In the spring of 1970 we were living in a duplex on Prospect Street. The wife and I and our daughter, then 2 years old. The folks who lived on the “other side” were an English couple who had just moved into town. He was a salesman who had been hired by Fellows Gear Shaper. She was a stay-at-home mom who prepared curry spiced dishes at least once a week (they had just spent several years living in India). Living in a duplex is a little like staying in a motel, some events are shared thru the walls, odors being one of them. We have never been curry spice fans. But we remain best friends to this day, even though they moved away long ago.

The storm that was brewing that spring involved the renewal of the labor contract that the UE had with Jones and Lamson. Negotiations were ongoing and fruitless; business was slow, so the union was at a disadvantage. But the final vote on the contract ended in a strike. This was in June, and I remember the workers rolling out their toolboxes on a sunny day, and stating they were “going fishing”. The office staff (and shop supervisors) were non-union, so we all continued working. But within a few days, Bob Jones (the president at the time) called a meeting of all office staff to explain what the company policy would be during the strike. Anyone who still had engineering work to do would be able to finish it. Then we would be reassigned to various positions in the shop so that machines could still be built and shipped. In effect, we would become the shop work force. Very little engineering work would be done during the strike. I’m not sure if new orders were taken during this time, but they probably were. Nobody knew it at the time, but this strike would last six months.

I was working in Grinder Engineering when the strike started, and I was sent out to “get my hands dirty” on the grinder assembly floor. I think the experience of seeing both sides of the process (engineering, and then build), really helped me grasp the whole picture. I was now the recipient of an engineering design that I created, and hate to admit that perhaps it could (sometimes) stand improvement. But that’s part of the “learning curve” we all hope to climb over. Some never do.

For the most part, the office workers were able to slide into the role of machine assemblers, painters, electrical wiremen. It took some time to accomplish, but with the help of the shop supervisors, who were familiar with the process, things fell into place. Because of inexperience, most of us had to work overtime to complete these tasks. Working Saturdays became part of the normal work week. Because of the circumstances, we became a close-knit group, helping each other out where we could. There was no pressure from management, just an understanding that we would do what we could, when we could. There were regular meetings held so we knew how the union negotiations were going. This would continue thru the summer and fall.