[AT] Spam> RE: Garden tractor???

[Indiana Robinson]

On Mon, Jan 25, 2010 at 11:07 AM, Larry Goss <rlgoss at insightbb.com> wrote:
> Slicks = drag racer.
>
> Here's something to make you all salivate.
>
> http://steampunkworkshop.com/skinner-unaflow-steam-engine-needs-new-home
>
> Larry
>
==================================



Neat!!
I believe that the second picture is not pieces of chairs that were
being assembled hanging from the walls as it says. I believe those
were their working patterns... I have such things hanging in my
woodshop now. About any woodshop that ever does production has a
pattern rack or room.
Sure a lot of history in that  run of pictures. Kind of sad.
Just before I got married almost 47 years ago I worked in a sometimes
old fashioned factory where we did a lot of precision hand work and
used a lot of stiff fiber board patterns etc. This brings back a lot
of memories, a few rather bad ones but most good. Other that the
prerequisite small handful of jerks, most of us got along quite well
and since many of the departments were fairly quiet hand work we were
able to visit as we worked most of the time. Generally pleasantry was
encouraged and few of the managers were of the hotshot, "big me" type.
My first job there was based just outside of the office door inside of
the plant and I was low man on the pole. In that job I took orders
from everybody but the janitor... But, if the president of the company
or any number of others in management came to that plants office they
would all usually stop and chat with me. It was a low man job but I
was more independent than most others in the company.  I set most of
my own schedule and my work took me all over 3 factories. As long as
my jobs got done no one ever questioned where I was and what I was
doing there.
While I was working at that plant things got really slow for almost a
year (mid 1960's). The assistant plant manager would bring out a
piddly little job or two and say "better make this last all day boys,
it"s all I have for you"...
At one point we ran clear out of work and they put a lot of the guys
to cleaning up stuff, doing little repair stuff on the building,
anything to avoid laying anyone off. They put me at a bench in a break
area and brought me every fan in the place (they allowed people to
bring in their own fans for hot weather) (you could also have radios
of your own) and I spent several weeks tearing down, cleaning and
oiling fans. Some belonged to the company and some belonged to
employees. I also cleaned and greased a lot of machinery that I had
never used. I cleaned up parts of that huge old 3 story building that
had not been used in 50 years except for storage. Still I had a job
every day and a paycheck every week. If they had laid me off for a few
months I could have lost everything. I moved on to a white shirt and
tie, very good paying, data processing center job in a computer
service bureau after about 5 years but I still have never forgotten
how those folks at that factory took care of me when the chips were
down. They didn't have to do it... They never laid off a soul. If
someone left they did not replace them at that time but nobody was
laid off. They were also in business during the great depression and
they didn't lay off a single employee then either.



-- 
Have you hugged your horses today?

Francis Robinson
aka "farmer"
Central Indiana USA
robinson46176 at gmail.com