- [Narrator] Electric
Legacy is brought to you by,
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] At MidWest
America, we're proud
to be a credit
union, not a bank.
Which means we offer
everything you expect
from a modern
financial institution
like mobile banking, bill pay
and easy access to
mortgages and other loans.
But unlike a bank, we're local,
non-profit and member-owned.
(crowd cheers)
So we're accountable to
you not shareholders.
(bubbles popping)
And we invest in the
community we call home.
MidWest America
Federal Credit Union,
more than just a bank.
- [Narrator] And by,
(slow music)
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] In the heart
of Fort Wayne, Indiana,
you will find a
complex of buildings.
Cold, empty husks
being torn apart
by the elements from
years of neglect.
It's a sight that many
Americans have grown callous to,
a relic of the Rust Belt,
another industrial factory
closed and forgotten.
These buildings that have stood
for over one hundred years,
once teamed with
thousands of workers.
Its walls echoed with
clanking, humming and whirring
from mighty machinery,
manufacturing multiple
product lines,
cranking out millions of units,
but this story is
not about buildings.
It's about the people who
worked in these buildings,
not just how they worked,
but how they lived.
If these walls could talk,
they would tell tales of
geniuses, pioneers, mavericks
and of workers who
became a family.
So what happened here?
Why are these buildings
now empty and silent?
Why did it all end?
Perhaps what's more
interesting is how it began.
And, all of the
stories in between.
(dramatic music)
(western music)
This whole story begins
with the light bulb.
Ask anyone and
they will tell you
that Thomas Edison
invented the light bulb.
Right?
But it really isn't that simple.
Not only was Thomas Edison
not the first person
to think up the light bulb,
the idea was patented two years
before Edison was even born.
Edison made a better light
bulb by improving on ideas
that came before him.
Before Thomas Edison
tinkered with light bulbs
and became America's
most celebrated inventor,
he was a telegraph operator for
the Wabash Railroad Company.
It was this job that brought
him to Fort Wayne, Indiana
in the summer of 1864 when
he was just 17 years old.
It would be another 15 years
before inventor Thomas Alva
Edison would triumphantly emerge
from his lab with a practical
incandescent light bulb
that could change
the world, however,
someone other than
Edison would be the first
to bring electric
lighting to Fort Wayne.
Incandescent lamps
weren't the only means
of electrical illumination
being experimented with
at the time,
another invention with a lot
of momentum behind
it was arc lighting.
Inventor Charles
Brush was the first
to bring his arc light system
to the commercial market.
Arc lights were much brighter
than the incandescent light
bulb that Edison had designed.
They were too bright
for small rooms.
- The first advantage
of having of creation
of electricity was
lights, of course.
Street lights and
lights in large spaces
such as a
manufacturing facility,
'cause arc lights you couldn't
have in a room like this.
It would, it just wouldn't work.
- [Narrator] In 1880, a Brush
arc light system was put
into operation in
Wabash, Indiana,
making it the first city
in the United States
to illuminate their streets
entirely via electricity.
In 1881 James Jenney
and a business partner,
Walter S. Hicks, traveled
to Fort Wayne, Indiana,
in hopes of finding
investors in a venture
to manufacture and
sell arc light systems.
- Fort Wayne was already
considered a railroad center.
There were six rail lines
that went North, East,
South and West, so there
was a lot of activity.
The town had a
reputation for success
that brought businesses here.
You had a skilled workforce.
- [Narrator] Jenney and Hicks,
however were finding it
difficult to lure investors
and their trip to the
Summit City was proving
to be fruitless.
The two discouraged men
returned to the Aveline Hotel,
where they were staying
and sat down for
an evening meal.
That night, a chance encounter
with a fellow diner
would change their luck
and the course of
Fort Wayne history.
They struck up a
conversation with John Kiess,
a shipping clerk
with the Evans-McDonald
wholesale dry goods company.
They told Keiss
about their reason
for traveling to Fort Wayne.
Keiss eagerly made arrangements
for them to meet
with his employer.
- "Yeah, I know somebody who
might want to look at that."
Because he knew his
boss was an entrepreneur
who would jump on a good
idea and carry it through,
to the max actually.
And so that's how
it was arranged.
- [Narrator] Ranald Trevor
McDonald was an entrepreneur
with a penchant for investing in
and promoting new
business ventures.
- There would be no
company without him,
I'm certain of that.
It appears that he was
a man who saw an idea
and used all of his energy
to make a successful operation.
- [Narrator] Not
only was he receptive
to meeting with Jenney and Hicks
but he immediately
made arrangements
for a demonstration of
the arc light system
in his warehouse
that very night.
On Monday evening,
July 11th, 1881,
with everything in place,
the switch was thrown
and a blazing light emitted
from Jenney's arc lights.
A newspaper account
from the evening said
"the warehouse was made
as bright as the sun."
One week later McDonald
and several other
investors made an agreement
with Hicks to finance
the manufacture
and sale of the arc
light and dynamo system.
- He was able,
certainly in the case
of the Jenney Electric
Lights and others
to see into the future,
that with the proper
capitalization,
investment and energy,
one could develop a
profit-making business
out of this electric light idea.
(chiming music)
- [Narrator] And so,
in the summer of 1881,
the Fort Wayne Electric
Light Company was formed.
The products were advertised
under the Jenney name,
making Jenney Electric
interchangeable
with Fort Wayne
Electric Company,
at least in the public's mind.
In June of 1883,
the company made baseball
history by installing lights
at Fort Wayne's League Park.
The first night game
involving a professional
team was played
under the bright
arc lights installed
by the young Charles Jenney.
R.T. McDonald was
not just an investor
and officer of the company
but he was also the chief
promoter and salesman.
He would travel all
over the country
in a quest to land
new contracts.
Sometimes he would visit a
town in a private rail car,
often hiring a band
to herald his arrival
with fanfare and a parade.
He would hold public meetings
and extol the virtues
of electricity in hopes
the town leaders would purchase
a Fort Wayne Jenney system
to light the streets
of their town.
Around this time,
a future Fort Wayne
Electric Company employee
was making a name for
himself in New York.
James J. Wood is frequently
mentioned alongside
Thomas Edison, Elihu
Thomson and Charles Brush
as one of the key
pioneering inventors
in applied electrical science.
- Wood, I think,
was on the level,
at the genius level basically.
And I think he could see
how electricity flowed
and then figure out
how to build a machine
to make it do what he wants.
- [Narrator] Wood excelled
at all things mechanical.
He is credited with
designing the machinery
that made the connections for
the suspension cables used
in the construction of
the Brooklyn Bridge.
In 1880 he received
his first patent
at the age of 24
for his design of
an arc light dynamo.
He had several more
patents under his belt
when he won the contract
to install the first
floodlight system
for the newly built
Statue of Liberty in 1885.
As James Wood's star was rising
in the East the sun
was about to set
on the Jenney era in Fort Wayne.
Although James Jenney
had founded the company
with the business
skills of R.T. McDonald,
it was Jenney's son, Charles,
that was the technical
genius behind the patents.
Charles parted ways
with the Fort Wayne Electric
Light Company in 1885
and moved to Indianapolis,
where he soon procured funding
to start his own company,
the Jenney Electric
Company of Indianapolis.
R.T. McDonald wasted no time
in recruiting another genius
to replace Charles Jenney.
Marmaduke Marcellus Michael
Slattery was employed
as the chief electrician
and came to the Fort Wayne
Jenney Electric Works in 1887.
- At that time, he was
just had the Jenney system,
producing arc lights
and he foresaw
that the incandescent
light had a future
and Slattery had developed
his own incandescent system.
- [Narrator] Slattery, who
was known as Duke to many,
came to America from
Limerick, Ireland.
He was a pioneer in the
field of alternating current.
Slattery had another
interesting passion,
battery-powered
electric vehicles.
Duke was often seen riding
his battery-powered
three-wheeled bike
around Fort Wayne.
During his travels McDonald
had made a connection
with another successful
businessman, Charles A. Coffin
who just happened to
be the president of one
of the largest
electrical apparatus
manufacturing companies
in the United States,
the Thomson-Houston
Electric Company.
Coffin admired
McDonald's salesmanship
and marketing savvy.
