:10:53,533
of the emerging global economy.

1496
01:10:53,533 --> 01:10:56,933
They settled upon a bold 
new leader that in some ways

1497
01:10:56,933 --> 01:11:00,700
was reminiscent of the business 
genius of Charles Coffin

1498
01:11:00,700 --> 01:11:03,600
and the charisma 
of R.T. McDonald.

1499
01:11:03,600 --> 01:11:07,700
Jack Welch became president 
and CEO of General Electric

1500
01:11:07,700 --> 01:11:10,400
in April of 1981.

1501
01:11:10,400 --> 01:11:13,100
He took a more accessible, 
hands-on approach

1502
01:11:13,100 --> 01:11:16,433
to leadership and that 
earned him a lot of respect.

1503
01:11:16,433 --> 01:11:19,233
- Think he was really 
on the lookout for ways

1504
01:11:19,233 --> 01:11:22,133
to maximize GE's prominence.

1505
01:11:24,300 --> 01:11:26,366
And under him, I mean, it became

1506
01:11:26,366 --> 01:11:30,933
one of the largest 
corporations on the planet.

1507
01:11:30,933 --> 01:11:32,400
- He used to say,

1508
01:11:34,733 --> 01:11:37,100
"If you're doing things today

1509
01:11:37,100 --> 01:11:39,533
"the way you did 
them a year ago,

1510
01:11:39,533 --> 01:11:41,833
"someone has either 
caught up with you

1511
01:11:41,833 --> 01:11:43,666
"or they've passed you."

1512
01:11:43,666 --> 01:11:45,500
He was a big change agent.

1513
01:11:45,500 --> 01:11:47,333
- [Narrator] But his 
culture of change was met

1514
01:11:47,333 --> 01:11:49,966
with apprehension by 
some of the GE workers

1515
01:11:49,966 --> 01:11:52,666
that had counted on the 
factory for generations.

1516
01:11:52,666 --> 01:11:55,366
- Unions were always 
trying to get job security

1517
01:11:55,366 --> 01:11:56,900
all across the country.

1518
01:11:56,900 --> 01:12:00,200
That's what the labor 
movement wanted from GE

1519
01:12:00,200 --> 01:12:01,900
was job security.

1520
01:12:01,900 --> 01:12:03,966
- [Narrator] By the time 
the 100-year anniversary

1521
01:12:03,966 --> 01:12:06,900
of the founding of Fort Wayne 
Jenney Electric Light Company

1522
01:12:06,900 --> 01:12:11,900
rolled around in 1981, 
there were 4,700 employees

1523
01:12:12,500 --> 01:12:13,966
on the payroll.

1524
01:12:13,966 --> 01:12:17,966
In 1982, major flooding 
hit the city of Fort Wayne.

1525
01:12:17,966 --> 01:12:19,966
A national disaster was declared

1526
01:12:19,966 --> 01:12:23,333
and President Ronald Reagan 
came to survey the damage.

1527
01:12:24,466 --> 01:12:26,466
As the flood waters 
were still rising,

1528
01:12:26,466 --> 01:12:29,466
the President took time to 
help Fort Wayne volunteers

1529
01:12:29,466 --> 01:12:33,166
place sandbags to hold 
back the floodwaters.

1530
01:12:33,166 --> 01:12:35,566
This wasn't the first 
time that Ronald Reagan

1531
01:12:35,566 --> 01:12:37,400
had visited Fort Wayne.

1532
01:12:37,400 --> 01:12:40,733
Years earlier actor Ronald 
Reagan came to visit,

1533
01:12:40,733 --> 01:12:42,166
and his destination

1534
01:12:42,166 --> 01:12:45,033
was the Fort Wayne Works 
of General Electric.

1535
01:12:45,033 --> 01:12:47,300
Reagan was the host 
of the television show

1536
01:12:47,300 --> 01:12:52,300
"General Electric Theater" 
from 1954 through 1962.

