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<blockquote data-quote="AKmoose" data-source="post: 1871077" data-attributes="member: 5917"><p>Evansville Chysler, I have a box or 2 of .45 and a few .30 carbine rounds with that headstamp.</p><p></p><p></p><p>DAVID COKER: Chrysler workers built more than cars</p><p></p><p>By David Coker</p><p>Published Saturday, October 22, 2011</p><p></p><p></p><p>From 1935 until 1959, the employees of Chrysler Motor Corp. produced some 1.3 million Plymouth automobiles here in Evansville.</p><p></p><p>For several years, the story has fascinated me. It is an important part of the industrial heritage of this community which is all but forgotten.</p><p></p><p>In 1935, many local residents were still reeling from the local affects of the Great Depression. Mayor William Dress probably felt pretty lucky to be on hand for the big announcement: Chrysler officials said the assembly factory acquired from the Dodge Brothers at Stringtown Road and Maxwell Avenue, which had been vacant for four years, would begin producing Plymouth automobiles. Body panels would be stamped out in another factory located nearby at 820 East Columbia St. - acquired by Briggs Manufacturing Co.</p><p></p><p>While customers were still hard to come by, the auto industry experienced an unexpected improvement during the 1935 model year, producing some 3.2 million cars compared with 2.1 million in 1934. Chrysler, in an expansion mode, seeing the two plants located not far from the Ohio River, thought it could keep costs at a minimum and begin producing the entry-level automobiles here in Evansville and ship them by barge to markets in the Gulf states and out West.</p><p></p><p>By the late 1930s, some 3,000 local workers in the two plants were churning out as many as 300 cars per day.</p><p></p><p>This went on until the early 1940s when, having already produced over 300,000 vehicles, shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Kaufman T. Keller, president of Chrysler, was approached by the Army Ordinance Department and asked if his Plymouth factory located in Evansville could produce .45-caliber cartridges by the billion. His answer was an abrupt "Yes," to which, the somewhat startled Army officer retorted if decisions of this magnitude were always so rapidly made? Convinced of the productive capacity of his employees, Keller replied, "Not always, colonel, but we have been hearing more and more about billions in recent years. I still can't imagine what a billion is like, so I would like to make billions of something to find out."</p><p></p><p>The employees at what became known as the Evansville Ordinance Plant obliged Keller by turning out some 3,264,281,934 cartridges - 96 percent of all the .45-caliber ammunition built for all the armed forces. In addition, late in 1944, Chrysler received yet another of dozens of war production contracts to rebuild some 2,000 Sherman tanks here in Evansville.</p><p></p><p>Later, in response to the Korean War, for about two years during the early 1950s, the plant retooled and dedicated about a third of the space and manpower to building 60-foot aluminum hulls for UF-1 Grumman Albatross air-sea rescue planes for the Navy and Coast Guard.</p><p></p><p>By the 1950s, the factories hit their stride. At mid-decade, some 7,000 employees in both plants were churning out some 400 cars per day when market forces and parts availability allowed. There was some labor strife, but the incredible accomplishments continued until 1957 when rumors started circulating that Chrysler was re-evaluating the situation throughout its entire operation, in Detroit, the West Coast and here in Evansville.</p><p></p><p>Having borrowed some $250 million against a large insurance policy, corporate officials began re-evaluating the transportation situation.</p><p></p><p>By this time, all the railroads had converted to Diesel-electric motive power from coal-fired steam. This significantly reduced the shipping costs of rail services vs. the barges Chrysler had used since the 1930s. Having only four railroads servicing this area at the time, it probably made perfect sense to invest in a larger, more modern factory in Fenton, Mo., where there were some 20 railroads in the area to compete for the same business.</p><p></p><p>It was by far the largest single employer in Evansville at the time; the loss of the Chrysler plant in 1959 was a devastating blow to the local economy. Some local employees moved to the St. Louis area with Chrysler, while some remained and sought work with other local employers.</p><p></p><p>While I vaguely remember seeing shiny, new Plymouth automobiles parked on the lot down near the Mead Johnson Terminal on the Evansville waterfront, I have never known anyone personally who worked at the plant. There are so many questions you cannot find the answers to from reading old, tattered newspaper clippings.</p><p></p><p>If there are any former Chrysler employees around familiar with the smell of the axle grease, the paint booths, the gasoline and everything else inside the plant, I 'd like to meet them and share their memories in a future column.