[GreenKeys] Getting started on the W.U. History thread

[jhaynes@alumni.uark.edu]

I would first suggest some reading material.

The Story of Telecommunications by George Oslin.  I believe this is still
in print in paperback by Mercer University Press.  Oslin was the public
relations man for W.U. for many years, and wrote this book at the age of 
92.  

The Telegraph : a History by Lewis Coe.  I believe this is still in print
by the publisher McFarland & Co.  I don't know where Mr. Coe comes from,
but he might be an ex-Postal Telegraph person, as his book leaves out a
lot of stuff that Oslin puts in and puts in a lot of stuff that Oslin 
leaves out.  

One Man's Century by George Oslin, also Mercer University Press.  This is
more autobiographical and doesn't concentrate on Western Union, but still
there is some W.U. material in here and much of Oslin's life was spent
with W.U.

Old Wires and New Waves by Harlow.  This is a circa 1936 equivalent of
Oslin's book (although Oslin's research turned up some early material
unknown to Harlow).  It supposedly is going to be reprinted by Ayer Co.
but they haven't done it yet.  Maybe if enough of us bug them...
otherwise try your library.

The American Telegrapher: a social history 1860-1900 by Edwin Gabler,
Rutgers University Press, 1988.  Those of us in the green keys
community perhaps don't care much about these early days; we are
more interested in the era of printing telegraphy.  However if you
are interested in earlier W.U. history and the labor movement in
telegraphy you will enjoy this book.  

My Sisters Telegraphic - Women in the Telegraph Office, 1846-1950 by 
Thomas C. Jepsen, Ohio University Press.  This is another book that
may not interest the green keyers much; but we are trying in this
thread on W.U. history to reach out to retired W.U. employees as
well as hard-core techies.

Now I will mention my personal field of interest.  I'm an engineer,
once worked for Teletype, never worked for W.U. but had friends who
did.  I'm more interested in the engineering side of W.U. history 
than in other aspects.  When we talk about the demise of the company
I tend to look at it from an engineering standpoint, that is, in
terms of projects and services and technologies.  We can read in the
business press that W.U. went down the drain because more money was
going out than was coming in and they couldn't seem to fix it; but
I tend to ask whether Telex, Autodin, microwave transmission, 
satellites, and other services were making or losing money and why.