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Westclox History from 1940 to 19491940CorporateD. J. Hawthorne (st. 1925) - appointed General Manager & V.P. of G.T. A. J. Wilson (former Gen. Mgr. Westclox and V.P.) - Executive Vice Pres. G.T. Employees3,521 Quarter Century Club(22 years old) Of original force - R. Paton - Master Mechanic - 55 yrs service - retired 12/27/ Ted Strohm (st. 1891) still employed MiscellaneousM. E. Schlenker - Chief EngineerProduction started on mechanical fuze parts for the GovernmentBowlers (Westclox Leagues)had a dance in the Lunchroom IntroductionsBaby Ben Electric - $3.95 Pl;$4.95 Lum. 1941(December 7, 1941 - attach on Pearl Harbor - World War II) Employees3,700 - then to 3800 Identification Badges Issuedwith picture of employee - Security PromotionsTed Strohm (st. 1891 - age 14) - October - 50 years of service, Member of the tool since 1896; 1935 made Assistant Foreman Tool Department - Appointed Master Mechanic A. Faerber (st. 1919) - Assistant Foreman Tool Department MiscellaneousQuarter Century Club367 Members (341 Active, 26 associate) RestaurantServes 150,000 meals in 1941 (600 lunches/day) (A. PAton in charge) WestcloxHas own Photographic Studio - and - Library FactoryPower Press Department - has 185 presses Foot Press - (350 workers perform more than 1,000,000 operations on small timepiece parts.) IntroductionsDunbar Electric Wall Clock - $3.95 Manor " " - $3.50 Belfast " " $2.95 Troy - Electric Table - $3.50 Big Ben Electric Table - $3.95 Pl; Lum (Loud & Soft Alarm) 1942Retiree - Art Smith Retires - June 12, 1942Art Smith came from Chicago to United Clock Company - started Western Clock Company 1904 - Retired as Foremen Automatic Screw Department June 12, 1942.......38 years of service. 1904 - There were 20 Automatic Screw Machines - and 5 hand-operated machines 1923 - Art Smith was appointed Foreman of Automatic Screw MAchine Department Was one of eleven original committee for Pension Plan, which was adopted in 1924. 1929 - A. Smith joined Quarter Century Club 1939 - He received his 35 year award 1942 - A. Smith retired - Department had 250 Automatic Screw Machines in the department - 1942. CorporateA. J. Hasselman (Works Manager of Westclox) - Appointed - General Manager and Works Manager (st. 1913) MiscellaneousJuly 31 - Stop Non-War Items(clocks and watch production) - Converted to FUze Work. VacationNo Vacation Shutdown - Vacations to be Staggered StartedRadio Code School Service240 employees left for service 1943CorporateA. J. Wilson - President General Time Corporation (formerly General Manager of Westclox) R. H. Matthiessen - Chairman of Board of Directors MiscellaneousWestclox Skating Rink Tickets$1.00 (18 skates) otherwise $.10 per skate Safety RecordThird best all time Safety Record Dick Hill - Purchasing Agent(succeeding Charles Mauritzen who retired - due to ill health) (st. 1902 - P. A. - 1920) D. Hill - st. 1924 Peru LaSalle - River FloodedPeru Bottom Road Covered and also water street, "Q" Depot. LaSalle - Gas Works flooded. ProductionFuze - Fare Fuzesare in production "Waralarm" - introduced - $1.65(O.P.A. price) - case molded paper, not to bear Westclox Name, Allocated on a quota basis to various sections of the country, per the War Production Board - production limited (Normal production of clock - 300 lbs brass per 1,000 clocks; during war on the Waralarm) 10 lbs (if available) per 1,000 clocks) 1944CorporateD. J. Hawthorne - Westclox General MAnager since 1940 - now Vice President of Manufacturing and Engineering of General Time Corporation. This includes Westclox, Seth Thomas, Western Clock Co. Ltd Canada, Stromberg Time, N. Y. A. J. Hasselman - General Manager Westclox Divisions - V. P. G. T. Corp. J. S. Darcy - General Manager - Western Clock Co. Ltd. Canada (above effective 1/1/45) Foreman Appointments(Effective /1/45) Jacob Weber - Foreman Tool Department (st. Westclox 1906 RetiredTed Strohm (Tool Dept.) - retired October 7 - 53 years service (st.1891) Martin Danz (Plating Foreman) - retired (st. Westclox 1918) MiscellaneousAwarded"Army-Navy E" - July 15 - Second Time (Star Award - white star added to Flag) Coca Cola honored Westclox with a program at the local High School in honor of this award. December - 616 - Men and Women of Westclox in the Armed ForcesChristmas - Westclox sent Christmas packagesto all Service Men and Women - (Service - Men packages contained - Westclox Wrist Watch, box of hard candy, 3 handkerchiefs, bag of button, decks of cards, 2 books) (Service Women received all above except buttons and books - added added powder mitt and box of stationary instead) Reciprocal Trade Agreement W/Swisscreates uncertainty about future business. Flooding market with Swiss timepieces while factories here are producing War Items.