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="AKmoose, post: 1871077, member: 5917"] Evansville Chysler, I have a box or 2 of .45 and a few .30 carbine rounds with that headstamp. DAVID COKER: Chrysler workers built more than cars By David Coker Published Saturday, October 22, 2011 From 1935 until 1959, the employees of Chrysler Motor Corp. produced some 1.3 million Plymouth automobiles here in Evansville. For several years, the story has fascinated me. It is an important part of the industrial heritage of this community which is all but forgotten. In 1935, many local residents were still reeling from the local affects of the Great Depression. Mayor William Dress probably felt pretty lucky to be on hand for the big announcement: Chrysler officials said the assembly factory acquired from the Dodge Brothers at Stringtown Road and Maxwell Avenue, which had been vacant for four years, would begin producing Plymouth automobiles. Body panels would be stamped out in another factory located nearby at 820 East Columbia St. - acquired by Briggs Manufacturing Co. While customers were still hard to come by, the auto industry experienced an unexpected improvement during the 1935 model year, producing some 3.2 million cars compared with 2.1 million in 1934. Chrysler, in an expansion mode, seeing the two plants located not far from the Ohio River, thought it could keep costs at a minimum and begin producing the entry-level automobiles here in Evansville and ship them by barge to markets in the Gulf states and out West. By the late 1930s, some 3,000 local workers in the two plants were churning out as many as 300 cars per day. This went on until the early 1940s when, having already produced over 300,000 vehicles, shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Kaufman T. Keller, president of Chrysler, was approached by the Army Ordinance Department and asked if his Plymouth factory located in Evansville could produce .45-caliber cartridges by the billion. His answer was an abrupt "Yes," to which, the somewhat startled Army officer retorted if decisions of this magnitude were always so rapidly made? Convinced of the productive capacity of his employees, Keller replied, "Not always, colonel, but we have been hearing more and more about billions in recent years. I still can't imagine what a billion is like, so I would like to make billions of something to find out." The employees at what became known as the Evansville Ordinance Plant obliged Keller by turning out some 3,264,281,934 cartridges - 96 percent of all the .45-caliber ammunition built for all the armed forces. In addition, late in 1944, Chrysler received yet another of dozens of war production contracts to rebuild some 2,000 Sherman tanks here in Evansville. Later, in response to the Korean War, for about two years during the early 1950s, the plant retooled and dedicated about a third of the space and manpower to building 60-foot aluminum hulls for UF-1 Grumman Albatross air-sea rescue planes for the Navy and Coast Guard. By the 1950s, the factories hit their stride. At mid-decade, some 7,000 employees in both plants were churning out some 400 cars per day when market forces and parts availability allowed. There was some labor strife, but the incredible accomplishments continued until 1957 when rumors started circulating that Chrysler was re-evaluating the situation throughout its entire operation, in Detroit, the West Coast and here in Evansville. Having borrowed some $250 million against a large insurance policy, corporate officials began re-evaluating the transportation situation. By this time, all the railroads had converted to Diesel-electric motive power from coal-fired steam. This significantly reduced the shipping costs of rail services vs. the barges Chrysler had used since the 1930s. Having only four railroads servicing this area at the time, it probably made perfect sense to invest in a larger, more modern factory in Fenton, Mo., where there were some 20 railroads in the area to compete for the same business. It was by far the largest single employer in Evansville at the time; the loss of the Chrysler plant in 1959 was a devastating blow to the local economy. Some local employees moved to the St. Louis area with Chrysler, while some remained and sought work with other local employers. While I vaguely remember seeing shiny, new Plymouth automobiles parked on the lot down near the Mead Johnson Terminal on the Evansville waterfront, I have never known anyone personally who worked at the plant. There are so many questions you cannot find the answers to from reading old, tattered newspaper clippings. If there are any former Chrysler employees around familiar with the smell of the axle grease, the paint booths, the gasoline and everything else inside the plant, I 'd like to meet them and share their memories in a future column. [/QUOTE]
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