- Coffin appreciated McDonald's
unusual executive ability
and knew him for a
bluff individual,
erratic and daring
but just and shrewd.
McDonald's methods
were not Coffin's
but the two men were probably
the most successful
merchandisers
in the electrical
industry in that period.
- [Narrator] In a daring move
to raise cash to keep up with
production demands McDonald
and other Fort Wayne
investors struck a deal
with Coffin, selling
a controlling interest
of the Fort Wayne
Electric Company's stock
to the Thomson-Houston
Electric Company.
- Coffin was much
more conservative
in his business dealings.
He could see into the future.
He was trying to build
an empire, basically.
So what he decided to do,
"Well, I'll just buy controlling
interest in these companies
"and buy their patents
at the same time."
So he built a conglomerate.
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] In 1888 a
disastrous fire destroyed most
of the Fort Wayne Electric
Light Company's factory,
putting the future of
the company in peril.
- In their warehouse
was $100,000 worth
of goods ready to go.
Now that's a lot
of money in 1888.
A lot of money.
Their production capacity to
supply their existing customers
for parts and the
like were gone.
So they weren't able
to generate income
from selling supplies to
their existing companies.
At the time they had
a six month backlog
of orders for new installations,
which they could not fulfill.
- [Narrator] Several
offers came in
from other cities
enticing the factory
to locate to their town.
Charles Coffin announced
that if Fort Wayne
could raise $30,000,
the Thomson-Houston Company
would rebuild the factory.
R.T. McDonald made a public
plea and the town responded,
raising enough money
to ensure the Fort
Wayne Electric Light
Company would rise
from the ashes.
- They almost immediately
found other locations
within the city, empty
factories or warehouse space
where they could build up
and start operations
pretty quickly
and the community
was oh definitely
in support of keeping it here.
- [Narrator] In August of 1889,
the board members resolved
to shorten the company name
for the purpose of
public promotion
to the Fort Wayne
Electric Company,
dropping the word
light from the title.
They also resolved to drop
the use of the Jenney name
from the company's public
and private profile.
The Thomson-Houston
Electric Company had grown
to one of the largest
electrical companies
in the Eastern United States
by acquiring smaller
companies with bright minds.
One such asset they
acquired was the services
of the young James J. Wood.
During this time,
Wood was managing a very
successful enterprise
for the company in his
Brooklyn, New York factory.
With the Fort Wayne
Electric Company
in need of resources and talent,
McDonald struck a deal
with Charles Coffin
to transfer control of
James J. Wood's company
to Fort Wayne.
In August of 1890
it was announced
that the Wood System would be
manufactured in Fort Wayne.
Wood's Brooklyn factory
would be relocated.
Machinery and workers,
including Wood himself,
would be moving to Indiana.
On December 3rd,
1890 two train loads
of machinery and tools,
along with 127 employees,
arrived at their new
home in Fort Wayne.
- Skilled workers and
engineers, monumental task.
It's interesting to me
that Wood was able to
convince 127 people
who were probably from
New York and lived there
and had family there to come.
- [Narrator] Titans emerged
from the fiercely competitive
electrical industry, the
Thomson-Houston Company,
the Edison General
Electric Company
and the Westinghouse Electric
and Manufacturing Company.
One prominent Edison General
Electric Company investor,
J.P. Morgan, instigated
secret negotiations
with Charles Coffin
to discuss a merger of
Edison with Thomson-Houston.
The process took over
a year to solidify
but on June 1st 1892 the
consolidation was announced.
The General Electric
Company was born.
Charles Coffin was chosen to
be president of the new entity.
R.T. McDonald's stellar
salesmanship had managed
to keep the factories
running at full capacity.
In the early evening of January
3rd, 1893 a fire started
on the third floor of the
largest building in the complex.
Damage was estimated at $150,000
and even though the loss
would be covered by insurance,
it would take weeks
to repair the damage.
When Charles Coffin
and the leadership
at the newly-formed General
Electric Company learned
about the latest calamity
to strike Fort Wayne Works,
they urged McDonald
not to rebuild
but instead move the operation
to the sprawling facility
that Edison had erected
in Schenectady, New York.
McDonald staunchly
resisted this proposal.
He had invested too much
in the Fort Wayne facility
to abandon it now.
- I think he wanted
to maintain the legacy
that he had started.
Well I think it
was also a burden
because he was the main man
to protect his investors
and his workers from monetary
collapse, if you will.
- [Narrator] R.T.
McDonald and the employees
of the new Fort Wayne
Electric Company had
now survived two fires together
but a different struggle for
survival was about to begin.
(dramatic music)
Global events
would spark a panic
that would spread like wildfire
through the financial world.
It was called the Panic of 1893
and the resulting economic
depression would see the failure
of 15,000 companies.
The results of this economic
calamity were soon felt
at the new General
Electric Company due
to the practice of
extending credit
to the buyers of
electrical systems.
The Fort Wayne Electric
Company was also having trouble
staying afloat in the
floodwaters of bad notes
created by R.T.
McDonald's salesmanship.
- He would go into
community and say
"I can sell you this
system for $15,000."
Said "Well, we only got $5,000."
"So, well, we'll give
you credit on the rest."
- [Narrator] McDonald
turned to Coffin
and General Electric borrowing
over half a million dollars
in a short amount of time
but it was not enough
to maintain business
and stay ahead of
the tsunami of debt.
- Even Coffin's company, the
General Electric Company,
was in trouble.
And he wanted his
money back (laughs).
McDonald owed him $500,000.
- [Narrator] McDonald
was now prepared
to sell the whole company
to General Electric
if Coffin would promise to
keep the Fort Wayne Works open,
guarantee the company's
outstanding debts
and insure that the
local investors would
be taken care of.
Mr. Coffin wanted to close
the Fort Wayne factories
and transfer the
entire operation
to the General Electric
facilities in Schenectady.
This proposal was just not
acceptable to McDonald.
- McDonald realized
that the takeover
of the company was imminent.
That they were gonna,
in fact they were,
they sent representatives
from General Electric here
to take the company over and
in a vote of the stockholders.
- [Narrator] When McDonald
learns of this plot,
he has only a few days
to react to the threat.
He soon hatches
a plan of his own
in which he uses his
persuasive powers as a salesman
to save the company with
a legal-system shell-game.
McDonald has a Fort Wayne
judge appoint receivers
to protect the company under
a bankruptcy agreement.
He then creates a new company,
the Fort Wayne
Electric Corporation.
The receivers in turn
ink a two-year contract
with the new Fort Wayne
Electric Corporation
to conduct the business affairs
of the now protected Fort
Wayne Electric Light Company.
- That mighta been, might
not have been illegal
but it was a pretty
shady operation.
But by the time the General
Electric representatives
came to town, it
was a done deal.
- [Narrator] McDonald
had effectively saved
the City of Fort Wayne
from a devastating
economic blow.
He was heralded as a hero
in the local newspapers.
- I think he felt
a real obligation
to the local people who had
helped capitalize this company
and build it up
and wanted to see
their interests,
monetary interests, protected.
I think he also was genuinely
concerned about his employees.
- [Narrator] New catalogs and
sales materials were printed
and soon even the
buildings bore the name
of the Fort Wayne
Electric Corporation.
By this time,
McDonald was connected
with over 50 businesses,
in seven different states.
In December of 1898,
he took a trip to Dallas, Texas
where he became gravely ill.
On the morning
of Christmas Eve 1898,
(violin music)
Ranald Trevor McDonald
passed away at the age of 49.
The news of his
sudden passing shocked
and saddened many,
especially those friends
and workers in Fort Wayne.
McDonald was their champion,
someone who had brought so
much prosperity to the city
and had defended
her so valiantly.
- He had this vision of
building a successful company
in Fort Wayne.
Not only for himself but
for the people invested
and his workers here.
And, I don't think this
enterprise would have started
or been sustained without
his vision and energy.
- [Narrator] In January of 1899,
less than a month after
the death of McDonald,
creditors of the Fort
Wayne Electric Corporation
filed a claim
against the company
in Federal Court for
past due payments.
The company did not have
enough cash to pay this demand
and so on February 16th, 1899,
the officers of the Fort
Wayne Electric Corporation
filed for bankruptcy.
