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- Description:
- Louis Garcia discusses his career as an assembly worker, press operator, and manager at REO Motor Car Company/Diamond-Reo Trucks, Inc, in Lansing, Mi, between 1946 and 1975. Garcia talks about his Hispanic heritage and his childhood spent as a migrant farm worker. He says that in his early years at REO he was singled out and "tested" by other workers and management because of his ethnicity, but still excelled in the workplace, becoming a journeyman and later a supervisor. Garcia also talks about Francis Cappaert’s ownership of REO, the company bankruptcy, loss of the worker pension fund, the final days of plant operations, and employee depression and suicide. Interviewers are Shirley Bradley and Lisa Fine. Recorded as part of the REO Memories oral history project.
- Date Issued:
- 1992-01-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Doris Dow recalls her career as a secretary at REO Motor Car Company/Diamond-Reo Trucks, Inc, in Lansing, Mi, between 1950 and 1975. Dow talks about joining her mother and other relatives at the plant and describes her first job running a blueprint copier, becoming a secretary and later working for Oldsmobile. She says that at REO, the company was more a part of the social fabric of a worker's life than at Oldsmobile and goes on to describe the "fun" she had at the REO Girls Club, and performing charity work with other employees. Dow also discusses the decline of REO, the day that the doors were locked, the aftermath of the closing, the demolition of the REO Clubhouse and the loss of the REO pension fund. She explains the complexity of selling the company as a unit because of the way owner Francis Cappaert had divided the operations from the property. The interviewers are Shirley Bradley and Lisa Fine. Recorded as part of the REO Memories oral history project.
- Date Issued:
- 1992-02-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Glen Green discusses his career as a machine repairman, tooling division worker and manager at the REO Motor Car Company, between 1937 and 1974. Green talks about his youth in the depression, hiring in at REO, his various jobs with the company, REO's eventual bankruptcy and the fate of worker pensions. He says that a family atmosphere was prevalent at REO and that much of a worker's social life was connected to the plant and its many social events and institutions, such as the company sponsored REO Clubhouse. Green also says, however that there were union-management conflicts and describes the famous Lansing Labor Holiday demonstration of 1937. Interviewers are Shirley Bradley and Lisa Fine. Recording ends abruptly. Recorded as part of the REO Memories oral history project.
- Date Issued:
- 1992-01-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Harold Janetzke recalls his career as a timekeeper and engineer at REO Motor Car Company/Diamond-Reo Trucks, Inc. in Lansing, MI, from 1936 to 1975. He describes the 1937 strike that brought the UAW into REO, his move to engineering and attending Michigan State College. He says that the Great Depression devastated the Lansing community, but that World War II brought work back to the plant as REO converted from car to truck production. Janetzke's wife Eileen describes her job as a secretary at REO, meeting and marrying Harold, and working until late into her first pregnancy in 1943. They describe the heart break of the plant's closing in 1975, the loss of the pension and Harold going back to work for a few more years at Motor Wheel. The interviewers are Shirley Bradley and Lisa Fine. Recorded as part of the REO Memories oral history project.
- Date Issued:
- 1992-02-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Doris Dow recalls her career as a secretary at REO Motor Car Company/Diamond-Reo Trucks, Inc, in Lansing, Mi, between 1950 and 1975. Dow talks about joining her mother and other relatives at the plant and describes her first job running a blueprint copier, becoming a secretary and later working for Oldsmobile. She says that at REO, the company was more a part of the social fabric of a worker's life than at Oldsmobile and goes on to describe the "fun" she had at the REO Girls Club, and performing charity work with other employees. Dow also discusses the decline of REO, the day that the doors were locked, the aftermath of the closing, the demolition of the REO Clubhouse and the loss of the REO pension fund. She explains the complexity of selling the company as a unit because of the way owner Francis Cappaert had divided the operations from the property. The interviewers are Shirley Bradley and Lisa Fine. Recorded as part of the REO Memories oral history project.
- Date Issued:
- 1992-02-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Glen Green discusses his career as a machine repairman, tooling division worker and manager at the REO Motor Car Company, between 1937 and 1974. Green talks about his youth in the depression, hiring in at REO, his various jobs with the company, REO's eventual bankruptcy and the fate of worker pensions. He says that a family atmosphere was prevalent at REO and that much of a worker's social life was connected to the plant and its many social events and institutions, such as the company sponsored REO Clubhouse. Green also says, however that there were union-management conflicts and describes the famous Lansing Labor Holiday demonstration of 1937. Interviewers are Shirley Bradley and Lisa Fine. Recording ends abruptly. Recorded as part of the REO Memories oral history project.
- Date Issued:
- 1992-01-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Harold Janetzke recalls his career as a timekeeper and engineer at REO Motor Car Company/Diamond-Reo Trucks, Inc. in Lansing, MI, from 1936 to 1975. He describes the 1937 strike that brought the UAW into REO, his move to engineering and attending Michigan State College. He says that the Great Depression devastated the Lansing community, but that World War II brought work back to the plant as REO converted from car to truck production. Janetzke's wife Eileen describes her job as a secretary at REO, meeting and marrying Harold, and working until late into her first pregnancy in 1943. They describe the heart break of the plant's closing in 1975, the loss of the pension and Harold going back to work for a few more years at Motor Wheel. The interviewers are Shirley Bradley and Lisa Fine. Recorded as part of the REO Memories oral history project.
- Date Issued:
- 1992-02-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Louis Garcia discusses his career as an assembly worker, press operator, and manager at REO Motor Car Company/Diamond-Reo Trucks, Inc, in Lansing, Mi, between 1946 and 1975. Garcia talks about his Hispanic heritage and his childhood spent as a migrant farm worker. He says that in his early years at REO he was singled out and "tested" by other workers and management because of his ethnicity, but still excelled in the workplace, becoming a journeyman and later a supervisor. Garcia also talks about Francis Cappaert’s ownership of REO, the company bankruptcy, loss of the worker pension fund, the final days of plant operations, and employee depression and suicide. Interviewers are Shirley Bradley and Lisa Fine. Recorded as part of the REO Memories oral history project.
- Date Issued:
- 1992-01-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection