Harold Janetzke and Eileen Janetzke discuss their career at REO Motor Car Company and Diamond REO Trucks, Inc

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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

Place:

Michigan, Lansing, Michigan, Lansing, Michigan, Lansing, Michigan, Lansing, Michigan, Lansing, Michigan, Lansing, and Lansing (Mich.)

Subject Topic:

Career in automobile industry and trade, Career in automobile industry and trade, Marriage, Marriage, Automobile industry workers, General strikes, Labor unions, Recognition, Depressions, World War, 1939-1945, Economic aspects, Plant shutdowns, Pension trusts, Termination, and Economic conditions

Subject Name:

Janetzke, Harold, Janetzke, Eileen, Janetzke, Harold, Janetzke, Eileen, Janetzke, Eileen, Janetzke, Harold, Reo Motor Car Company, and Diamond REO Trucks, Inc

Subject Genre:

Interviews, Interviews, Interviews, Interviews, and Interviews

Language:

English

Rights:

In Copyright

URL:

https://n2t.net/ark:/85335/m5wd3q22t