The company had to borrow money
to meet payroll for that month.
The outstanding debt which
included $185,000 owed
to General Electric was greater
than the company's total assets.
An auction date was set to
sell the company and its assets
to pay off its creditors.
When the auction gavel fell
with the call of "Sold!"
It was Charles Coffin,
representing the General
Electric Company,
that won the auction.
The news wasn't all bad.
Coffin announced
that the factory
could resume
operations immediately.
And to the delight of the
city workers and investors,
he proclaimed it would
remain in Fort Wayne
for the time being, as long
as the company
could be profitable.
Charles Coffin and the
General Electric Company
now had full legal
ownership and control
over the Fort Wayne
Electric Corporation.
It wasn't long after
the auction purchase
before Coffin approached
Wood with an offer.
Sell all of the
Wood System patents
to General Electric
and receive a 10-year
guaranteed employment contract
as a lead design engineer for
General Electric in New York.
Once Coffin had these patents,
he could produce the
products anywhere
in the country he wanted
without Wood's permission.
- But it was the new
ones that were valuable.
Valued into the millions
of dollars, probably.
The ideas and then
their implementation.
- [Narrator] But
for some reason,
Wood rejected the offer
and instead made a counteroffer
seeking a 10-year guarantee
that the operations
would stay in Fort Wayne.
- He went and met with the
General Electric executives
and said "hey look, I
have these patents here
"and if you decide
to close that plant,
"I'm not gonna
let you have 'em."
- [Narrator] Coffin
promised to keep the works
in Fort Wayne for three years
and Wood signed a
10-year contract.
However, he would retain the
ownership of his patents,
giving him leverage in
future negotiations.
Once again, the jobs
of the Fort Wayne
workers had been saved.
This time their hero
was James J. Wood.
- Wood sort of took
over McDonald's legacy
but it wasn't through
finance and salesmanship,
it was through his
technical skill.
- [Narrator] It is not
exactly clear why Wood fought
for Fort Wayne over
his own personal gain.
- I think he liked the town.
He liked the people,
he had become integrated
into the social network.
You know, he was a club member,
he went to ball games
and I think he also was
cognizant of the fact
that if the factory
moved out of this town,
a lot of this town
is gonna hurt,
people are gonna be hurt
because of his decision
and he may not have
wanted to take on
that emotional
burden, if you will.
- [Narrator] Years later
he was certain he had made
the right decision.
"With all the
confidence in the world,
"I signed a contract to
operate the plant in Fort Wayne
"on a fixed percentage
of the earnings
"and although I received
nothing for the first two
"or three years
but a small salary,
"neither the company nor
myself had any reason to regret
"that the industry was
kept in Fort Wayne."
James J. Wood.
The company would soon
get another new name.
On May 9th, 1899, the
Fort Wayne Electric Works
was incorporated under
General Electric in New York.
The corporation would
have seven directors,
three from Fort Wayne and four
in the New York headquarters,
ensuring a majority remained
under Coffin's influence.
Henry C. Paul would
be the new president
and Fred S. Hunting
would be sales manager.
Both of these were roles
that R.T. McDonald had filled
before his death.
James J. Wood would
be the electrician
and the general
superintendent leading the way
into this new era for the
resilient Fort Wayne company.
(chiming music)
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] The last two
decades of the 19th century
had been about the light bulb.
At the turn of the century,
more and more communities
had access to electricity
and it was becoming clear it
could be used to power more
than just light bulbs.
Once electricity became
available in homes and offices,
smaller motors were
developed for applications
that required less
than one horsepower.
These were called fractional
horsepower motors.
- Actually it was James
J. Wood who was probably
the first, that I know of
anyway, to develop a small motor
that was practical
for household use.
They were used in vacuum
cleaners, hairdryers,
washing machines,
milkshake making machines,
and that sorta thing.
- [Narrator] One of the first
consumer oriented products
produced at the Fort
Wayne Electric Works,
that utilized an
electric motor was a fan.
- The engineers in Schenectady
had trouble developing
a small motor and Wood
said, "I can do that."
And so he developed what was
called the croquet ball motor,
very small motors, they were
specially adapted for fans.
And before that,
you could think,
well, this is a kinda fan
you had before a motor.
- [Narrator] James J.
Wood designed desk fans,
ceiling fans and even a fan
held up by an ornate metal
fire breathing dragon
mounted to the wall.
The electric motor
would be a major factor
in shaping the
identity of the company
in the century to come.
The market for motors used
in home appliances was rising
because of the development
of useful household items.
One of the biggest game
changing appliances of the time
was the washing machine.
The market was huge and Fort
Wayne had several manufacturers
making their own version
of the washing machine.
The one common denominator
was that these appliances
needed an electric motor.
And the Fort Wayne Electric
Works was stepping up
to meet demand.
- The motors in the fans
were so popular that,
I remember reading
a story in 1913
where they could not keep up.
- [Narrator] Things were
going so well in fact,
that by 1920, the company
responded to the demand
by building a separate
factory in Decatur, Indiana,
just to manufacture motors
for washing machines.
Because electricity was so new
and was still a luxury for some,
not every home or business
was willing to commit
to paying a monthly bill.
So James J. Wood provided them
with a pay as you go method,
by inventing a coin
operated meter box.
In 1911, General Electric was
hit with an anti-trust action
by the federal government.
General Electric would
no longer be able to own
and operate companies that
competed for the same business.
This brought about yet
another name change,
the company would now be
the Fort Wayne Electric
Works of General Electric.
Business continued to grow
under the official
General Electric banner,
James J. Wood was
able to convince the
GE Board in New York
to authorize a $1
million expansion of
the Broadway factory.
- You're seeing how they were
constructed in the early 1900s
when it was with a
steam powered equipment
and horse and wagon deliveries.
The design of the buildings,
the thought that went
into making them.
- The floors are 14 to 16
inch thick poured concrete.
I mean, it's just, it's
like a bomb shelter.
You know, they are so solid.
- Massively thick walls and
you just don't think about
like in the
multistory buildings,
the columns between floors,
you go to the basement
and these columns are
huge round columns
and each floor they
get a little smaller
because they're
supporting less weight.
It's all concrete, steel,
brick construction,
it's just so massive, so
much steel in the floors.
- It is US steel and
that is Carnegie steel.
We've got the same
steel in our structures
that was used to build the
skyscrapers in New York City.
- This was almost like
four factories in one,
we had the transformers
being built
on the other side of the street.
Multiple different
lines of motors
where in most of the other
facilities had one line of motor
they built, or a product,
here at Fort Wayne, we were
making general purpose motors
and appliances motors,
hermetic motors.
- [Narrator] The addition
of the new buildings
meant a greater
responsibility was placed
on the Fort Wayne Electric
Works Volunteer Fire Department.
In 1895 it was
determined that the Works
should have its own
firefighting force.
William Billy Wurtle,
a German-born machinist
would be named would be named
Chief of the Firemen in 1904
and in 1913 he was given
the full time duties
of fire prevention and
firefighter training.
The Fort Wayne GE
Volunteer Fire Department
would continue to
be a well-equipped
and well trained group
for many decades.
Training was conducted
on a regular basis
with the Fort Wayne
City Fire Department
including evacuation drills
with the ladder truck.
- I was a volunteer fireman
back in the 70s, early 70s.
Out here all the
way up until I left.
- Rudy and I were both on
the Volunteer Fire Committee
for Fort Wayne for GE.
And we would do special training
with the fire department
on Taylor Street.
- They would send
us to fire school,
we learned to put out
different types of fires.
- At least 100, 150 volunteer
GE firefighters here
and so General Electric
was big enough,
they could afford
their own fire crew.
- [Narrator] The campus of
the Fort Wayne Electric Works
was able to avoid any major
fires during the first decade
of the 20th century
but there was one
significant fire
at a prominent Fort Wayne hotel
that had a historical
connection with the Works.
In the early morning
hours of May 3rd 1908,
a fire started in the Aveline
Hotel and spread quickly.
Many guests in the upper floors
had to jump from the windows
to escape the flames.
12 people died before the
fire could be contained.
This hotel was the location
of the first dinner meeting
between James Jenney
and John Kiess
that led to the deal
with R T McDonald
and the beginning of the Fort
Wayne Electric Light Company.