1537
01:12:53,500 --> 01:12:55,366
The Elex Club held a 
banquet in his honor

1538
01:12:55,366 --> 01:12:59,633
when he came to visit and 
mingle with employees in 1954.

1539
01:12:59,633 --> 01:13:01,100
During the 1980s,

1540
01:13:01,100 --> 01:13:02,466
there were a lot of changes 
(somber music)

1541
01:13:02,466 --> 01:13:05,466
made under the 
leadership of Jack Welch.

1542
01:13:05,466 --> 01:13:08,200
Employment levels at 
GE Fort Wayne shrank

1543
01:13:08,200 --> 01:13:11,833
to just 2,900 workers, 
the lowest levels

1544
01:13:11,833 --> 01:13:13,666
since before World War I.

1545
01:13:15,100 --> 01:13:17,933
Guy Rhoades would often give 
reports to the management

1546
01:13:17,933 --> 01:13:21,766
at GE corporate headquarters, 
including Jack Welch.

1547
01:13:21,766 --> 01:13:26,766
- He was a terrific manager, 
remembered everything,

1548
01:13:27,933 --> 01:13:30,366
got to know these motor 
businesses quite well,

1549
01:13:32,066 --> 01:13:35,133
was a tough reviewer.

1550
01:13:37,100 --> 01:13:39,800
Seemed to ask all 
the right questions.

1551
01:13:39,800 --> 01:13:42,733
And you had to have 
your wits about you.

1552
01:13:42,733 --> 01:13:44,866
You couldn't wander off.

1553
01:13:44,866 --> 01:13:47,533
Your answers had to be 
direct, to the point.

1554
01:13:47,533 --> 01:13:48,900
- [Narrator] The 
pruning of operations

1555
01:13:48,900 --> 01:13:51,633
that Jack Welch had 
implemented system-wide

1556
01:13:51,633 --> 01:13:53,566
began to pay off.

1557
01:13:53,566 --> 01:13:58,533
GE stock was up by 500% 
at the end of the decade.

1558
01:13:58,533 --> 01:14:02,100
In Fort Wayne, the 
Motor Business Group 
remained profitable.

1559
01:14:02,100 --> 01:14:04,166
- It was a powerhouse.

1560
01:14:04,166 --> 01:14:08,033
I mean, it dominated 
its markets,

1561
01:14:08,033 --> 01:14:09,533
had high market share.

1562
01:14:09,533 --> 01:14:13,366
It was very profitable and 
it was a terrific business,

1563
01:14:13,366 --> 01:14:15,566
probably one of 
the best businesses

1564
01:14:15,566 --> 01:14:16,900
in the General Electric Company.

1565
01:14:16,900 --> 01:14:19,300
- The motors we 
built here were used

1566
01:14:19,300 --> 01:14:21,200
in so many different things.

1567
01:14:21,200 --> 01:14:24,400
Wherever you were, you 
would see GE motors.

1568
01:14:24,400 --> 01:14:27,066
- That was one great thing 
about the motor business.

1569
01:14:27,066 --> 01:14:31,600
It touched almost every 
market you could think of.

1570
01:14:31,600 --> 01:14:34,400
- [Narrator] In 1989, 
the Decatur Plant,

1571
01:14:34,400 --> 01:14:36,433
which had been connected 
with Fort Wayne Works

1572
01:14:36,433 --> 01:14:39,933
for over 80 years, 
was closed down.

1573
01:14:39,933 --> 01:14:42,400
- I think the idea that 
may close the plant

1574
01:14:42,400 --> 01:14:44,700
or move production 
somewhere else

1575
01:14:44,700 --> 01:14:47,000
had been going on 
for a long time,

1576
01:14:47,000 --> 01:14:49,133
but our plant in Decatur

1577
01:14:49,133 --> 01:14:52,566
had one of the highest 
levels of productivity

1578
01:14:52,566 --> 01:14:55,233
within the whole 
system of motors.

1579
01:14:55,233 --> 01:14:59,833
So many of us kind 
of thought it was

1580
01:14:59,833 --> 01:15:03,066
a wolf cry that's not 
gonna ever come about.

