The other night my brother called, and we spoke about people talking at the dinner table about their day at work. While that could be boring, it was not so at our house. My mother had stories from school, and when my father worked at one place in particular, it was exciting. Later I worked there off and off over summers and school breaks for a few years, enabling me to appreciate what he meant and to know some of these people.
James Douglas was the oldest employee, in his 70s, working at a long machine that was slightly tilted, and rotated, producing barrels of some finely-made coating for coating the insides of oil tanks and pipes in refineries. The rest of the plant made similar products. When I was asked what we mad,e all I could answer was "white stuff and pink stuff.
About half of the workforce came from the South, escaping Jim Crow for Philadelphia ghettos. "Cap'n" was a southern term of respect, and was given to this worker. He had a smile on his face, a back that was permanently-bent, and an amazing work ethic.
There was no stop on the old Reading Line by the plant. But the trains knew the plant schedule and made stops in the morning and afternoon. I always thought that was very nice of them because they did not have to do it. In this way, people could get to work; most had no cars of their own. One night I had a date in Center City, so I waited for the train with the Cap'n. On that ride, I saw him n a different light. He was intense, part of the community, and spoke more than he did at work.,
Resco Products, Incorporated still is on the banks of the Schuykill between Norristown and Conshohocken, but the Reading Railroad is only on Monopoly boards.
https://soundcloud.com/arthur-turfa-1/the-transfiguration-of
No comments:
Post a Comment