McDonald himself later purchased
the hotel before his death.
John Kiess, the
shipping clerk who made
that historic connection
at the Aveline Hotel
decades earlier, went
on to have a long career
with the Fort Wayne
Electric Light Company.
In fact, in 1914 he was
one of the charter members
of the Fort Wayne
Quarter Century Club.
The Quarter Century
Club was set up
to recognize those employees
who had at least 25 years of
service with General Electric.
Also among the Fort
Wayne charter members
were Plant Superintendent,
Edward A. Barnes,
and James J. Wood.
The Fort Wayne GE
Quarter Century Club
would continue to gain
members as the years went on.
- In fact the quarter
century was so big,
they used to have it at
the Memorial Colosseum
and it would be full.
- It offers people the chance
to meet their fellow workers
again after all these years.
You'll see a lot of hugs.
- Seeing people we haven't
seen in years, you know?
And how they've changed.
- [Narrator] The group
started having annual meetings
in 1916 and continued to
do so over 100 years later.
One member attended a
meeting at the age of 101,
having been born only one year
after the club started
having its meetings.
Robert Guingrich started
working for General Electric
in Fort Wayne in 1941
and served for 38 years.
- I went out to work and
there was a big old flats
in my trailer just
loaded with motors,
boxed up in boxes.
I said, "Where's all
these motors coming from?"
Well he said, "GE's got a
plant here in Port Wayne,
"we manufacture motors,"
and he had to deliver 'em.
He said, "There's ever a
job, you can get there."
Well he said, he didn't
know but he said,
"Fill out an affidavit,
put it in the mail box."
That was on the Thursday
and I got it Friday,
a call to take my
examination on Friday
and I went to work on
Saturday at time and a half.
And boy, you talk about
an upset happy person,
it was me.
- [Narrator] When he
attended this meeting,
he had been retired for more
years than he had worked.
Bob Guingrich's eyes had seen
over 100 years of history,
the same history that The
Fort Wayne Electric Works
would have to
navigate throughout
the 20th century and beyond.
When Bob Guingrich
was born in 1917,
the United States was fighting
in the First World War.
The 360 young women of the
Fort Wayne Electric Works
were an integral
part of the workforce
and had formed strong
bonds with each other.
The men of the company had
enjoyed competing together
in sports for decades
and the women celebrated
their strengthened comradery
by forming their
own sports teams.
In 1915 several young ladies
formed the Elex basketball team
named after the
Greek word elektron.
Soon after that a core group
asked E. A. Daddy Barnes
for help with forming
a GE Girls Club
and in December of 1916,
the Elex Club was formed.
- And they did all kinds
of work for the community
and travel for the ladies,
in those days, they didn't
want to travel on their own,
so they took plane rides
to New York and overseas,
they took bus rides
to different locations
and it really expanded
the horizons of the ladies
in those ages.
And they worked with the YWCA
when they were founding
the organization
and they had supper programs
and educational classes
and different kind of programs
to really educate the ladies.
- [Narrator] The Elex
Club continued and grew
to 450 members by 1920.
In 1919 a committee was formed
to explore the possibility
of creating a recreational
building for the workers.
Over the next few years
that plan became a reality
when the GE Club building
was completed in 1927,
with a gymnasium,
stage, lockers,
and even a 12-lane
bowling alley.
Total employment for all of
the departments of the Works
peaked at 10,000 in 1929.
Having thousands of employees
meant the Fort
Wayne Electric Works
had a very large payroll.
Since the beginning
of the company,
and through most of the 1920s,
the payroll had been paid
out in cash every week.
Company officials were worried
that such a huge sum of cash
being transported and
distributed each week
might become a
target for robbers.
A system was developed
to safeguard the cash
as it was delivered
from the bank
to the company payroll office.
- Brink's guys
carrying money bags in
and guys sitting
there with shotguns.
- [Narrator] The company
stopped paying with cash
in September of 1927.
Employees were issued a paycheck
that they could safely deposit
in the bank of their choosing.
Then, on October 29, 1929,
Wall Street Stock
Prices collapsed
signaling the beginning
of the Great Depression.
- People were laid off.
They tried to mitigate the
impact upon their employees
by reducing the number of hours
that each employee worked,
so everybody at
least had some money.
- [Narrator] In this
time of uncertainty,
labor unions became more
attractive to workers
looking for security.
In September of 1933 Fort
Wayne GE workers charted
a union Local of the
American Federation of Labor.
This would eventually
become known as Local 901.
The Fort Wayne
Electric Works lost two
of its longest serving leaders
during the years of
the Great Depression.
Plant Superintendent
Edward A. Barnes
retired in June of 1931.
James J. Wood, the
prolific inventor
and leader who fought to
keep the works in Fort Wayne,
died on April 19, 1928.
He received 240 patents
for his inventions,
placing him fourth all-time
among all General Electric
Company inventors.
The loss of Barnes and
Wood marked a passing
of the original
Jenney Electric era
into the 20th Century Fort
Wayne Works of General Electric.
Small motor sales had grown to
$16 million annually by 1930
and the Fort Wayne Works
had 24% of the
national market share.
The equivalent of
eight and a half acres
of manufacturing floor space
was dedicated to the
production of small motors
and this department alone
employed over 3,000 workers
cranking out 58,000
units per week by 1937.
Before WWI broke out in Europe,
James J. Wood had
the opportunity
to take a business
trip to Grasse, France,
to research a new
technology being developed.
He hoped to learn
from French monk,
Marcell Antoine Audiffren,
the inventor of the Audiffren
Hermetic Refrigeration system.
In October 1911, GE
decided to manufacture
the system in Fort Wayne.
Wood chose Clark Orr
to help him develop
this modern home refrigerator
at the Fort Wayne
Electric Works.
The Fort Wayne team
collaborated with engineers
from GE in
Schenectady, New York,
to produce the Monitor
Top Refrigerator,
that design would be one of GE's
most successful home
appliances for years to come.
By 1935 the demand for
refrigerator motors
would exceed the demand
for washing machine motors.
While the Monitor Top was
still in the prototype stages,
a separate production
facility was set up
for the refrigeration
department.
This would be known as
the Winter Street location
and it would produce much
more than just refrigerators.
The next product
to be the subject
of office conversation
was the water cooler.
Albert Ralston developed
the General Electric
drinking fountain water cooler
at the Winter Street plant
in the 1930s and received a
patent for his design in 1944.
Winter Street engineer
James H. Powers
was issued the task of bringing
a new product to market
and in 1935 the GE Electric
kitchen garbage Disposall
made its debut.
The developers in the
shop gave it a nickname,
The Electric Pig.
Powers was also responsible
for convincing manufacturers
of kitchen sinks to
standardize a larger drain hole
to accommodate the installation
of garbage disposals.
As the decade of the 1930s
was coming to a close,
the Fort Wayne Works of the
General Electric Company
was about to turn its attention
away from refrigerators
and kitchen sinks to the
not so friendly skies.
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] On
September 1, 1939,
Hitler's Nazi Army
invades Poland.
Two days later, Britain and
France declared war on Germany.
In 1939, General
Electric was approached
by British manufacturer
Rolls Royce
about manufacturing
starter motors
for its British
military aircraft.
The management at Rolls
Royce were concerned
that German aircraft
would bomb their factory
in Coventry, England.
The Fort Wayne Works was
chosen to be the location.
The Fort Wayne Works
had been developing
fractional horsepower motors
for U.S. military aircraft
as early as 1938.
These motors were used
in fighter planes,
like the Lockheed
P-38 Lightning.
War rages in Europe and Asia.
As Germany and Japan expand
their military campaigns,
it becomes increasingly
clear that modern warfare
will hinge upon air superiority.
As Germany launches
the Battle of Britain,
the island nation
only has 620 aircraft
to mount a defense
against thousands of
Luftwaffe warplanes.
The U.S. ally is in
desperate need of aircraft.
Not only did the
British need planes,
but if the United States was
going to remain a world power
it would also have to step up
production of U.S. warplanes.
There was one important
piece of technology
being developed at this
time that the Allies hoped
would give them an advantage
in achieving air superiority,
the turbosurpercharger.
