[TheForge] Test

[Dann Johnson]

Bob,

When I was in college,  I worked night shift at an Aluminum Foundry in Le 
Sueur, Mn.  I think 4 of my wife's 7 brothers still work there.   Last that 
I knew the Dotson Foundry  of Mankato, Mn that had the Little Giant Trip 
hammers before selling out to Sid, was still running full 
shifts.    Foundry work has represented hard hot work, but at least it 
earned a decent wage.



In 1937, Little Giant went bankrupt, and L.J. Fazendin bought up the assets 
and became the owner. In 1943 Fazendin's son-in-law, Jerry Dotson, joined 
the company. At this point, the outlook was good. Because of the war, trip 
hammers were necessary, and Little Giant's was the best. In its 
specification, the government required: "Little Giant or equal." Under 
Jerry Dotson's leadership the foundry grew from a very small captive 
foundry, to a relatively large jobbing foundry. Jerry was instrumental in 
persuading several foundries to close down and transfer their business to 
Dotson. The first union contract was signed in 1944 and started a close 
working relationship that has continued for over 50 years. When Mr. 
Fazendin died in 1955, Jerry Dotson continued on as president of The Dotson 
Company and Fairview Corporation.


http://www.dotson.com/history.htm

Dann Johnson

At 08:01 AM 4/14/2004 -0500, you wrote:
>I be here. Very nice weather here in southeast Minnesota. High 60s
>today maybe 70. Rain forecast for the weekend and we need it. I am
>sharpening 80 small chisels for a foundry today. In spite of all the
>foundry work moving to China the foundry here is hiring help and
>adding shifts. Using more chisels too. Good for me.
>
>Bob
>_____
>
>
>On Apr 14, 2004, at 7:04 AM, Dave Brown wrote:
>
>>Been real quiet lately.  I checked the membership list and we still have 
>>368 active(?) members.  Where is everyone?
>>
>>Dave Brown
>>Heritage Smithing
>>Green Bay, WI
>
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