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November 1942. "Hanna furnaces of the Great Lakes Steel Corp., Detroit. Coal pusher apparatus with coal storage building seen in the fog which constantly hangs over the plant." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Arthur Siegel. View full size.
He worked as a rigger from 1964-66 then from 1969-73 (break for Vietnam) before he got a job at Ford. Spent a lot of time on Zug Island. Bill Bryan, had the nickname "Badeye Junior". (no idea why) Mom could never get all the filth out of Dad's work clothes when he was working on Zug.
My grandfather Rocco G. worked there 43 years. Retired and then kept himself pretty dang busy for another 30 plus afterwards.
Fresh outta high school in '68, I worked at GLS for a few months, moving up from track labor to railroad signalman. (The steel was moved around by diesel engines.) I remember my first day on the job, a fella fell to his death. Good omen, eh?!
My dad used to work at the Michigan Steel plant as the storekeeper. Does anyone remember Harold Brown? I worked at Great Lakes too, in the boiler house.
-- Jim Brown
jimbrown2006@netscape.net
I was hired here in 1971. Just came home from Vietnam and needed a job. The first few weeks hired as a track labor, 80 percent of the time our crew sat in shanties and ate tacos from our Mexican co-workers. I coundn't believe how easy the work was. After a year I was laid off and got hired at the Ford Rouge plant. Man I found out what work was. I worked at the Dearborn stamping plt and earned every penny. Anyway I ended staying there 31 years, retiring as a general foreman. I still think back at the mill. Good experience.
My father was hired by GLS in 1958. Looking back, I think he loved this place. Anyone remember him?
Dale Forth Jr.
df7@dcx.com
.....named Danny Reed, (speaking of coke pusher)......
Great guy,....I often wonder what happened to him.
The machine in the picture is actually a coke pusher. The coke ovens are in its front and it pushed the coke out of the oven. I ran one of these as a young steelworker.
Just like Jack Delano was as well with RR picts. Thanks Dave. And a really big great thank you for this wonderful photo blog, how did you get it started and when?
Another terrific pict, I love these of heavy industry which is almost gone today.How many photos did A Siegel take of steel mills? and he was lucky to be able to during WWII, I would think it would be off limits to take photos of steel mills during the war.
[He was working for the Office of War Information. - Dave]
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