1581
01:15:03,066 --> 01:15:04,666
But it did, it did.

1582
01:15:06,366 --> 01:15:08,666
- [Narrator] Many of the 
workers were able to transfer

1583
01:15:08,666 --> 01:15:10,200
to the Fort Wayne campus.

1584
01:15:11,033 --> 01:15:14,533
- I started in 1969 in Decatur

1585
01:15:14,533 --> 01:15:16,933
and I worked there till 1988

1586
01:15:16,933 --> 01:15:19,833
when they announced they 
were closing Decatur.

1587
01:15:19,833 --> 01:15:22,566
And we had a chance to 
come up here to Fort Wayne

1588
01:15:22,566 --> 01:15:24,233
so I put in my bid

1589
01:15:24,233 --> 01:15:25,433
and I got into Fort Wayne

1590
01:15:25,433 --> 01:15:28,733
and I stayed working 
here till 2006.

1591
01:15:28,733 --> 01:15:31,066
- [Narrator] This was 
truly a time of uncertainty

1592
01:15:31,066 --> 01:15:33,066
for many GE workers.

1593
01:15:33,066 --> 01:15:37,733
- As a GE employee, you kinda 
focused on the local area

1594
01:15:37,733 --> 01:15:40,966
and GE's what we're 
doing here is, you know,

1595
01:15:40,966 --> 01:15:42,833
why isn't it better recognized,

1596
01:15:42,833 --> 01:15:45,366
or we've been here a long time,

1597
01:15:45,366 --> 01:15:47,733
we're making money 
for the company?

1598
01:15:47,733 --> 01:15:52,166
A lotta times we felt 
that maybe he didn't have

1599
01:15:52,166 --> 01:15:54,433
employees' best interest in mind

1600
01:15:54,433 --> 01:15:58,866
and he was too focused 
on the profits and all.

1601
01:15:58,866 --> 01:16:01,166
- [Narrator] But from a 
shareholder's perspective

1602
01:16:01,166 --> 01:16:04,366
this made the company's 
value grow to record levels.

1603
01:16:04,366 --> 01:16:05,533
(somber music)

1604
01:16:05,533 --> 01:16:09,000
General Electric's 
stock increased by 1000%

1605
01:16:09,000 --> 01:16:10,633
during the 1990s.

1606
01:16:11,800 --> 01:16:14,533
Many GE employees owned 
stock in the company,

1607
01:16:14,533 --> 01:16:17,100
giving them a 
unique perspective.

1608
01:16:17,100 --> 01:16:20,133
- My personal feeling 
is his leadership

1609
01:16:20,133 --> 01:16:21,333
was good for the company.

1610
01:16:21,333 --> 01:16:24,166
We did very well 
when Jack was here.

1611
01:16:24,166 --> 01:16:27,800
- [Narrator] In 1993, the 
annual GE shareholders' meeting

1612
01:16:27,800 --> 01:16:29,933
was held in Fort Wayne.

1613
01:16:29,933 --> 01:16:32,900
Denver Sarver was 
able to ask Jack Welch

1614
01:16:32,900 --> 01:16:35,833
about his business 
strategy during his visit.

1615
01:16:35,833 --> 01:16:39,333
- It was making seven, 
eight percent at that time

1616
01:16:39,333 --> 01:16:41,933
and he had other businesses

1617
01:16:41,933 --> 01:16:45,100
that were making over 30%.

1618
01:16:45,100 --> 01:16:47,466
And so if he sold 
the motor business

1619
01:16:47,466 --> 01:16:48,966
and invested the money from that

1620
01:16:48,966 --> 01:16:51,733
into those other businesses,

1621
01:16:51,733 --> 01:16:54,466
which would I rather 
make 7% or 30%?

1622
01:16:54,466 --> 01:16:59,466
As a shareholder, he 
had to do what was best

1623
01:16:59,466 --> 01:17:01,733
for the company and 
the shareholders.

