[GreenKeys] WECo Hawthorn Works

[Buzz]

My dad worked at HW after the war and I would meet him once a month for a tour.
HW was truly an amazing place!  We toured the wire mill, foundry, assy. lines
for switchboards, and all other types of telephone equipment.  Dad pointed out
the "road that goes nowhere", which looked like the beginnings of a freeway on
ramp but then leveled out for a few hundred yards.  Dad told me that during the
war they would haul equipment vans up there covered in tarps, usually at night,
to get above the ground clutter.  All very hush, hush, top secret etc. turned
out they were testing radar.

Buzz

BTW, Dad worked for WECO for 48 years before he retired at age 65.
I worked for WECO for 23 years and took early retirement in 1991 at age 53!


On Thu, 15 Feb 2007 21:22:28 -0600, you wrote:
>Western Electric Company (WECo) Hawthorne Works (HW)...
>The Hawthorne Works (HW) occupied 63 acres of land in Cicero, IL. In  
>1919, HW was the only WECo manufacturing plant in the Bell System.  
>The plant expanded, building by building, until it grew by 1985,to  
>144 Acres; 1.4 million feet of factory, support centers and office  
>space.