IF YOU KNOW OF

ANY HOUSES OR APARTMENTS FOR

· RENT, PLEASE

ij CONTACT PERSON­NEL IMMEDIATELY '

REMEMBER DAD ON JUNE 20TH. IT'S FATHER'S

DAY.

May 28, 1948 * Published by and for the Employees of the Hamilton Watch Co., Lancaster, Penna. * Vol. 6 No. 5 Copyright, 1948, Hamilton Watch Co., Lancaster, Penna.

FRANK C. BECKWITH RETIRES

l\'.Ir. Beckwith

On April 13, 1948, after 39 years of active service !n capaci­ties ranging from Sales Manager to Company President, Mr. Frank C. Beckwith retired from an active part in Hamilton management. He was however, re-elected as a Hamilton di-rector. ·

From the first day he arrived at Hamilton back in 1909 after 21 years with Josepli Fahys & Company, a Long Island, New York, organizatiqn··.wq.o manufactured wa:tch cases, to the time of his retireme,fiti. hi keen mind, sparkling personal­ity, graciousness and neift' &P:pearance made him a respecte_d and well liked executive. He spoke well of everyone and his uncanny ability to mix seriousness with cheerfulness is one of his many gifted attributes.

Born on September 11, 1870, at Eas~ Hampton, New York, he received his education in the public schools of Sag Harbor, New York. His first position as a Hamiltonian was that of Sales Manager.

On February 8, 1910, he became Secretary of the Hamilton Watch Company. At the death of H. S. Williamson on Decem­ber 20 1917 Mr. Beckwith filled the vacancy on the Hamilton Board' of Directors and on February 12, 1918, he was re-elected a member of the Board of Directors at the annual meeting of the stockholders.

Two years later on February 20, 1920, Mr. Beckwith was elected Vice President succeeding Mr. James Shand. At the death of Mr. Charles F . Miller, Hamilton President, on July 18, 1931, Mr. Beckwith was elected President of the Hamilton Watch Company on August 27, 1931, being succeeded eight years later by Mr. Calvin Kendig on April 11, 1939.

Mr. Beckwith was Chairman of the Hamilton Board of Directors from 1933 to 1948, being' succeeded by Mr. Kendig.

Youthful looking for his 78 years, Mr. Beckwith has always maintained a keen interest in swimming and fishing. His favor­ite vacation spot is Florida.

He has always taken an active part in local civic affairs. At the present time he is a trustee of the Young Men's Chris­tian Association an organization in which he has been both president and vi~e president; a member of the finance commit­tee of the Lancaster Community Association; . a member of the distribution committee of the Lancaster Community Trust ; a member of the American Society of Sales Executives in which he has served as treasurer and executive committeeman; a member of the Board of the Free Public Library; an original member of the Board of the Lancaster Boys Club; an honorary member of the Lancaster Exchange Club; an honorary mem­ber of the Twenty-Four Carat Club of New York City; a mem­ber of the First Methodist Church where he is also a member of the Board, and a member of the Hamilton Club.

He has been married since 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Beckwith have one daughter, Lois.

ALBERT VUILLE ON BUSINESS VISIT HERE

Four thousand miles by air in 32 hours from Geneva, Switzerland, to New York, that's the trip made by Albert Julien Vuille on a busi­ness visit to the factory early in May.

Mr. Vuille, who preferably likes to be called Albert, has been Ham­ilton's foreign representative for 20 years. This is his first visit here since June 1945. He intends to stay until the early part of next month.

Albert, who likes America very much and who first worked in this country in 1913, started with the Hamilton Watch Company in 1928.

His knowledge of the Swiss watch industry and the foreign watch market has furnished Ham­ilton with valuable information down through the years.

Actually, Albert's i n t e r e s t in watches started some 50 years ago when at the age of five he watch­ed his grandfather make them. After the customary early educa­tion he entered the School of Com­mer~e in Switzerland when he was 15. Since Albert wasn't interested in making watches, (he admits it was just a hobby), he decided that the commer cial end of the busi­n ess was a great deal more fas­cinating.

Graduating from the School of Commerce at 18, Albert decided to step out into the world and secure some practical experience in the field of selling. He went to Ger­many and worked for 20 months as a clerk in a wholesale watch company. To further his educa­tion, he left Germany and took a job as a jewel inspector with an Italian watch concern. He was with this company for three months.

In 1913 Albert came to America. He landed in New York and for the next 20 months he worked as a clerk in the watch parts and tools department of Sussfeld-Lorch & Company, importers of watches, clocks, tools, etc.

