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Westclox History from 1940 to 1949

1940

Corporate

D. 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.

Employees

3,521

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

Miscellaneous

M. E. Schlenker - Chief Engineer

Production started on mechanical fuze parts for the Government

Bowlers (Westclox Leagues)

had a dance in the Lunchroom

Introductions

Baby Ben Electric - $3.95 Pl;$4.95 Lum.
LaSallita Pullwind - $1.95
Shelby - $2.45
Clip Easel Watch - $4.95
Bachelor Alarm Clk - $3.95

1941

(December 7, 1941 - attach on Pearl Harbor - World War II)

Employees

3,700 - then to 3800

Identification Badges Issued

with picture of employee - Security

Promotions

Ted 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

Miscellaneous

Quarter Century Club

367 Members (341 Active, 26 associate)

Restaurant

Serves 150,000 meals in 1941 (600 lunches/day) (A. PAton in charge)

Westclox

Has own Photographic Studio - and - Library

Factory

Power Press Department - has 185 presses

Foot Press - (350 workers perform more than 1,000,000 operations on small timepiece parts.)

Introductions

Dunbar 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)

1942

Retiree - Art Smith Retires - June 12, 1942

Art 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.

Corporate

A. J. Hasselman (Works Manager of Westclox) - Appointed - General Manager and Works Manager (st. 1913)

Miscellaneous

July 31 - Stop Non-War Items

(clocks and watch production) - Converted to FUze Work.

Vacation

No Vacation Shutdown - Vacations to be Staggered

Started

Radio Code School

Service

240 employees left for service

1943

Corporate

A. J. Wilson - President General Time Corporation (formerly General Manager of Westclox)

R. H. Matthiessen - Chairman of Board of Directors

Miscellaneous

Westclox Skating Rink Tickets

$1.00 (18 skates) otherwise $.10 per skate

Safety Record

Third 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 Flooded

Peru Bottom Road Covered and also water street, "Q" Depot. LaSalle - Gas Works flooded.

Production

Fuze - Fare Fuzes

are 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)

1944

Corporate

D. 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
Vince Loos - Assistant Foreman Tool Dept.
Adam T. Currie - Westclox Superintendent - succeeding W. Richards
George H. Smith - (Prod. Eng.) Assistant Superintendent (st. 1928)
M. C. Budlong - Comptroller (st. 1928)

Retired

Ted Strohm (Tool Dept.) - retired October 7 - 53 years service (st.1891)

Martin Danz (Plating Foreman) - retired (st. Westclox 1918)

Miscellaneous

Awarded

"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 Forces

Christmas - Westclox sent Christmas packages

to 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/Swiss

creates uncertainty about future business. Flooding market with Swiss timepieces while factories here are producing War Items.

 

1945

Corporate

H. H. Hulse - Vice Pres and General Manager Haydon Divisions

A. J. Wilson - Jr. - Sales Manager (st. 1937)

Foreman

G. 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 Appointed

George Dowling - Electric Clock (st. 1923)

Joe King - Wrist Watch (st. 1934)

R. Quick - 4'' Finishing (st. 1929)

Retired

Emil Henry - started Westclox 1894 - 50 years service

Introductions

Logan Electric Alarm

Pocket Watch - Scotty

Miscellaneous

Produced

7,500,000 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 - 679

1946

Corporate

Subsidiary

Westclox (Australia) Proprietory, Ltd. - organized in Melbourne, Australia

Resumed

Operation 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 Appointed

E. Dwornik - Foreman Casting Dept. (st. Westclox 3/8/1909)

F. J. Radtke - Assistant Foreman CAsting Dept. (sty. 1924)

Miscellaneous

Quarter Century Club

532 Active Members

Introduction

Raven Springwound
Logan Electric Clock
Dunbar- Electric Wall
LaSalle Wrist Watch

1947

Corporate

A. 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 Corporation

Seth Thomas Clock Company

Stromberg Time Corporation

Haydon Manufacturing Company

Western Clock Co,. Std - Canada

Miscellaneous

Employees

4,000

Payroll

$8,700,000

Quarter Century Club

532 Active Members (13.7% of total force)

Veterans

To Date - March - 526 Westclox Servicemen and Women have returned to Westclox.

School

Westclox Clock and Watchmakers School (Horological) organized - H. H. Henderson, coordinator; August Schierholz, instructor.

Training School Toolmaker and Machinists

Graduates - E. F. Cielaszyk, J. Flanagan

Additional Parking Space

added to Parking lot North of Main Entrance garages.

Parking Lot - completed at 6th and St. Louis Streets, holds 88 cars

Foreman

A. Bierbrodt - Foreman Dial Department

Emil Wellmer - Foreman Printing (st. Westclox 1911)

Introductions

Oracle - Glass and gold colored metal - $15.00

Retired

Email Henry (st. 1894 - 52 years service - given $1,000 Bond)

Harry Geiger (Tool Dept - st. 1899 - retired 1947)

1948

Miscellaneous

Quarter Century Club

678 Active Members, 74 Associate Members

Payroll

Over $9,500,000

Production

Production 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 Plant

Westclox Fire Department

A. Schaefer (Tool Dept.) now Westclox Fire Chief, Succeeding Harry Mauritzen.

1949

Corporate

General Time Instruments Corporation

Name Changed to - General Time Corporation - new name of Parent Company

Scotland

New plant in Scotland producing 10,000 clocks per week

Canada

Addition to Canadian Plant - 60 x 60 (two stories high)

Miscellaneous

New Parking Lot (160 car capacity)

near Foreman's Club

Picnic Tables

placed West of Office Building.

Introductions

New Big Ben introduced

New Baby Ben introduced

New ''Moonbeam'' - Blinking Light Clock

Switch Clock

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