1624
01:17:01,733 --> 01:17:04,733
- If he could've back 
in the '70s and '80s

1625
01:17:04,733 --> 01:17:07,100
he woulda put every 
General Electric plant

1626
01:17:07,100 --> 01:17:09,833
on a barge and moved that barge

1627
01:17:09,833 --> 01:17:11,966
wherever he could find 
the cheapest labor.

1628
01:17:11,966 --> 01:17:16,233
- [Narrator] GE Fort Wayne 
had about 1,450 employees

1629
01:17:16,233 --> 01:17:19,100
at the end of the 
Jack Welch era.

1630
01:17:19,100 --> 01:17:22,633
Slowly, piece by piece, 
over the next few years,

1631
01:17:22,633 --> 01:17:25,200
the Fort Wayne Works 
would lose production jobs

1632
01:17:25,200 --> 01:17:26,900
to other factories.

1633
01:17:26,900 --> 01:17:28,733
Most went to Mexico.

1634
01:17:28,733 --> 01:17:33,100
- Eventually, the cost of 
producing product in Fort Wayne

1635
01:17:33,100 --> 01:17:36,566
did catch up with the 
Fort Wayne operations.

1636
01:17:36,566 --> 01:17:39,400
- But it was always the 
feeling that you're seeing

1637
01:17:39,400 --> 01:17:42,500
the business move away

1638
01:17:42,500 --> 01:17:44,500
and jobs move away with it.

1639
01:17:44,500 --> 01:17:47,000
- If it's decaying, 
eventually it will decay

1640
01:17:47,000 --> 01:17:50,733
to a point where the 
end result is the same.

1641
01:17:50,733 --> 01:17:53,700
The business will 
close or it'll be sold.

1642
01:17:53,700 --> 01:17:56,100
- Over the years they 
lost a lotta people.

1643
01:17:56,100 --> 01:17:58,666
They'd have small layoffs, 
never call people back,

1644
01:17:58,666 --> 01:18:01,700
and I don't think the 
public knew how small

1645
01:18:01,700 --> 01:18:04,200
the employment was getting 
at General Electric.

1646
01:18:04,200 --> 01:18:07,733
- [Narrator] By 2014, there 
were only 90 employees left

1647
01:18:07,733 --> 01:18:09,933
on the Fort Wayne roster.

1648
01:18:09,933 --> 01:18:13,766
On January 28th, 
2014, General Electric

1649
01:18:13,766 --> 01:18:15,400
made the official announcement 
(tense music)

1650
01:18:15,400 --> 01:18:16,533
that it would be closing

1651
01:18:16,533 --> 01:18:19,300
the entire Fort Wayne facility.

1652
01:18:19,300 --> 01:18:20,633
- It was heartbreaking.

1653
01:18:20,633 --> 01:18:22,700
I was so sad.

1654
01:18:22,700 --> 01:18:24,166
- It hurts me, you know.

1655
01:18:25,700 --> 01:18:30,500
It hurts me and I think 
it hurt a lot of people.

1656
01:18:30,500 --> 01:18:32,400
- Just almost a sick feeling,

1657
01:18:34,166 --> 01:18:36,433
you know, that it was all over.

1658
01:18:42,166 --> 01:18:46,000
- All the memories, 
all the people,

1659
01:18:46,000 --> 01:18:49,166
just gone, you know. 
(somber music)

1660
01:18:49,166 --> 01:18:50,966
Never be a fifth generation.

1661
01:18:52,000 --> 01:18:53,200
- Just kinda empty, you know,

1662
01:18:53,200 --> 01:18:54,566
from what it used to be

1663
01:18:54,566 --> 01:18:58,033
with all the equipment 
and the noise

1664
01:18:58,033 --> 01:19:03,000
and the sounds and 
stuff, the people.

1665
01:19:03,000 --> 01:19:04,200
Almost like a ghost town.

1666
01:19:05,766 --> 01:19:08,366
- It's empty, it's empty.