In 1915 with World War I on, Albert returned to Switzerland through Italy since that country wasn't involved in the war at that particular time.

After the war, Albert became the Swiss agent for Sussfeld-Lorch & Company and worked in that ca­pacity until 1928 when he joined Hamilton as its foreign represen­tative.

Albert was married in 1916 and resides with his wife and 19 year

TWO HOLIDAYS With Memorial Day and

the Fourth of July botli fall­ing on Sundays this year, the factory and office will celebrate these holidays on the following Mondays.

The factory and office will be closed on Monday, May 31 for the observance of Me­morial Day. The factory and office will be closed Monday, July 5 for t:he observance of Fourth of July.

Mr. Vuille

old daughter, Erica, at Bienne, rue des Alpes 32, where he also has his private office.

Sometime you are contemplating a trip to Europe, Albert invites you to his home in Bienne. "My door is always open to any Hamil­tonian," Albert said.

RUST SEASON With the advent of warm

weather another rust season is upon us. In order to pre­vent loss of finished parts it is advisable that the follow­ing precautions be followed:

(1). Use tweezers or finger cots in handling watch parts. Never handle parts with your bare fingers.

(2). Do not eat food at your work bench. Salt from pretzels, peanuts and potato chips is very corrosive. The acids from fruits also pro­mote rust.

(3). Keep work in proper containers at all times. Be sure container is clean be­fore anything is placed in it.

(4). Protect work by keep­ing it covered with oil or use VPI paper. Humid air blowing in open windows over watch parts tends to promote rust.

Just four s imp 1 e rules, that's all. A little extra thought on our part will en­able us to carry them out.

THE BEST TO THE BEST

At a special ceremony before the opening game of the 1948 American League baseball season in Yankee Stadium between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, nine members of the Yankees received Hamlltons from the New York management in appreciation of their winning efforts in annexing the 1947 World Series from the Brooklyn Dodgers. Pictured above is Baseball Com­missioner, A. B. (Happy) Chandler, (left), presenting a Hamilton Hale to second baseman George Stlrnweiss with New York's Gov­ernor Thomas E. Dewey lookin i>D. The Yank players had their choice of Gordon or Midas strap "wittches or a Hale pocket watch. On the dial of each of the watche , eplacing the usual numerals, were applied gold letters spelling, W-0.-'R-L-D C-H-A-M-P-S. New York Yankees 1947 was lettered in the center of the dial. Hamilton watch presentations started back in 1988 when the Yanks won the 1937 Series, continued tn 19'12 for the 1941 Series victory and again In 194'1 for the 1948 title. This year just those Yankees, who hadn't previously received Hamiltons, were honolled.

IMPORTANT: Telephones are vital tools of industry. The telephone switchboard here at the plant has a limited ca­pacity and should be kept as free as possible for strictly business and emergency calls.

2

Volume 6 Timely Topics Number 5

EDITORIAL BOARD WALLACE BORK, Chair., Prod. Control

J. ED. MILLER, Case Order Division MARGARET SHADE, Chem. and Met. Res.

HAZEL KELLER, Case Office

EDITORIAL STAFF General News and Production, CHARLES H . FREY

Personnel Consultant. R. A. PRESTON Cartoonist, CHARLES SHINDELL, Jr. Copyright, 1948, Hamilton Watch Co., Lancaster, Penna.

Quotation or reproduction forbidden unless permission has been granted.

LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA MAY 28, 1948

HAMIL TON'S SITUATIOiN TODAY (An editorial by President Kant)

The interest and curiosity of each one of us in the affairs of our company is a healthy and natural thing. It has been an unwritten company policy to satisfy this interest as well as possible. Hamilton was among the first companies to · distribute its annual report to employees as well as stockholders. In between annual reports other information believed to be of interest has been released in Timely Topics.

The information furnished hasn't always qeen favorable. Some­times it has been about things that affect the company but over which we have little if any control. But good or bad, controllable or uncontrollable, it is important to give the facts simply and directly.

