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"A Studebaker Love Story"Studebaker played an important part in my life. My father was employed
there as a pattern maker until his retirement in the late 1930s. After
a brief period in college, I went to work at Studebaker in 1944 in their
Personnel Department. Studebaker, at the time, ran thematic ad campaigns
of workplace legacies, sons following in their father’s footsteps--showing
Studebaker as a great place to work.
"A Father-Son Team"My father, Cecil Dewey Madden, worked for Studebaker for forty-five years and was one of the very few who received his full pension from them. When production stopped, he was allowed to work on maintenance in the administration building to ensure that he could complete the years needed. I'm his second son, one of his eight children, and when I came back after W.W.II—fighting and being wounded on Iwo Jima in 1945—I began working there also, in 1946. I enrolled at Indiana State in Terre Haute, and Studebaker had a great and generous program for those of us who wanted to go to college on the GI Bill. They allowed us to come back every summer and get a job back at Studebaker for the summer to earn money to go back to school. They did this for me for four years, and I am eternally grateful for that opportunity. My father and I were part of the father-son team at Studebakers. I was treated well and made good money. I loved Studebaker and got one of the new style Studebaker Commander coupes with the windows all around the back. I put Venetian shades in the back windows and truly loved that car. I have fond memories of Studebaker. They made a good car and treated me very well. William B. Madden
"A Look at the Last Days"I was a 19-year-old truck driver for Towne Air Freight, in 1969. One of my stops every day was SASCO Studebaker Parts and service center. SASCO was in plant 8, just west of Sibly Foundry, off Main St. I got to meet the last few Studebaker workers. They were waiting on retirement—all had worked many years there—and were sad to see it come down to a building full of old parts. They took me around and showed me what was left of Studebaker. I had a chance to buy two Packard V8 engines but turned it down. I knew of no use for them; they were just scrap to me then. I got to go into the office building the day they closed it down. The offices still had calendars on the wall from Dec of ‘63 and ‘64. Pens and papers were still out on some desks like someone was going to go to work the next day. The contents of the offices were taken to a dumpster and hauled away. Later, I got to go into most of the buildings that re-opened with new companies running them. Thomas R. McKee
"Flammable Floor?"My memories are refracted through my father's. He worked for Studebaker from about the late 40s until 1968. Yes, he worked there after they stopped making Avantis, Larks, Hawks, and any other kind of cars, but still operated other businesses. He started out working on the assembly line as did several of his high school pals, who were still there when the plant closed down. But my father hated the assembly line, and had nightmares of wheels or whatever kind of car parts rolling towards him. So he took a cut in pay and did the classic Horatio Alger thing of working his way up in the "admin building," which is now the offices of South Bend Community Schools (I remember visiting him there and that the elevator was a freight elevator with an open cage at the door, which was scary). He eventually became risk manager and made that his career with other companies, moving on to Los Angeles in 1968. I remember one other story he told me about one of the older factory buildings, though it is a little fuzzy now. It had to do with the fact that as risk manager, he had to be concerned with safety matters. There was a concern that one of the older buildings had wooden floors, columns or something like that, and that there might be a fire hazard. They decided to see how flammable it was and found that they could not get it to burn. Apparently the wood (oak, I'd guess) was so dense and old that it just wouldn't burn. I'm not saying that's accurate; just what I remember. I also remember attending the launch of the Lark, with a big event in the football stadium here, and Bob Hope, I think, as headliner, but that's getting afield. Chris R. Vanden Bossche
"A New Uniform"I remember very little--for instance, Studebaker's sponsored annual Xmas parties at the State Theater. My Aunt Bea, age 93, told me about how the company fed people during the Depression. My Aunt Bea and Uncle Roman would take a wagon along the railroad tracks to Studebaker's and get food. My Dad's basement is filled with Studebaker tools that many men crafted by hand. He said that when he purchased his new Studebaker Commander, the engineers ran the car through the assembly line a second time and "tuned up" the engine to make it a fast-running car. We got a new car when I was seven years old, but I can still feel the sensation of how that car zoomed! I remember the day the plant closed. My sister Barb was a freshman at I.U. Bloomington and called home crying; she thought that she was going to have to quit college. It was awful; the family was in turmoil. Fortunately, my Dad landed a job 3 to 5 weeks later and became a deliveryman for Kreamo Bread. I can still see him standing in the living room in a colorful gold and green Kreamo uniform. My Mom was elated that he was employed; I was somewhat embarrassed that he was wearing an obnoxiously colored uniform. Chris Sopczynski