1667
01:19:10,433 --> 01:19:13,766
It's just like a 
hole, it's empty.

1668
01:19:17,966 --> 01:19:20,600
- It was bing, bang, boom.

1669
01:19:20,600 --> 01:19:22,800
I mean, they unbolted 
it, it was on a truck,

1670
01:19:22,800 --> 01:19:25,033
and it was outta here.

1671
01:19:25,033 --> 01:19:26,666
- I couldn't believe 
it, you know.

1672
01:19:26,666 --> 01:19:27,933
It was the last transformer.

1673
01:19:27,933 --> 01:19:31,433
We're gonna run out 
of the factory and...

1674
01:19:31,433 --> 01:19:34,833
- Had an auction, 
auctioned things off.

1675
01:19:34,833 --> 01:19:36,800
- At GE, everybody 
always wrote their names

1676
01:19:36,800 --> 01:19:37,966
on their tools.

1677
01:19:37,966 --> 01:19:39,066
They wrote their 
names on their carts

1678
01:19:39,066 --> 01:19:40,533
so nobody would take their cart

1679
01:19:40,533 --> 01:19:42,266
so that they'd always 
have their work equipment

1680
01:19:42,266 --> 01:19:43,500
to do their job.

1681
01:19:43,500 --> 01:19:45,700
And that's what was 
the saddest to me

1682
01:19:46,766 --> 01:19:48,833
was seeing everyone's names.

1683
01:19:52,800 --> 01:19:55,366
- [Narrator] Kevin was 
there for the final day

1684
01:19:55,366 --> 01:19:59,600
when he had to close and lock 
the door for the last time.

1685
01:19:59,600 --> 01:20:02,533
- [Interviewer] Walking out 
of here for the last time,

1686
01:20:02,533 --> 01:20:04,333
what did you do?

1687
01:20:08,500 --> 01:20:10,100
- Went home and drank some beer.

1688
01:20:11,166 --> 01:20:12,600
(Kevin laughing)

1689
01:20:12,600 --> 01:20:15,633
(lively music)

1690
01:20:15,633 --> 01:20:17,466
- [Narrator] Kevin had 
enough years of service

1691
01:20:17,466 --> 01:20:20,100
to retire from General Electric.

1692
01:20:20,100 --> 01:20:23,800
But it wasn't very long until 
he received a phone call.

1693
01:20:23,800 --> 01:20:26,133
- About six months later 
is when they started having

1694
01:20:26,133 --> 01:20:30,033
the break-ins here with 
kids, mostly kids, you know.

1695
01:20:30,033 --> 01:20:32,933
And that's when GE 
asked me to come back.

1696
01:20:32,933 --> 01:20:34,500
- [Narrator] With the 
buildings now empty,

1697
01:20:34,500 --> 01:20:36,166
community members were concerned

1698
01:20:36,166 --> 01:20:38,066
about the future of the campus.

1699
01:20:38,066 --> 01:20:39,966
- You're the councilman 
for this area,

1700
01:20:39,966 --> 01:20:41,500
what are you gonna do about it?

1701
01:20:41,500 --> 01:20:43,466
And I thought that's 
a good question.

1702
01:20:43,466 --> 01:20:45,633
What can we do as a community?

1703
01:20:45,633 --> 01:20:48,066
- [Narrator] Fort Wayne City 
Councilman Geoffrey Paddock

1704
01:20:48,066 --> 01:20:51,500
helped organize a group 
of former GE employees,

1705
01:20:51,500 --> 01:20:54,333
Fort Wayne residents, 
and community leaders,

1706
01:20:54,333 --> 01:20:57,866
to work on a future 
plan for the GE Campus.

1707
01:20:57,866 --> 01:21:01,066
- I started contacting 
other retirees.

1708
01:21:02,200 --> 01:21:05,000
Is it a possibility 
that the campus

1709
01:21:05,000 --> 01:21:08,900
could become something other 
than what it was prior?

