Top 40 Erie Industries in 1950

As I was coming home last night on East 12th Street, a couple of things caught my eye. The setting sun looked like a blazing ball of fire in the sky. The three smokestacks were a sad reminder of the old Hammermill Paper Company on East Lake Road. I turned north on Downing Avenue and captured this scene just before the sun disappeared below the horizon 

The stacks also got me thinking about what a great manufacturing town Erie, Pennsylvania was. Coincidentally, I found a list of the principal industries of Erie in a 1950 publication. Thousands of skilled workers were employed in these shops. Just a handful of these businesses remain.* See if you can name them.

Alsco, Inc. made aluminum windows and doors
American Sterilizer Company
Henry Althof & Sons specialized in iron and iron works
American Hollow Boring Co. made forgings
Bliley Electric Company
Bucyrus-Erie made steam shovels
Burke Electric Company made motors
Bury Compressor Company made compressors
Cascade Foundry Company made castings
Continental Rubber Works made rubber goods
Erie Brewing Company made beer
Erie City Iron Works
Erie Concrete and Steel Company fabricated steel
Erie Forge Company made machinery
Erie Foundry Company made machinery
Erie Malleable Iron Works
Erie Meter System made meters for gas station pumps
Erie Plastics Company made radio parts
Erie Resistor Corp. made radio parts
General Electric Co. makes locomotives
Griffin Mfg. Company made hardware
Hammermill Paper Company made quality writing paper
Hays Mfg. Company made brass  products
Jarecki Mfg. Company made valves and fittings
Johnson Metal Products made metal items
Kollman Mfg. Company made sewer and drain cleaners
Lord Mfg. Co. made rubber mountings
Lovell Mfg. Co. made wringer washers and mouse traps
Metric Metal Works made gas meters
National Erie Corporation made machinery
Nosco Plastics manufactured items out of plastic
Nubone Company made items for undergarments
Odin Stove Company made stoves
Pelham Electric Manufacturing
Penn Brass and Copper
Perma-Lite Displays made neon tubing for signs
Protane Corporation made items for gas
Reed Manufacturing Company
Skinner Engine Company
Standard Stoker Inc.
Talon Inc. made zippers
U. S. Printing & Lithograph Company made circus posters
Wayne Brewing Company made beer
Weil-McLain Company made radiators
J. A. Zurn Company

*some companies merged with others or operate today under a different name

Enjoy more facts and photos of Erie, PA at: Old Time Erie

Top 20 Credit Unions in Erie, PA in 1970

Back in 1970, nearly every major industry had its own employee credit union. A few of the big employers in Erie, Pennsylvania included Hammermill, Marx and the New York Central Railroad. Let's see how many you recognize from this list:

American Sterilizer Federal Credit Union, 2545 West 23rd St., Erie, PA
Bucyrus Erie Employees Federal Credit Union, 1521 Raspberry St.
Employees of General Electric Federal Credit Union No. 1161, 3525 Main St., Lawrence Park
Erie Fireman Federal Credit Union, 1740 West 26th St.
Erie Hamot Federal Credit Union, 231 State St.
Erie School Employees Federal Credit Union, 1106 East 9th St.
Fenestra Federal Credit Union, 4040 West 20th St.
General Teamsters Local 397 Federal Credit Union, 1918 West 12th St.
Hammermill Employees Federal Credit Union, 1306 East Lake Rd.
Kaiser Erie Federal Credit Union, 1015 East 12th St.
LC-DCF Employees of GE Federal Credit Union, 2154 East Lake Rd.
L T C Federal Credit Union, 218 West 29th St.
Loc & Cont Employees Federal Credit Union 1111, 2230 Broad St.
Lord Employees Federal Credit Union, 1635 West 12th St.
Marx Toy Federal Credit Union, 962 West 20th St.
N Y C Erie Federal Credit Union, 110 West 13th St.
National Forge & Steel Federal Credit Union, 3202 Maple St.
Rubber Employees Federal Credit Union, 962 West 20th St.
Smith-Erie Federal Credit Union, 1602 Wagner Ave.
Toymakers Federal Credit Union, Penn Avenue Ext., Girard, PA
Zurn Industries Inc. Credit Union, 1801 Pittsburgh Ave.

Enjoy more historic facts and photos of Erie, PA at: oldtimeerie.blogspot.com