This device helped
aircraft travel higher
and faster by
gathering up thin air
and condensing it
into dense air,
increasing the amount of
oxygen the engine takes in
for combustion, giving
the aircraft the ability
to perform more efficiently
at higher altitudes.
By late 1940, the demand was
rising for military aircraft
equipped with GE
turbosuperchargers.
This included military aircraft
such as the Lockheed
P38 Lightning,
the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt,
the Northrop P-61 Black Widow,
and the Consolidated
B-24 Liberator.
One of the most imposing
bombers of the era,
the B-29 Superfortress, with
four massive prop engines
required eight
turbosuperchargers.
With the looming possibility
that the United States would be
drawn into the war against
Hitler's advancing forces
in Europe, it was clear
the military would need
a lot of planes, and that meant
a lot of turbosuperchargers.
The need was so urgent that
the United States government
decided to finance the building
of several new factories
dedicated to the production
of turbosuperchargers.
In June of 1941, the federal
government announced plans
to build a massive new factory
in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Over 47 acres of land was
purchased from General Electric
on Taylor Street just west
of the St. Mary's River.
The building plans
called for a structure
with over 700,000 square
feet of manufacturing space
at a cost of $25 million.
The factory would have
on-site testing facilities
to simulate flight
at 25,000 feet.
- The turbochargers
took a great amount,
and it was super
heated steam as well,
'cause it had to be dry
for the turbochargers
to replicate exhaust.
- [Narrator] Three huge
boilers would be installed
to supply steam for
turbosupercharger testing,
and all other plant operations.
The factory would require
over 9,000,000 gallons
of water per month.
Once the factory was built,
it would be leased back
to General Electric to begin
producing turbosuperchargers.
The plans were made
public on December 5th,
and ground was broken
for the new factory
on December 6, 1941.
And then.
(winds gusting)
(explosions boom)
(aircraft hums)
(dramatic music)
- [Franklin] Yesterday,
December 7th, 1941,
a date which will
live in infamy.
- [Narrator] The surprise
attack on Pearl Harbor
had suddenly pulled
the U.S. into the great
worldwide conflict
sooner than anticipated.
The American war machine
went into overdrive,
and U.S. factories
joined the war effort
with a heightened
sense of urgency.
Production was ramping
up in every sector
as the nation rushed to supply
the United States Armed
Forces with the weapons of war
needed to defeat the Axis
powers in Europe and Asia.
At the same time, skilled
workers were leaving
their factory jobs to
fight for their country
leading to a
shortage of workers.
American women were asked
to step up to the challenge
to help their country
achieve victory.
A new breed of
worker, exemplified
by Rosie the Riveter,
was hitting the factory
floor ready to prove
that women could do
the same work as men.
In the early months of
1942, the last product
meant for civilian use
rolled off the assembly line.
From this point forward,
the Fort Wayne Works
would be dedicating its
full production capacity
to help the war effort.
The urgent need for
turbosuperchargers
made the completion
of the Fort Wayne
factory a top priority.
- It was a 24 hour a day,
seven day a week
construction project.
So, it was up in like 11 months.
- [Narrator] While
the construction
work was being done,
a pilot assembly line was
set up in another facility
to train the workers.
- They had to not
just build the plant,
they had to acquire and
move, move the machinery in,
set it up, train employees,
set up the production lines,
an amazing feat.
- [Narrator] In
less than a year,
the Taylor Street
turbosupercharger factory
was up and running.
The first unit was produced
by September 25, 1942.
Thousands more would be needed,
and it would take thousands
of workers to do it.
2,260 workers were hired
and trained in 1942.
By the end of 1943,
the Taylor Street plant
had 4,825 workers building
turbosuperchargers.
Most of the workers were women,
but the management had
three categories listed,
men, women on men's
jobs, and other women.
- At the beginning of the war,
1940, 20% of their employees
over the whole
corporation were women.
By 1944, 40% of the workers
in the General Electric
Corporation were women.
- [Narrator] The United States
government had commissioned
only five factories
across the country
to produce the
turbosuperchargers.
In 1943, production was
up close to 18,000 units,
which was second overall.
In 1944, workers at the Fort
Wayne Taylor Street plant
had the highest production
levels in the nation,
with almost 50,000
turbosuperchargers manufactured.
By the end of the war the
Fort Wayne factory had built
a total of nearly 90,000
turbosuperchargers,
and over 175,000
supercharger impellers.
Although the work at Taylor
Street was very important,
this was only a fraction
of the Fort Wayne Works
contribution to the war effort.
The Broadway Campus was
hard at work as well,
producing a wide variety
of much needed instruments,
for war being fought in the
air, on the ground, and at sea.
Military aircraft had
sophisticated systems
that required several
small electrical motors
for a variety of tasks.
A typical warplane
needed 170 motors.
The fractional horsepower
motor department
of the Fort Wayne Electric
Works had to expand
its product line to build
motors for such applications
as computers, compressors,
ammunition boosters,
antenna reels, fuel pumps,
defrosters, cameras, tail
skids, sighting seats,
and searchlights,
just to name a few.
The Fort Wayne Works
also manufactured larger
electric motors for the
B-17 and B-29 bombers
to be used in landing gear,
wing flaps, bomb doors,
and tail wheel actuators.
Those bombers were also equipped
with rotating turret guns
for fending off enemy fighters.
GE developed a new amplidyne
and motor control system
that gave gunners quicker,
more accurate targeting.
Fort Wayne produced 7,500
of these units per month.
The Navy also made use
of GE amplidyne systems
to control the rotation
and positioning
of its 40 millimeter
anti-aircraft guns.
The Winter Street plant
was charged with building
the entire power drive
system for the 40 millimeter
Twin Mount Mark 1 Bofors
Anti-Aircraft Gun.
Compressors were built
here that were used
in anti-aircraft gun control
systems and recoil mechanisms.
Other production at the Winter
Street facility included
refrigeration units for
food and medical supplies
onboard various Navy vessels,
including battleships,
aircraft carriers,
and smaller ships.
There was one special
transformer component that was
manufactured for use in
military communication radios.
The dynamotor converted
the 20 volt DC power
supplied by aircraft to
the several hundred volts
needed to power the electron
tubes in radio units.
The Fort Wayne Works
manufactured over 1,000,000
of these dynamotors during
the course of the war.
A wide variety of large
generators were built here,
including the 300 kilowatt
auxiliary generators
used in submarines.
Thousands of huge diesel
and gas powered generators,
some of which
weighed several tons,
were made for the U.S. Army.
The U.S. Navy also ordered
a variety of generators,
totalling 10,000,
for use on several
different types of ships.
The transformer department
of the Fort Wayne Works
went above and beyond the call
of duty to fulfill an order
straight from the front
lines in North Africa.
25 people gave up their weekend,
as all three shifts came in
for production on Sunday.
All of the extra effort paid
off as the order was fulfilled
and shipped out in just
four days, instead of five.
This exemplified the
work ethic espoused
by the entire Fort Wayne
Works during World War II.
The Navy Board for Production
Awards selected the Works
to receive the Navy
E for Excellence
in industrial productions
three consecutive years.
During 1942, 1943, and
1944, The Navy E flag
was flown over the plant
and workers could wear
a Navy E lapel insignia.
Employees didn't just give
their time and effort,
they also gave their money.
The Fort Wayne Works
received the Minuteman flag
from the U.S. Treasury
in recognition that 90%
of the employees had
given 10% of their pay
to buy war bonds.
That added up to
a lot of dollars,
since the annual wartime
payroll of the Fort Wayne Works
averaged over $23 million.
The combined employment
at all of the factories
of the Fort Wayne Works
exceeded 20,000 employees
during peak production in 1944.
Women had become a significant
percentage of the workforce
and the Fort Wayne General
Electric women's group,
Elex Club, had grown to
include 2,200 members.
These women contributed to
troop morale in a personal way.
Throughout the war, Elex
members prepared and shipped,
10,000 boxes to service
personnel to give them
a little reminder of home.
America's military might
and industrial strength
combined to help turn
the tide in Europe.
Less than a year after Allied
Forces invaded Normandy,
Nazi Germany finally
surrendered on May 8th, 1945.
Celebrations broke out
all over the world.