1710
01:21:09,800 --> 01:21:11,866
- [Narrator] In March of 2016,

1711
01:21:11,866 --> 01:21:14,733
workers removed the GE logo sign

1712
01:21:14,733 --> 01:21:17,333
that had towered over 
the GE Campus building

1713
01:21:17,333 --> 01:21:19,700
for almost 90 years.

1714
01:21:19,700 --> 01:21:22,933
Its loss was a shock to 
many in the community.

1715
01:21:22,933 --> 01:21:24,666
- It was a landmark certainly.

1716
01:21:24,666 --> 01:21:27,033
You saw it from all over town.

1717
01:21:27,033 --> 01:21:28,533
- When I came to 
Fort Wayne in '59,

1718
01:21:28,533 --> 01:21:32,300
that sign was bright 
and shining every night

1719
01:21:32,300 --> 01:21:34,433
and you could see 
it from everywhere.

1720
01:21:34,433 --> 01:21:36,900
- This is where I work, this 
is the GE sign, you know.

1721
01:21:36,900 --> 01:21:40,300
- The actual meatball, 
the GE meatball

1722
01:21:40,300 --> 01:21:42,833
has been shipped 
down to Evendale,

1723
01:21:42,833 --> 01:21:44,433
down in Cincinnati.

1724
01:21:44,433 --> 01:21:45,600
- [Narrator] For the members

1725
01:21:45,600 --> 01:21:47,533
of the General Electric 
Campus Coalition,

1726
01:21:47,533 --> 01:21:50,400
the removal of the 
GE sign underscored

1727
01:21:50,400 --> 01:21:53,300
how urgent the need was 
to secure the property

1728
01:21:53,300 --> 01:21:54,966
and preserve the legacy.

1729
01:21:54,966 --> 01:21:56,466
- It was a wake up call

1730
01:21:56,466 --> 01:21:59,733
because that really 
ignited our group.

1731
01:21:59,733 --> 01:22:01,300
- I think there 
was a real concern

1732
01:22:01,300 --> 01:22:04,033
that all the buildings 
would be knocked down.

1733
01:22:04,033 --> 01:22:05,933
- [Narrator] Finally, 
all of the hard work

1734
01:22:05,933 --> 01:22:07,733
and searching would pay off.

1735
01:22:08,766 --> 01:22:11,833
On February 13th, 2017, 
(upbeat music)

1736
01:22:11,833 --> 01:22:13,766
an important 
announcement was made.

1737
01:22:15,166 --> 01:22:18,000
Baltimore development 
firm Cross Street Partners

1738
01:22:18,000 --> 01:22:19,833
had agreed to 
purchase the property

1739
01:22:19,833 --> 01:22:22,133
from General 
Electric and save it

1740
01:22:22,133 --> 01:22:23,533
from the wrecking ball.

1741
01:22:23,533 --> 01:22:26,433
Electric Works was born, 
(lively music)

1742
01:22:26,433 --> 01:22:29,866
a vision to transform 
the 18 historic buildings

1743
01:22:29,866 --> 01:22:33,833
on the 39-acre campus 
into a mixed use facility

1744
01:22:33,833 --> 01:22:37,366
where people can 
live, work, and play.

1745
01:22:37,366 --> 01:22:38,933
The hope is to utilize some

1746
01:22:38,933 --> 01:22:42,666
of the 1.2 million square 
feet of indoor space

1747
01:22:42,666 --> 01:22:46,066
to house business startups, 
education partners,

1748
01:22:46,066 --> 01:22:48,433
medical facilities, offices,

1749
01:22:48,433 --> 01:22:51,733
and retail businesses that 
would be an economic engine

1750
01:22:51,733 --> 01:22:53,666
for the surrounding area.

1751
01:22:53,666 --> 01:22:55,733
The plan also calls 
for converting

1752
01:22:55,733 --> 01:22:58,800
some of the floor space 
into loft-style apartments

1753
01:22:58,800 --> 01:23:01,700
with views of 
downtown Fort Wayne.