"Studebaker Christmas"I remember my mother picking my sisters and I up from school and going to Studebaker's to pick up my dad. The cars were lined up across from the train station, like they do nowadays at schools when parents pick up their children. Most families only had one car. Also, the Christmas parties were fabulous. The one I can remember was located at John Adams High School. We watched a live production of the Music Man. Every child received a gift (that year we got a camera!) and candy! It was something I will never forget! My Father, Eddie Rusinek , worked for Studebaker's for over 20 years. Pam Griffin
"A Studebaker Family...Still"My father, Ralph Harrell, worked for Studebaker for over 25 years. He started in 1941, right out of Washington High School. He fought in WW II and then returned to Studebaker after the war. At one time his father, Jesse Harrell, his two brothers and three sisters all worked at Studebaker. In 1946 my mother also worked at Studebaker and they met and married in that same year. When we were all very young I can remember family get-togethers at my grandmother's house in the summer and everyone felt lucky to work at Studebaker, as it was such a family business. Whenever we would have family pictures taken we wouldn't say "Cheese", we'd say "Studebaker"!!! I remember him working on the designs of the Studebaker Lark and in 1961 brought home a new black Lark, the car my mother learned to drive. My father never owned anything but a Studebaker until about 1970. In about 1967 he would drive home one of the Avanti's from the factory and I remember he let me drive it once. To my surprise it's the white one with the orange interior at the Studebaker Museum! The day that Studebaker closed was a very sad day, not just for us, but for all of South Bend. I remember my parents going on trips to look for another job for my dad and my brother and I worried that we'd have to move. He was a senior in high school and I was a freshman. Fortunately, he was hired at Bendix and worked there for another 20 plus years, but it was never the same as working at Studebaker. Kathi (Harrell) Hussman
"Fear of a Ghost Town"My father worked at Studebaker and I remember riding in the car with my mother to pick him up after work. Everyone would "double-park" on the street right across from Union Station and wait for the workers to exit the factory. A siren would sound to signal the end of the workday and the workers would come out to the cars. I remember listening to discussions between my parents and grandparents (my grandfather retired from Studebaker) regarding lay-offs, model changes, and the work in general. Studebaker was family-friendly. I remember family picnics at Playland Park and my first visit to a movie theatre (Music Man) was compliments of free tickets from Stude's; and they sponsored wonderful Christmas parties. We were able to tour the assembly line areas (all I remember is wooden floors and metal tracks) prior to the dinner and then we all got nice Christmas presents relevant to our age. I will never forget the closing of Studebaker. Everyone feared a ghost-town would result from the closing. I had to go with my mother to pick up food provided through federal assistance and how embarrassed my parents were that they had to accept this relief. My father resented the loss of his pension fund after having worked for Studebaker's for nearly twenty years. It was a scary time because we were not used to unemployment in the early 60s and Studebaker was such a large employer. My parents' friends provided us with Christmas presents that year - I got a Barbie doll and a Barbie dream house...I often wondered if I would have ever received such an extravagant gift had we not experienced this event! My father sought employment at Notre Dame because he did not want to risk another factory shutdown or lay-off. His friends often remarked "Notre Dame, it doesn't pay much, but it is steady". MEK
"An Officer's Story"I worked at the Studebaker car corporation from 1958 until the 1963 closing. I am and have always been a resident of South Bend. My Father Harry L. Delinski worked at Studebaker for 28 years. My Father reorganized and was the first president of the amalgamated Union Local 5 U.A.W. Region 3. He was the Union Local 5 president over Allied Stamping, Cummins Diesel, and what is now known as AM General. Your cover story on the Notre Dame page brought back memories that I have forgotten. I have my father’s 25-year Studebaker service pin. I remembered the general overlay of the plant, the suicides, the people I worked with and what they did after the end of Studebaker. I was at the Ironwood facility when some of the filming was done on Avanti. I have been a police officer for over 40 years--with the South Bend Police Department as well as Notre Dame Police. Kenneth L. Delinski.
"The Painter"My father Harry G. Stroobandt worked at Studebakers for 42 years. He emigrated from Belgium at the age of 14. He served some time in the military before beginning his 42-year tenure at Studebakers. He was caught in the closing and lost his retirement after all those years. His job was in the painting department where he ended up as a foreman. He was later approached by Avanti to come back to work the same job, which he did. During that time, a television segment was done on retired, working men. He was interviewed on TV at the Avanti site, where they filmed him painting. Lucky for my dad, he had been a saver during his years at Studebakers. He purchased bonds with every paycheck. He took pride in his work. During the Depression his painting in our garage of chrome kitchen sets and cars took care of us. A generation of good, hard-working people… Mary Jo (Stroobandt) Oneil
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