World War II wasn't
completely over,
but Americans could
breathe a sigh of relief.
It was over a month after VE
day, before the production rush
eased up enough at the
Fort Wayne Works to do
a symbolic gesture to
acknowledge the victory.
Management gave the order
to relight the grand
General Electric logo
sign, which shone out
over Fort Wayne from
its perch on top of one
of the tallest
buildings on the campus.
The sign had been turned
off right after news reached
Fort Wayne about the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor.
This sign had been a symbol
of pride for the company
and Fort Wayne
residents since 1928.
It stood 50 feet high
above the rooftop,
giving off a blue and
white glow from 925
incandescent 25 watt bulbs.
This sign would be a constant
landmark on the Fort Wayne
skyline through the
rest of the 20th century
and into the 21st century.
The nation's attention now
shifted to the Pacific theater
and within a few uneasy months
that conflict too
came to an end.
Japan surrendered
on August 14, 1945.
Two atomic bombs had crippled
the heart of Japan's
war industry,
wiping out factories
and workers.
When the news was announced
at the Fort Wayne Works
of General Electric, the
factory whistles blew
heralding the victory.
Workers joined the
jubilant celebration.
Works Manager M. E. Lord
announced that Fort Wayne
GE employees were allowed
to take two days off
to be with their families.
Soon, millions of U.S.
military men and women
were returning home.
The women of the Fort Wayne
Elex Club had to cancel
a January 1946 trip to Chicago,
because the railroad coaches
were filled to capacity
with war veterans making
their way back home.
The end of the war
meant that the majority
of the military production
was coming to an end as well.
The workers of the Taylor
Street factory had fulfilled
their duties to
supply the military
with the desperately
needed turbosuperchargers.
The U.S. Government closed
the production facility
in April of 1946.
A few days later, General
Electric purchased the plant
outright from the government,
at a cost of $5,000,000.
It would no longer produce
turbosuperchargers,
but instead it was converted
to a fractional horsepower
motor factory, and magnet wire
mill, employing 725 workers.
The Fort Wayne Works of
General Electric welcomed back
2,400 veterans after the war.
Many women returned to
their pre-war positions,
or left to devote time
to their families.
After the military
contracts ran out,
the workforce had to be
reduced to peacetime levels.
By the beginning of 1946,
employment levels had gone down
from the high of 20,000 at the
peak of the war production,
to 11,800.
As life returned to
normal after the war,
young veterans who
were glad to be home
wanted to settle down and
start families of their own.
This led to the post-war
housing boom and the baby boom.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] With all
of these new families
building new houses, demand for
home appliances skyrocketed.
For the Fort Wayne Works
of General Electric,
this meant record orders
for small electric motors.
By 1948, production was up to
nearly eight million units.
And in 1950, over 10
million motors were made.
In 1952, the local company
newspaper changed its name
to "General Electric News,
Fort Wayne, Indiana",
dropping the time-honored use
of the "Fort Wayne Works" name
which had been used since 1899.
This in-house publication
had been a great resource
for employees since the
early days of the company.
- For a long time there
was the "GE News",
a weekly paper that
come out that covered
what was going on
in the businesses
and usually had a few
employee interest articles.
- [Narrator] Since this
Fort Wayne factory complex
had enough employees
to rival a small city,
there was much to talk about.
Along with corporate
news about promotions,
retirements, and special awards,
there were also a variety
of specialty columns.
No paper would be complete
without a sports section
and there were plenty
of employee sports
teams to go around.
Bowling, softball, golf,
basketball, volleyball,
water polo, soccer,
boxing, and, of course,
the national pastime, baseball.
Employees had played baseball
since the earliest days
of the Fort Wayne
Jenney Electric Company.
The Fort Wayne Works
of General Electric
even had its own
professional baseball team
known as the GE Voltmen.
But perhaps the biggest Fort
Wayne GE baseball connection
involves someone who was
in a league of her own.
Isabel Alvarez came
from Cuba to play
in the All-American Girls
Professional Baseball
League in 1949.
She played for the
Fort Wayne Daisies
during the 1951 season
and ended up playing
for five different teams
before finishing her
professional career
back in Fort Wayne.
She started her American
dream with a job
at General Electric Fort Wayne
and had a long career
before retiring in 1999.
Another baseball story begins
a little closer to home.
Bob Guingrich started working
(upbeat music)
for GE Fort Wayne in 1941.
He was quite the
bowler in his day,
playing for the
GE Fort Wayne team
in the American Bowling
Congress competition of 1955.
But what he remembers most
fondly, over 60 years later,
is the time he spent coaching
the Fort Wayne General
Electric Little League Team.
- That was the thing
that really give me
the great happiness to
see all those kids play.
- [Narrator] Gerry Love was one
of the young players he coached.
- He was a teacher.
He had a lotta
knowledge and he wanted
to share that knowledge with us.
He was competitive,
he wanted to win.
But most of all he
wanted us to improve
and to have fun.
- [Narrator] Gerry took the
time to write Bob a letter
thanking him for the
impact he made on his life
even 50 years later.
- "Dear Mr. Guingrich, I was
a short, skinny second baseman
"who could field a little
but couldn't hit a lick.
"I remember that Saturday
waiting by the phone
"to find out if I'd made a team
"and being thrilled
to find it was GE
"because they were the best.
"You worked and then
gave up your off time
"to teach us the game.
"For that I thank you.
"With warmest
regards, Gerry Love."
- [Narrator] During
the Baby Boom era,
family activities became
increasingly important.
One of the events
most fondly remembered
is the annual Christmas party.
- I went to my first
GE Christmas party
at the GE Club when
I was probably five.
- They'd have Santa
Claus up on the stage
and all the GE kids got
to sit on Santa's lap.
- It was crowded, it
was full, it was fun.
Everybody was dressed up.
- And I brought
my little children
and we would watch some
type of a stage show.
And it was maybe a
comedian or some dog act
or something like that.
And it was like a really
nice program they put on.
And then when we
walked, out my children
would get the stocking
filled with the fruits
and the gifts for them.
- And maybe a nice Tonka truck.
- It was nice to get a
toy and to see Santa Claus
because a lot of these
people came from Ohio,
Michigan, Whitley County to
work at GE in Fort Wayne.
- They also had these
Saturday morning programs
for a while.
You could come watch a movie
and they would have cereals,
you would come back.
- Bowling leagues and
the softball leagues,
basketball over at the club.
- I was on Taylor
Street basketball
and volleyball team.
- Played golf in
the golf league.
- The social activities
through Elex,
that was a big way for
us to expand and grow
our friendship base.
- At our company
picnic every year,
you know, Transformer,
we had a tug o' war
and that was big
bragging rights.
You had trophy.
- Picnics where
you'd get to meet
the plant manager.
And the plant manager,
he could sit down
at your table and you
could eat chicken with him
or whatever, you know.
- The Local 901 Union always
had parties and picnics.
They still have 'em today.
- [Narrator] The
clubs, the sports,
the parties, the picnics,
all combined to make
coworkers feel like a family.
- It had a big
family feeling to it.
- When you work next to
somebody every day for years,
you learn about them, you
learn about their family,
you know it.
Even though they live
in the next town over,
they're still your neighbor.
- You saw those
folks just as much
as you saw your spouse.
- We'd have carry-ins
if people retired,
carry-in if maybe
somebody passed away
and they were just
coming back to work.
We just had carry-ins
for everything.
- Sometimes if you had a person
that was sick or you
were down-and-out,
they'd always take up
a collection for you.
- When you're in a union,
(lively music)
you're brothers and sister.
That's how you relate.
So you become very close and
you're there for each other.
And when you're working
out on the factory floor,
if somebody's running behind,
you go up and you help.
- It was just like neighbors,
friends, and over the years
it was just awesome to
develop the friendships.
- We were just a large family.
And we got along so well.
- [Narrator] And
in a lot of cases
they actually were family.
- I'm fourth generation GE.
My great grandpa and
my grandpa Archbold,
they lived in Ossian
and they would take
the interurban train
and they would ride
into Fort Wayne to work
at General Electric.
And then my father started.
And my father was
named Glen E. Archbold,
no middle name.
And one time I asked
grandpa, I said,
"How come you didn't give
my dad a middle name?"
