They weren't merely production workers at the Scintilla Magneto plant in Sidney in July 1942. They were soon known as the "Production Army," after being shown plenty of appreciation by a huge rally on Saturday, July 25.
The Sidney Enterprise reported, "With a 'bombers moon' peering over the foothills of the Catskills, the Scintilla Magneto Division of the Bendix Corporation at Sidney was re-dedicated Saturday night to the task of protecting our armed forces and the liberty of the people."
"Cheering and enthusiastic thousands of men and women of the production army thrilled at visits in the afternoon with those who bombed Tokyo, Essen, Kiel, and Hamburg, and with the fliers who called the workers fellow soldiers for the part they are playing in the battle for freedom, were aroused to a high pitch of patriotism by the climactic program bringing a brilliant close to the Army Day rally at the Scintilla plant."
The purpose of the gathering was to bring together the war fliers and the war production workers so that each could understand the work of the other.
More than 40 "aces" of the air force of the United Nations were among the guests of honor that day.
They toured the plant, watching the workers assemble parts that make the ignition systems of the planes they flew in battle. The fliers talked with workers and exchanged autographs during the afternoon.
Dinner was provided for the visitors in the plant cafeteria.
The visitors had arrived in Sidney on Saturday morning in two buses, escorted by Capt. Daniel E. Fox, the commanding officer of State Police Troop C. The Scintilla Band, in bright uniforms, opened the day's program with a concert, and played at other ceremonies throughout the day.
Capt. C.J. Bishop of the Army Air Force told workers, "The Army calls you fellow soldiers because that is exactly what you are. Every man and woman who walks through that gate is a soldier in the production line. Without you, we would be an army without arms."
Thousands gathered both on the factory grounds and outside the guard fences at 9 p.m. for the re-dedication ceremony.
Mr. W.W. Thomas, a Scintilla executive, was master of ceremonies and opened with a speech, saying, "The horny hands of hate and greed clutch at our very throats. The peril of the Pacific is no longer a fiction story, but a grim and actual reality; but America is awake, alive now, and our power of production will sweep like a tidal wave over our enemies. We must, and we will place these weapons of our production inn the hands of our armed forces so that these brave men of ours can smash our enemies on land, on sea, and in the air."
According to the Enterprise, all of Sidney closed down that day to join in the Army Day celebration, "but the production lines at the Scintilla plant were halted only for the period when the celebration was climaxed with the speeches, fireworks display and community singing." Nearly 7,500 witnessed the closing exercises.
Scintilla was a 24/7 operation at this point in World War II, and many of the male workers were going overseas to fight.
The Oneonta Star reported on Wednesday, July 29, that area defense plants had started hiring women, as well as men 45 years of age and older.
Miss Katherine Woodruff, manager of what was then called the Federal Employment Service, said as many as 50 placements of women were being made daily in war industries. They included both trained and inexperienced workers.
On Monday: Bluegrass music for the Cooperstown area in July 1982.
City Historian Mark Simonson's column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or email him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is www.oneontahistorian.com. His columns can be found at www.thedailystar.com/marksimonson.
Mark Simonson
Scintilla's 'Production Army' praised in July 1942
- Mark Simonson
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Sunday movies in Oneonta finally shown in 1934
You know an issue is divisive when a vote to resolve it is quite close. In Oneonta during the early 1930s there were probably plenty of discussions or arguments at the family dinner table or sermons from the pulpits on Sunday mornings, regarding whether or should be able to see a movie in Oneonta on Sunday.
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Politics, fitness and landmarks dominated local news in May 1968
Area residents mulled over the idea of Gov. Nelson Rockefeller as their next President of the United States. New fitness opportunities emerged for all ages. One area landmark was saved while another was razed. It was only a part of our life and times in May 1968.
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Local people sought income in many ways in 1933
In the economy that was the Great Depression, there were times people would do what it took to try to earn some money.
