Working for Pay and for Pride
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Work in the steel mills was always hot and hard. Gradually, though, it became safer and less exhausting. In the early days, 12-hour days and six-day weeks lead to less alert workers and many accidents. Shorter work days and, later, more safety training and equipment, made mill work much safer after the 1930s. Labor unions played a big part in making these changes.
While millworkers were glad when payday came, they also felt rewarded by a job well-done. They were proud of the teamwork of their work crews. When the country needed more steel to make weapons during wartime, they worked extra hard and celebrated their contributions to the war effort.
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Cambria Iron rolling mill, 1876 |
The row of chimneys are open hearth furnaces and the thick chimney is a blast furnace. |
These men were loading materials into the top of a blast furnace. Around 1900. |
A view from the foundry, these men are "tapping" steel. They are pouring the molten steel from the ladle into the mold below. |
The 46-inch rolling mill rolled steel plate. |
The large object behind the two men is a forging hammer and was used for forging axels. This photo was taken inside the Blacksmith's Shop. |
Taken in the 9-inch rolling mill, these are 5 or 6 stands of roller. The men pictured here were called "rollers." They fed a piece of steel back and forth through the roller to acquire the desired shape. |
134-inch plate mill |
34-inch plate mill |
46-inch mill in Gautier works. This photo was taken before the building was completed. |
The rolls of wire are from the Wire Plant located in Morrellville |
Taken in the foundry of Bethlehem's Lower Works mid- to late 1930s. |
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