Many of the younger set don't know nor realize how very important Trenton and the surrounding area was insofar as industrial prominence. DeLaval, C.V. Hill, Philco, Lenox, Baldwin Hill, Homasote (Agasote), General Electric, Westinghouse, General Motors, American Standard, Thermoid, Sloane-Blabon (Today's Congoleum), United States Steet, and many other industrial giants provided employment for many Mercer County and the surrounding area. Then along came the middle of the 20th century, times were good, salaries and benefits were moving ever upward, the Unions wanted more, management wanted less, and without being too simplistic, post war Trenton began to give way to Japanese and Brazilian steel, countless off-shore products that the high paying industries could not compete with, and within a period of transition, Trenton and the area could safely be defined as a card-carrying member of the "Rust Belt." Above is just a miniscule sampling of the wonderful companies that are no longer part of the "Trenton Makes - The World Takes" lexicon. But we had our time to shine, and it is very unfortunate that American workers couldn't compete with fifty cents and hour foreign workers.
Ralph Lucarella said...- HI TOM....IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE HOW MUCH CHANGE HAS TAKEN PLACE IN THE TRENTON AREA SINCE THE MIDDLE OF THE CENTURY. WE WERE AMONG THE BIGGEST INDUSTRIAL SECTIONS OF THE EAST AND AS GOOD AS THE UNIONS ARE, THEY PROABLY WERE THE MAJOR CAUSE OF EVERYONE LEAVING. GENERAL MOTORS WAS THE LAST OF THE BIG GUYS IN THE LATE 1930'S. LENOX CHINA AND AMERICAN STANDARD AMONG OTHERS WERE NOT ABLE TO INCREASE WAGES AS MUCH AS THE UNIONS DEMANDED. I WAS TOO YOUNG TO GET HIRED AT THE TIME AND FINALLY MADE THE GRADE ON THE POST OFFICE EXAM. AFTER THAT I COULD WRITE A BOOK TO EXPLAIN ALL THE ACTIVITES I GOT INVOLVED IN. BEST REGARDS.
