Newspapers / Fotofax (Brevard, N.C.) / Oct. 1, 1977, edition 1 / Page 4
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FOTOFAX OCTOBER, 1977 early employees review their part iim progress . . . VIRGINIA STEPP - SECRETARY TO PLANT MANAGER y' DENNIS BARTON - CONTROL MECHANIC "Twenty years ago, on July 1, 1957, I was employed by the Du Pont Pigments Department. Working with the Employee Relations Department on the second floor in an old building in Brevard was truly an interesting experience. The offices were small and heated by a coal burning stove. It was here the first group of production and maintenance employees from the Brevard area were hired. Around the first of January, 1958, we moved into new offices at the plant. "Since employment I have seen tremendous changes - new manufacturing "I went to work for Du Pont in June, 1957, in the old silica welding shop (used in making silicon) as a silica welder. Actually, I trained for the job in Brevard before the plant was completed. When I began working in the plant, it was small with only 200 or 300 employees and I knew everybody and their families. It was a real wilderness, too. Deer grazed right around the edge of the plant and it was very seldom you didn't see or smell a skunk every day. Of course, there were a units, extensive remodeling, new cafeteria, new offices and R & D building. I have been associated with four plant managers including L. S. Grogan, A. B. Morrison, J. C. Dense, and now J. H. Golden. Each manager has had his own personal way of managing. I have found that each one believed in the Du Pont philosophy and the dignity of and respect for each employee is important. "Every morning when I walk up to our new office, I think about how fortunate I am to be employed by Du Pont." few rattlesnakes around, too. "In twenty years. I've seen a lot of changes, especially in the kind of equipment I use in the Control Shop. I've had to learn to operate new equipment several times. Now everything is being computerized so the equipment is more complicated but also more accurate and dependable than the old motor generator equipment we used in the past. Working here has been a continuous learning process which I've really enjoyed." CHARLES "ED” HEMPHILL - mail CARRIER, STORES AND RECEIVING "I was 21 years old when I came to work for Du Pont in January, 1958. I started on the labor crew in Power and Grounds under the old Pigments operation. Working conditions were a lot harder back then. We used push lawn mowers. There was one gasoline powered mower but it could only be used at a distance from the plant for safety reasons. "In 1962, when Photo Products took over, I transferred to Stores and Receiving and I've been delivering the plant mail ever since. The roads were terrible then with lots of holes and I used to make two trips a day into town. Now I make one because there is so much to do and the mail has at least tripled. "Since 1962 I've driven four panel-van trucks — a new one every six years. I liked the 1958 model best, it was sturdier. I've never had an accident. . . just lucky I guess. "When I first came to work here I thought this was a good place to work and I still do after all these years." ROBERT T. CANTRELL - investment accountant "I first started to work for Du Pont in June, 1957. This location was a hillside being graded. Footings were being poured for the manufacturing building. I was hired as a Cost Clerk in the Construction Division. I worked in the temporary construction building where Purchasing is now located. Back then, we used the old rotary type calculators which were considered very advanced. In January, 1958, I was transferred from Construction to Operations. My first job was in Stores. I transferred to Accounting as an Investment Clerk until Pigments folded - then I went back to Stores. Since then I've worked in every area but Coating. "I originally planned to work a year or so, then go back to college, but as I began raising a family, I concluded this would probably be my career. I finished my degree by going to college on weekends and nights. Since 1970 I've been an Investment Accountant in the Account ing Department. "The years have really passed fast as I've watched the plant grow from a muddy hillside into a modern manufacturing facility."
Fotofax (Brevard, N.C.)
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Oct. 1, 1977, edition 1
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