He said, "Because I
knew he'd work at GE
"and I wanted his
initials to be G.E."
- It was a family
tradition to work at GE.
- GE was big.
I mean, a lot of my friends
whose fathers worked at GE.
My aunt worked at GE.
- My mother had worked
there during World War II.
- One of my uncles
worked at Decatur GE
and some of his family members
and one of my aunts worked
at Fort Wayne GE at Motors
and my brother worked
there for a while.
- A couple cousins.
- My mother worked at GE,
all my aunts and uncles
worked at GE.
- I was in my late teens, early
20s and sort of floundering,
trying to figure out
exactly what I wanted to do.
And my grandfather and, in fact,
a lot of my relatives had
worked at General Electric.
My grandfather came
home so proud one day
that he'd gotten me into the
Tool and Die Maker Program
at GE like he had gone through.
And I had to sadly
tell my grandfather,
who I loved very much,
that tool and die machinery
was not really what
I wanted to do.
- I met Dan Lovinger who
was the General Manager
of Specialty
Transformer Operation
and after several years we
developed a relationship
and we ended up getting married.
- The people are my favorite
thing about working at GE.
I mean, I even married
one (laughing).
- [Narrator] Because
General Electric
was such a major employer in
Fort Wayne for over a century,
a lot of people in the
town have some kind
of personal connection to GE.
- Just about anybody in
the city of Fort Wayne
has had a relative or a neighbor
or an acquaintance,
somebody, somehow,
sometime has worked here at GE.
- I got orders to go to Vietnam.
As soon as I got there,
would you believe
there was a guy that
picked me up there
from Fort Wayne, Indiana.
And you know where he worked at?
Right here at GE.
- The number of
employees that GE had had
over the years compared
to the population
of Allen County,
and if I remember correctly,
I think we come up with on
average one out of nine people
had worked at GE
sometime or another.
- Came to Fort Wayne in 1959.
I think the employment was
around 10,000 to 12,000.
- Started our first
job at GE in 1964.
I made $1.80 an hour.
- I started in
September of 1973.
I think I started off
at about 3.50, 4.17 an hour.
It was piece work.
- And one of the
first impressions
was just how sprawling it was.
- This place was huge.
- Big and scary (chuckles).
- Busy, everybody busy
working like a busy bee.
- I couldn't believe
that many buildings
had that many people
working in 'em.
- Smells of the varnish,
different varnishes,
different places
where they treat
the motors and transformers.
- Any time you were in
GE, you would come out
smelling like GE.
And nobody could ever lie
and say they went to work
because when you came home,
you definitely had that smell.
(Rudy laughing)
- Sound of the punch
presses hammering away.
- Boom, boom, boom.
- And everybody talked loud.
They hollered.
(both laughing)
- Yeah.
- Because the noise
level was so high
and then you'd get outta GE
you're still like that.
- You're still hollering
at each other.
(both laughing)
Said, just calm down,
you're not at work no more.
(both laughing)
- The shift whistles, I
remember hearing those
so I had an idea when
the first shift ended
and when the second shift ended
and when the third shift ended.
- After work, there was a bar
across from the 901 Union Hall
and we called that
901 1/2 because that's
where you would go
after work to talk about work.
(upbeat music)
- A number of the neighborhoods
that still survive
started to spring up around GE.
A lotta folks wanted
to live near the plant.
- General Electric
Company was very important
to the community.
They had a lot of
employees and that was
your bread and butter
to come and work at GE.
- Good wages, terrific benefits,
good retirement, and it
enabled a lot of families
reach their dreams.
- I made enough money to
send my kids to college.
They went to college,
had everything paid for.
And I had good health
insurance for the family.
- [Narrator]
Employees could enjoy
some of the fruits
of their labor
by shopping at the
Employee Store.
- We bought all GE appliances.
They used to have a
GE appliance store
over on Sweeney Avenue,
across from the credit union.
Well, we'd get better
deals on coffee pots,
toasters, just
anything they had.
So that was a big
thing at Christmas
was to go to the GE
Store on Swinney Avenue
and pick out your hairdryers,
whatever you might want.
(blender whirring)
♪ Hear the newest most
exciting sound in town ♪
♪ It's a General
Electric blender ♪
♪ That's going around
♪ Completely new
from base to lid ♪
♪ Take it apart,
see what they did ♪
♪ The nonskid base is the
lowest you'll ever see ♪
- [Man] The decanter has a
36-ounce blending capacity.
- [Narrator] In 1968, GE Fort
Wayne had 8,000 employees
producing a variety of
motors, transformers,
and other products.
The 1970s saw the
advent of globalization.
- The system was such that
it just was not compatible
with keeping up with where
the market was going.
- [Narrator] By 1977,
the Fort Wayne workforce
had been pared down
to 5,500 employees
as production continued
to be divvied out
to other locations.
- Through the '60s and the '70s
and up till about
the early '80s,
very early '80s,
we were able to get
frequent price increases
in the market
to cover our escalating costs
of labor contracts, cost of
materials, and those things.
By the time we'd
reached the '80s,
it was nearly impossible
to get a price increase.
It was a thing of the past.
- [Narrator] Soon
General Electric
was announcing plans to build
two new plants in Mexico.
- The company built a
plant in Juarez, Mexico,
and that plant started
to pick up product
out of Taylor Street.
The 40 frame and 30 frame
motors went down there.
That move probably was driven
by the need to get
lower cost products.
- [Narrator] Weldon
Shaefer was asked to travel
from Fort Wayne to
help set up the factory
and train workers
in Juarez, Mexico.
- Most of the workers were paid
a rather low wage, which
was pretty much standard
with all the other work
that went across the
(speaking in foreign language)
they called it.
It was a transition of
American industry into Mexico.
Quite a number of people
that were probably not happy
that I was helping
with that transition
but I did feel it was
part of my responsibility
no matter what and I understood
it was a thing that
was gonna happen.
There was nothing that
we're gonna do to stop it.
Might as well make
the best of it.
- [Narrator] The board
at General Electric
corporate headquarters
were looking for someone
who could steer the ship
through the uncharted waters
of the emerging global economy.
They settled upon a bold
new leader that in some ways
was reminiscent of the business
genius of Charles Coffin
and the charisma
of R.T. McDonald.
Jack Welch became president
and CEO of General Electric
in April of 1981.
He took a more accessible,
hands-on approach
to leadership and that
earned him a lot of respect.
- Think he was really
on the lookout for ways
to maximize GE's prominence.
And under him, I mean, it became
one of the largest
corporations on the planet.
- He used to say,
"If you're doing things today
"the way you did
them a year ago,
"someone has either
caught up with you
"or they've passed you."
He was a big change agent.
- [Narrator] But his
culture of change was met
with apprehension by
some of the GE workers
that had counted on the
factory for generations.
- Unions were always
trying to get job security
all across the country.
That's what the labor
movement wanted from GE
was job security.
- [Narrator] By the time
the 100-year anniversary
of the founding of Fort Wayne
Jenney Electric Light Company
rolled around in 1981,
there were 4,700 employees
on the payroll.
In 1982, major flooding
hit the city of Fort Wayne.
A national disaster was declared
and President Ronald Reagan
came to survey the damage.
As the flood waters
were still rising,
the President took time to
help Fort Wayne volunteers
place sandbags to hold
back the floodwaters.
This wasn't the first
time that Ronald Reagan
had visited Fort Wayne.
Years earlier actor Ronald
Reagan came to visit,
and his destination
was the Fort Wayne Works
of General Electric.
Reagan was the host
of the television show
"General Electric Theater"
from 1954 through 1962.
The Elex Club held a
banquet in his honor
when he came to visit and
mingle with employees in 1954.
During the 1980s,
there were a lot of changes
(somber music)
made under the
leadership of Jack Welch.
Employment levels at
GE Fort Wayne shrank
to just 2,900 workers,
the lowest levels
since before World War I.
Guy Rhoades would often give
reports to the management
at GE corporate headquarters,
including Jack Welch.
- He was a terrific manager,
remembered everything,
got to know these motor
businesses quite well,
was a tough reviewer.
Seemed to ask all
the right questions.
And you had to have
your wits about you.
You couldn't wander off.
