This weeks 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks prompt is long line.
In 1905 Western Electric Company built a large factory complex in Cicero, Illinois. It was named Hawthorne works after the original name of the town Hawthorne, later incorporated into Cicero. Hawthorne produced telephone equipment and also some consumer products such as refrigerators and fans. The Hawthorne plant employed 45,000 people at the height of its operation.[1]
My husband had a long line of family members that worked for Western Electric that included his father, brother, aunts, uncles and cousins. Some of the family members working for Western Electric moved on to other jobs, but not his father and brother.
His father, Elmer Grunst, started working for Western Electric in 1918.[2] He started out as a draftsman and worked his way up to supervisor in the equipment engineering department at the Canal Street location in Chicago. He was active in the science and the flower and garden clubs. He was a member of Hawthorne Chapter, Telephone Pioneers of America.[3] Elmer retired from Western Electric in January 1962 after 43 years of service. A retirement party was held at the American Legion Hall in Riverside, Illinois, and in spite of 10 degrees below zero weather over 200 people showed up.[4]
Elmer’s son also named Elmer went to work for Western Electric shortly after serving in WWII. Elmer as a newcomer in 1946 scored 11 points for the Western Electric Engineer’s basketball team. Further down in the same article his cousin Elmer Weis is mentioned, another example of a family member working for Western Electric.[5] Throughout his years he played on many teams for the Western Electric. In addition to basketball, Elmer played baseball, football, boxing, golf, and bowling. There may even be some other sport that I have forgotten. Elmer was a very athletic person. If my memory serves me right, Elmer retired from Western Electric shortly before it closed in 1983.[6] Elmer retired with about 37 years of service.
The two Elmer’s combined worked at Western Electric 70 years.
Copyright © 2020 Gail Grunst
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_Works
[2] Berwyn Life (Berwyn Illinois), W.E. To Honor 40-Year Vets, 7 December 1958, Sun, Pg.6
[3] Ibid.
[4] Brookfield Citizen (Brookfield, Illinois), 25 January 1962, Pg. 13
[5] Berwyn Life (Berwyn, Illinois), Four way tie in W. E. Cage Loop, 1 March 1946, Fri, Pg 8
Family Tales from Gail 