1754
01:23:01,700 --> 01:23:04,766
- I was super excited to hear

1755
01:23:04,766 --> 01:23:08,300
about Electric Works 
because it was like a part

1756
01:23:08,300 --> 01:23:09,700
of our history was gonna stay.

1757
01:23:09,700 --> 01:23:11,966
These buildings are beautiful.

1758
01:23:11,966 --> 01:23:16,166
- All of us never 
dreamed that we'd be

1759
01:23:16,166 --> 01:23:17,933
at this point at this time.

1760
01:23:17,933 --> 01:23:22,266
- They wanna see this thing 
come to life once again

1761
01:23:22,266 --> 01:23:25,066
and be able to bring their 
kids and grandkids through

1762
01:23:25,066 --> 01:23:28,100
and show 'em, well, I 
worked right over there.

1763
01:23:28,100 --> 01:23:31,566
- It is important that 
we recognize our past,

1764
01:23:31,566 --> 01:23:34,366
try to preserve as 
much of it as we can,

1765
01:23:34,366 --> 01:23:36,766
and take those relics 
to build the future.

1766
01:23:36,766 --> 01:23:38,966
- That was a great place for me

1767
01:23:38,966 --> 01:23:41,800
and it was the greatest 
places I ever had.

1768
01:23:41,800 --> 01:23:43,100
- GE's been good to me

1769
01:23:43,100 --> 01:23:46,466
and I really appreciate 
the time I had here.

1770
01:23:46,466 --> 01:23:49,566
- I still appreciate 
what GE did for me

1771
01:23:50,766 --> 01:23:52,000
to this day.

1772
01:23:52,000 --> 01:23:55,800
- I'm very thankful 
that I've worked here

1773
01:23:55,800 --> 01:23:59,433
because there were 
blessings that came

1774
01:23:59,433 --> 01:24:01,466
from me working here

1775
01:24:02,566 --> 01:24:04,600
and are still 
coming to this day.

1776
01:24:04,600 --> 01:24:06,533
- A piece of me 
will always be here

1777
01:24:07,366 --> 01:24:08,866
with GE in Fort Wayne.

1778
01:24:08,866 --> 01:24:11,566
- We've thought about all 
the good times we'd had.

1779
01:24:11,566 --> 01:24:14,033
We enjoyed our jobs, we 
enjoyed working there,

1780
01:24:14,033 --> 01:24:15,600
we enjoyed the friendships,

1781
01:24:15,600 --> 01:24:18,033
we just enjoyed being there.

1782
01:24:18,033 --> 01:24:22,433
- If you've got a job that 
you like to go into work,

1783
01:24:23,766 --> 01:24:25,166
you got it made 
(gentle music)

1784
01:24:25,166 --> 01:24:27,900
if you love your job and I did.

1785
01:24:32,766 --> 01:24:36,000
Some of my cohorts 
said at the time,

1786
01:24:36,000 --> 01:24:38,566
"Kevin will be the 
last one here."

1787
01:24:39,500 --> 01:24:41,400
And they were right.

1788
01:24:41,400 --> 01:24:44,166
(Kevin laughing)

1789
01:24:45,166 --> 01:24:46,400
- [Narrator] The hope is

1790
01:24:46,400 --> 01:24:48,133
that these dead, 
lifeless buildings

1791
01:24:48,133 --> 01:24:50,833
will once again teem with life.

1792
01:24:50,833 --> 01:24:54,700
And that the legacy of R.T. 
McDonald, James Jenney,

1793
01:24:54,700 --> 01:24:57,433
James J. Wood, and 
thousands of others

1794
01:24:57,433 --> 01:24:59,466
who have worked and lived here

1795
01:24:59,466 --> 01:25:03,600
will be felt by future 
generations for years to come.

1796
01:25:04,600 --> 01:25:07,200
(upbeat music)

1797
01:25:23,800 --> 01:25:26,400
(lively music)

1798
01:26:13,100 --> 01:26:15,766
(gentle music)