Your answers had to be
direct, to the point.
- [Narrator] The
pruning of operations
that Jack Welch had
implemented system-wide
began to pay off.
GE stock was up by 500%
at the end of the decade.
In Fort Wayne, the
Motor Business Group
remained profitable.
- It was a powerhouse.
I mean, it dominated
its markets,
had high market share.
It was very profitable and
it was a terrific business,
probably one of
the best businesses
in the General Electric Company.
- The motors we
built here were used
in so many different things.
Wherever you were, you
would see GE motors.
- That was one great thing
about the motor business.
It touched almost every
market you could think of.
- [Narrator] In 1989,
the Decatur Plant,
which had been connected
with Fort Wayne Works
for over 80 years,
was closed down.
- I think the idea that
may close the plant
or move production
somewhere else
had been going on
for a long time,
but our plant in Decatur
had one of the highest
levels of productivity
within the whole
system of motors.
So many of us kind
of thought it was
a wolf cry that's not
gonna ever come about.
But it did, it did.
- [Narrator] Many of the
workers were able to transfer
to the Fort Wayne campus.
- I started in 1969 in Decatur
and I worked there till 1988
when they announced they
were closing Decatur.
And we had a chance to
come up here to Fort Wayne
so I put in my bid
and I got into Fort Wayne
and I stayed working
here till 2006.
- [Narrator] This was
truly a time of uncertainty
for many GE workers.
- As a GE employee, you kinda
focused on the local area
and GE's what we're
doing here is, you know,
why isn't it better recognized,
or we've been here a long time,
we're making money
for the company?
A lotta times we felt
that maybe he didn't have
employees' best interest in mind
and he was too focused
on the profits and all.
- [Narrator] But from a
shareholder's perspective
this made the company's
value grow to record levels.
(somber music)
General Electric's
stock increased by 1000%
during the 1990s.
Many GE employees owned
stock in the company,
giving them a
unique perspective.
- My personal feeling
is his leadership
was good for the company.
We did very well
when Jack was here.
- [Narrator] In 1993, the
annual GE shareholders' meeting
was held in Fort Wayne.
Denver Sarver was
able to ask Jack Welch
about his business
strategy during his visit.
- It was making seven,
eight percent at that time
and he had other businesses
that were making over 30%.
And so if he sold
the motor business
and invested the money from that
into those other businesses,
which would I rather
make 7% or 30%?
As a shareholder, he
had to do what was best
for the company and
the shareholders.
- If he could've back
in the '70s and '80s
he woulda put every
General Electric plant
on a barge and moved that barge
wherever he could find
the cheapest labor.
- [Narrator] GE Fort Wayne
had about 1,450 employees
at the end of the
Jack Welch era.
Slowly, piece by piece,
over the next few years,
the Fort Wayne Works
would lose production jobs
to other factories.
Most went to Mexico.
- Eventually, the cost of
producing product in Fort Wayne
did catch up with the
Fort Wayne operations.
- But it was always the
feeling that you're seeing
the business move away
and jobs move away with it.
- If it's decaying,
eventually it will decay
to a point where the
end result is the same.
The business will
close or it'll be sold.
- Over the years they
lost a lotta people.
They'd have small layoffs,
never call people back,
and I don't think the
public knew how small
the employment was getting
at General Electric.
- [Narrator] By 2014, there
were only 90 employees left
on the Fort Wayne roster.
On January 28th,
2014, General Electric
made the official announcement
(tense music)
that it would be closing
the entire Fort Wayne facility.
- It was heartbreaking.
I was so sad.
- It hurts me, you know.
It hurts me and I think
it hurt a lot of people.
- Just almost a sick feeling,
you know, that it was all over.
- All the memories,
all the people,
just gone, you know.
(somber music)
Never be a fifth generation.
- Just kinda empty, you know,
from what it used to be
with all the equipment
and the noise
and the sounds and
stuff, the people.
Almost like a ghost town.
- It's empty, it's empty.
It's just like a
hole, it's empty.
- It was bing, bang, boom.
I mean, they unbolted
it, it was on a truck,
and it was outta here.
- I couldn't believe
it, you know.
It was the last transformer.
We're gonna run out
of the factory and...
- Had an auction,
auctioned things off.
- At GE, everybody
always wrote their names
on their tools.
They wrote their
names on their carts
so nobody would take their cart
so that they'd always
have their work equipment
to do their job.
And that's what was
the saddest to me
was seeing everyone's names.
- [Narrator] Kevin was
there for the final day
when he had to close and lock
the door for the last time.
- [Interviewer] Walking out
of here for the last time,
what did you do?
- Went home and drank some beer.
(Kevin laughing)
(lively music)
- [Narrator] Kevin had
enough years of service
to retire from General Electric.
But it wasn't very long until
he received a phone call.
- About six months later
is when they started having
the break-ins here with
kids, mostly kids, you know.
And that's when GE
asked me to come back.
- [Narrator] With the
buildings now empty,
community members were concerned
about the future of the campus.
- You're the councilman
for this area,
what are you gonna do about it?
And I thought that's
a good question.
What can we do as a community?
- [Narrator] Fort Wayne City
Councilman Geoffrey Paddock
helped organize a group
of former GE employees,
Fort Wayne residents,
and community leaders,
to work on a future
plan for the GE Campus.
- I started contacting
other retirees.
Is it a possibility
that the campus
could become something other
than what it was prior?
- [Narrator] In March of 2016,
workers removed the GE logo sign
that had towered over
the GE Campus building
for almost 90 years.
Its loss was a shock to
many in the community.
- It was a landmark certainly.
You saw it from all over town.
- When I came to
Fort Wayne in '59,
that sign was bright
and shining every night
and you could see
it from everywhere.
- This is where I work, this
is the GE sign, you know.
- The actual meatball,
the GE meatball
has been shipped
down to Evendale,
down in Cincinnati.
- [Narrator] For the members
of the General Electric
Campus Coalition,
the removal of the
GE sign underscored
how urgent the need was
to secure the property
and preserve the legacy.
- It was a wake up call
because that really
ignited our group.
- I think there
was a real concern
that all the buildings
would be knocked down.
- [Narrator] Finally,
all of the hard work
and searching would pay off.
On February 13th, 2017,
(upbeat music)
an important
announcement was made.
Baltimore development
firm Cross Street Partners
had agreed to
purchase the property
from General
Electric and save it
from the wrecking ball.
Electric Works was born,
(lively music)
a vision to transform
the 18 historic buildings
on the 39-acre campus
into a mixed use facility
where people can
live, work, and play.
The hope is to utilize some
of the 1.2 million square
feet of indoor space
to house business startups,
education partners,
medical facilities, offices,
and retail businesses that
would be an economic engine
for the surrounding area.
The plan also calls
for converting
some of the floor space
into loft-style apartments
with views of
downtown Fort Wayne.
- I was super excited to hear
about Electric Works
because it was like a part
of our history was gonna stay.
These buildings are beautiful.
- All of us never
dreamed that we'd be
at this point at this time.
- They wanna see this thing
come to life once again
and be able to bring their
kids and grandkids through
and show 'em, well, I
worked right over there.
- It is important that
we recognize our past,
try to preserve as
much of it as we can,
and take those relics
to build the future.
- That was a great place for me
and it was the greatest
places I ever had.
- GE's been good to me
and I really appreciate
the time I had here.
- I still appreciate
what GE did for me
to this day.
- I'm very thankful
that I've worked here
because there were
blessings that came
from me working here
and are still
coming to this day.
- A piece of me
will always be here
with GE in Fort Wayne.
- We've thought about all
the good times we'd had.
We enjoyed our jobs, we
enjoyed working there,
we enjoyed the friendships,
we just enjoyed being there.
- If you've got a job that
you like to go into work,
you got it made
(gentle music)
if you love your job and I did.
Some of my cohorts
said at the time,
"Kevin will be the
last one here."
And they were right.
(Kevin laughing)
- [Narrator] The hope is
that these dead,
lifeless buildings
will once again teem with life.
And that the legacy of R.T.
McDonald, James Jenney,
James J. Wood, and
thousands of others
who have worked and lived here
will be felt by future
generations for years to come.
(upbeat music)
(lively music)
(gentle music)