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Local windstorm in 1983 caused tense moments
I realize I've got the wrong month in mind when I say "May came in like a lion." However, that's what happened in 1983 as a number of twisters moved through our region, leaving plenty of damage behind in their trails. Add some melting snow and heavy rain, and scenes of cleanups were widespread 30 years ago this month.
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Disaster, expansions put people to work in May 1913
- Monday, April 29, 2013
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Job opportunities abounded in area 45 years ago
If you were looking for a job in April 1968 in our area, or perhaps looking to change your employment situation in the near future, opportunities were pointing in your favor.
- Saturday, April 27, 2013
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Oneonta greeted an aviation giant in 1928
An early aviation superstar came to Oneonta in 1928.
- Monday, April 22, 2013
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Area saw its own armed standoffs 30 years ago
This past Friday, we watched how the Boston area went into a lockdown during a tense search for the last suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings. Had I still been living and working in that area, as I was in the early 1990s, I would have had a day off from work Friday, as police scoured the city of Waltham.
- Saturday, April 20, 2013
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U.S.S. Maine explosion, war drew much local sentiment
For most people in our area in early 1898, a growing conflict between two distant nations probably didn't get much attention, other than some glances at the newspaper. When a young Oneonta man was one of many injured or killed in an explosion of a battleship he was aboard, the local attention increased markedly to what was soon to become the Spanish-American War.
- Monday, April 15, 2013
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Oneonta river walking path came from a surveyor's daydream
Leon Kalmus of Oneonta spent a lot of time surveying land near the Susquehanna River in the early 1970s around the time Interstate 88 was being planned and built in this area. What he saw along the shores of the river, he called “pristine,� and soon had an idea for some kind of walking or hiking pathway along the shores of the river in the town of Oneonta.
- Saturday, April 13, 2013
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Decline of Prohibition led to return of beer in April 1933
“I think this would be a good time for a beer,� remarked President Franklin D. Roosevelt, when he signed the Cullen-Harrison Act on March 22, 1933. This marked the beginning of the end for Prohibition that year.
- Monday, April 8, 2013
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Dietz Street shifted from residential to commercial through the years
By taking a walk along Dietz Street today, heading north to Walnut Street, one can see a lot of businesses and the recently refurbished parking lot on the east side of the street. It would take some imagination to see this street lined with houses and a church, but prior to the late 1940s, that’s what was there.
- Saturday, April 6, 2013
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Oneontans voted for a 'dry' city in 1918
- Monday, April 1, 2013
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Future city historian kept family busy for Easter and April 1958
- Saturday, March 30, 2013
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Colliscroft became new Oneonta landmark in 1902
If the Oneonta building trade sector of the economy could have awarded a plaque to a most valuable individual customer of 1902, it would have nearly been a shoo-in. That was Edward H. Pardee, who was listed in the Oneonta Directory around that time as a farmer, on Southside.
- Wednesday, March 27, 2013
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Historic Cooperstown cottage got a new address in 1988
To unknowing tourists seeking information from the tourism information center at 31 Chestnut St. in Cooperstown, they would probably believe that the mid-19th century cottage had always been on that site. It blends in well with some of the grand old houses along that street, and the same tourists might think it has an interesting history behind it.
- Saturday, March 23, 2013
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Free mail delivery began in Oneonta 125 years ago
- Monday, March 18, 2013
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Oneonta enacted first building code 60 years ago
There will be no parade, fireworks display or commemorative coins minted for the occasion.
- Saturday, March 16, 2013
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Area isolated during historic March 1888 snowstorm
Earlier in the week, we recalled the "Blizzard of 1993," which was one containing historic snowfall that fell on our region on Saturday, March 13. It was the largest recorded in a single local snowfall in the 20th century, and ever since another storm dating back 105 years. The latter snowfall was worse than the 1993 storm, falling overnight into Tuesday, March 13, 1888. It was commonly referred to as the "Blizzard of 1888."
- Monday, March 11, 2013
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Blizzard of 1993 was a local memory maker
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