Charlotte Pipe and Foundry
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- Jasper Barber oral history interview, 1993 September 22
- Jasper Barber was a Charlotte Pipe and Foundry employee for twenty seven years at the time of the interview. Mr. Barber was hired in 1968 as a machinist for the newly created Plastics Division, and he discusses the various early practical and administrative challenges for the Plastics Division. He also discusses the technical details of plastic pipe molding and the growth of the pipe industry. Throughout the interview, Mr. Barber shares anecdotes about co-workers and foremen at Charlotte Pipe, and when asked about the reason for Charlotte Pipe's growth, he responds that the company's treatment of its workers is key to its success.
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- Wilma Conder oral history interview, 1993 September 22
- In her interview, Wilma Conder recounts her twenty-five years at the Charlotte Pipe and Foundry plastics plant. Mrs. Conder discusses her job as an operator of a large molding machine, noting her pioneering efforts in this position as few women dared to work in the dangerous industrial side of the business. Explaining that she was always willing to accept a challenge, Mrs. Conder worked her way up in the company and advanced from molding machine operator to head of the shipping department. She discusses how the company's rapid growth, along with technological advances in automated machinery, affected the employees and the nature of the company's business over the years. In addition to recounting the company's expansion and development, Mrs. Conder explains that Charlotte Pipe provided support for the employees in their efforts to learn new skills. Specifically, she describes how the company's patience and understanding fostered a team-like atmosphere in which employees worked collaboratively to ensure completion of projects.
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- Dorothy "Dot" Hager oral history interview, 1993 November 2
- Dorothy "Dot" Hager recounts her thirty-nine years at Charlotte Pipe and Foundry as she advanced from the payroll department to her position as secretary-treasurer in the accounting department. In her role as secretary-treasurer, she explains her responsibility in managing the company's money and she describes how their accounting system had evolved over time from simple and unsophisticated adding machines in the 1950s to personal computers which allowed them to process vast amounts of complex information. She explains how these technological innovations improved their methods for tracking company gains and losses, and increased the efficiency and speed of her accounting work. Having worked for three generations of the Dowd family, who owned and ran the company, Mrs. Hager offers her unique perspective on their strong leadership, as well as the positive workplace relationships that existed amongst employees and company management.
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- Kneever “Joe” Morrow, Sr. oral history interview, 1993 June 15
- Kneever Morrow worked at Charlotte Pipe and Foundry for approximately thirty-two years, and he recounts the various jobs he held with the company. Mr. Morrow explains how he received his nickname, "Joe," while working at Charlotte Pipe and Foundry. He describes the work and social environment at Charlotte Pipe and Foundry, and discusses his opinions on the 1974 union strike at the foundry, including the causes, the repercussions, and his personal reasons for not partaking in the strike. Mr. Morrow also briefly discusses the urbanization of Charlotte and shares his thoughts on the owners, the Dowd family, and various coworkers at Charlotte Pipe and Foundry.
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- Jim Price oral history interview, 1993 June 8
- In this interview, Jim Price recounts his fifty years of service at the Charlotte Pipe and Foundry as well as his Air Force training during World War II. Mr. Price describes the working conditions at Charlotte Pipe as perilous in nature and discusses how they could occasionally lead to injury and death. He talks about how overall conditions improved as the foundry modernized and mechanized over time. He explains how the technical training he received during the war prepared him for the automation work techniques and the complicated machines that were later installed at the foundry. Also, Mr. Price describes relationships between foundry employees and their supervisors. In particular, he fondly remembers working under a plant manager who was known as a "slave driver," but who was also both fair and loyal to his most dedicated, hardworking employees.
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- Earl Raborn oral history interview, 1993 October 21
- In this interview, Earl Raborn recounts his forty-five year career in the personnel department of Charlotte Pipe and Foundry. He discusses his role as personnel director and the developments that occurred during his leadership in the personnel department. Mr. Raborn describes how the personnel department’s policies evolved over time, from the company's use of simple and unsophisticated procedures in the 1940s, to his efforts in assisting with the development of more stringent company personnel policies required under government regulations in the 1990s. He also discusses the efforts of the company's plastics and cast iron operations to maintain a much cleaner work environment, stating that Charlotte Pipe has attempted to redress many of the environmental concerns of the company, and giving details about their efforts to comply with the federal and local environmental regulations. Lastly, Mr. Raborn discusses the evolving culture of the workforce and he emphasizes the changes in employee camaraderie and workplace social interaction.
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- Don Williams oral history interview, 1993 October 22
- In this interview, Don Williams recounts his twenty-five year career at Charlotte Pipe and Foundry and discusses his current position in the company's newly created Industrial Division. Hired in 1968, Mr. Williams discusses how he came to work at Charlotte Pipe and his experience working in the nascent Plastics Division. He provides technical details of plastic pipe molding, as well as a brief history of the division that focuses on the considerable growth of the Plastics Division. Mr. Williams also discusses company policies and the Plastic Division's work scheduling, and how the schedule flexibility helped workers. Throughout the interview, he shares anecdotes about his co-workers, foremen, and the founders of the company, the Dowd family., Don Williams was a 54-year-old man at the time of interview , which took place at Charlotte Pipe and Foundry, Plastics Division in North Carolina. He was born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1939. He completed high school and worked in the plastics plant and industrial division at Charlotte Pipe and Foundry., Digitization made possible by funding from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.
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- Hassey Gibson oral history interview, 1993 June 3
- Hassey Gibson was a Charlotte Pipe and Foundry ironworker for fifty-two years. He began to work as a piece worker in 1925, but moved on to do various jobs within the plant. At the beginning of the interview, Mr. Gibson recounts his early work and the social environment of Charlotte Pipe. He goes on to describe complicated details of cast molding setup and takedown. During his description of this process, he provides insights into the unique vocabulary of ironworkers used to describe items and processes. In addition to describing processes, Mr. Gibson also relates anecdotes and gives his opinions on the owners, the Dowd family and various coworkers at Charlotte Pipe. Events mentioned in brief are the Foundry's fire of 1930, racial relations and tensions in Charlotte Pipe of the 1960s, and the union strike of 1974.