1945CorporateH. H. Hulse - Vice Pres and General Manager Haydon Divisions A. J. Wilson - Jr. - Sales Manager (st. 1937) ForemanG. H. Smith - Assistant Superintendent Industrial Engineering I. Batten - Wrist Watch Foreman F. Hackman - Property Dept Foreman (succeeding A. Janz who is now Assistant Purchasing Agent) Assistant Foreman AppointedGeorge Dowling - Electric Clock (st. 1923) Joe King - Wrist Watch (st. 1934) R. Quick - 4'' Finishing (st. 1929) RetiredEmil Henry - started Westclox 1894 - 50 years serviceIntroductionsLogan Electric Alarm Pocket Watch - Scotty MiscellaneousProduced7,500,000 Fuzes of all types - In addition to more than a billion parts made for Arsenals and other Manufacturing Companies (parts produced 1,355,189,616). Employees now in Armed Forces - 6791946CorporateSubsidiaryWestclox (Australia) Proprietory, Ltd. - organized in Melbourne, Australia ResumedOperation of plant in British Isles (First started in 1939 - interrupted because of War - then - resumed in 1946) - Westclox Ltd., A United Kingdom Subsidiary - production of Clocks and Watches. Russ Kitchen, from Canadian Plant, went to England to help set up plant (R. Kitchen st. 1927) Foremen AppointedE. Dwornik - Foreman Casting Dept. (st. Westclox 3/8/1909) F. J. Radtke - Assistant Foreman CAsting Dept. (sty. 1924) MiscellaneousQuarter Century Club532 Active Members IntroductionRaven Springwound 1947CorporateA. J. Hasselman, Gen. Mgr Westclox and V.P. General Time Corp - now elected as a member of the G. T. Board of Directors M. C. Budlong - Assistant General Manager (st. 1928) Subsidiaries of General Time CorporationSeth Thomas Clock Company Stromberg Time Corporation Haydon Manufacturing Company Western Clock Co,. Std - Canada MiscellaneousEmployees4,000 Payroll$8,700,000 Quarter Century Club532 Active Members (13.7% of total force) VeteransTo Date - March - 526 Westclox Servicemen and Women have returned to Westclox. SchoolWestclox Clock and Watchmakers School (Horological) organized - H. H. Henderson, coordinator; August Schierholz, instructor. Training School Toolmaker and MachinistsGraduates - E. F. Cielaszyk, J. Flanagan Additional Parking Spaceadded to Parking lot North of Main Entrance garages. Parking Lot - completed at 6th and St. Louis Streets, holds 88 cars ForemanA. Bierbrodt - Foreman Dial Department Emil Wellmer - Foreman Printing (st. Westclox 1911) IntroductionsOracle - Glass and gold colored metal - $15.00 RetiredEmail Henry (st. 1894 - 52 years service - given $1,000 Bond) Harry Geiger (Tool Dept - st. 1899 - retired 1947) 1948MiscellaneousQuarter Century Club678 Active Members, 74 Associate Members PayrollOver $9,500,000 ProductionProduction record total of 200,000,000 timepieces to date. (To give a rough idea how many clocks this would be - a Railroad Car holds approximately 45,000 standard Westclox timepieces . . . . . . . . . . . . therefore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . for the 200,000,000 timepieces it would require 5,000 standard boxcars - 40 miles long.) Dial Telephone System Installed in PlantWestclox Fire DepartmentA. Schaefer (Tool Dept.) now Westclox Fire Chief, Succeeding Harry Mauritzen. 1949CorporateGeneral Time Instruments CorporationName Changed to - General Time Corporation - new name of Parent Company ScotlandNew plant in Scotland producing 10,000 clocks per week CanadaAddition to Canadian Plant - 60 x 60 (two stories high) MiscellaneousNew Parking Lot (160 car capacity)near Foreman's Club Picnic Tablesplaced West of Office Building. IntroductionsNew Big Ben introduced New Baby Ben introduced New ''Moonbeam'' - Blinking Light Clock Switch Clock
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