A few weeks ago I spoke informally to our Management Associa­tion. In attempting to present a realistic and completely honest appraisal of our situation today I said:

"I do not know whether all of you fully realize that in manufacturing jeweled watch movements we are in a very highly competitive field. Our most dangerous competition for the foreseeable future will be from Swiss movements. The post-war inflation of cost has widened the differential between Swiss and American salaries and wages to the disadvantage of American watches. Tariff rates have re­mained unchanged since they were reduced twelve years ago, and they are not adequate. I want you to know that this situation is not being neglected, and the American watch industry has employed and is being advised by the best tariff counsel that is available. Future legislative relief is not hopeless, but to hope for any early adequate help from this angle is truly being unrealistic. Our imme­diate answer to this problem must, by necessity, be an unrelenting drive for efficiency in every division of our business. The continued great success of Hamilton, and the success of each of us who works for Hamilton, depends on results of our efforts.

I would like to mention one tremendous asset that we enjoy. Every one of us-every employee of this company-­can take a real pride in the prestige and acceptance of the name "Hamilton," with both consumers and dealers. Our position in this respect is second to absolutely no brand.

Believe me, this condition could not exist if we had just an ordinary watch that was very cleverly distributed, or if we had the finest watch in the world that was poorly distributed. The prestige and acceptance that Hamilton has earned could only be achieved by a team- a top-notch manufacturing organization and a first-class sales and advertising group. It goes without saying that if the finan­cial management had not been good, there would not even be a. Hamilton Watch Company today."

If Hamilton is to become a more and more important factor in the watch business- and surely that is our ambition- it is easy to see that we are collectively and individually facing a real challenge that calls for the utmost in both ingenuity and effort. I want to pledge my best efforts and ask for yours.

CHARLEY NEWCOMER HAS BEEN TRAFFIC OFFICER FOR 12 YEARS

There's one fellow the weatherman can't stop and that's Charley Newcomer, the Hamilton Watch Company's traffic officel".

Come snow, rain, sleet, cold or hot weather, Charley has been taking his old stand at the Columbia and West End Avenues corner every day except Saturdays and Sundays for

the past 12 years. Charley, who w or k s

full time in the Main­t en an c e Department, started his career as traffic officer in 1936 when he was sworn in by James Ross, Mayor of Lancaster who vest­ed him with the author­ity to make a r r es t s while on duty.

In his dozen years of giving the stop and go signals to the 12 noon and 5 P. M. traffic, he lists as his most diffi­cult assignment the handling of pedestrians.

"Buses and machines," O~cer Newcomer said Charley, "handle

· very well because they obey my signals. Pedestrians, on the other hand, have a tendency to disregard signals. That makes it tough for me and highly dangerous for them.

(Continued on Page 3, Cols. 4 & 5)

Timely Topics

Charley Shindell, A Man of Many Roles

Charley Shindell, the mustach­ioed Ben Blue of the Escape De­partment, is a man of many hob­bies, among them being dramatics.

He got into the thespian line via one of his other hobbies- painting. He was interested in painting scenery, so he joined the Lancas­ter Little Theatre group last year and in its first production, "Petti­coat Fever," he was stage man­ager. He has also handled the same assignment 'in "The Mon­key's Paw", "The Two Pound Look" and "The Strangest Feel­ing'', all productions being staged at the Malta Temple.

Serving his apprenticeship as stage manager, Charley turned to acting when the Little Theatre group decided to present its plays via radio over WLAN Lancaster. He played bit roles in two of the four presentations to date. He was postmaster and colored butler in

Actor Shindell "Horses Are Green." As a black­mailer opposite the leading lady, he did a good job in "The People vs Faith Gardner." His only lead­ing role was in the play, "Homer Smith, Maker of History", in which he portrayed "Homer Smith", a soldier. To show his versatility, Charley cast his lot as a sound ef­fects man in "'Room 16".

To add to his well rounded the­atrical backgroound as stage man­ager, sound effects man, actor and advertising manager, he is also on the Board of Governors' of the Little Theatre as well as being historian for the group, an organ­ization with an active membership of 35 people.

While acting isi his latest inter­est, Charley also dabbles in oil painting, sculpturing, miniature railroading as well as being car­toonist for TIMELY TOPICS.

Hamilton Girls Team Opens League Season The 1948 Girls' City Softball

League began operations on May 24 with the Hamilton Watch team defending its 1947 title and gun­ning for a second leg of three which will give it permanent pos­session ·of the trophy put into competition in 1946.

The circuit this year is working with five teams. They are: RCA, Armstrong Floor Plant, Hubley Manufacturing Co., New Holland Machine Co., and Hamilton. The new team added is New Holland. The team dropping out from last season is: Armstrong Closure.

Roy Sumpman (Dial), who hand­led the Merchants' team 'to a run­nerup spot in the Mount Joy Men's Softball circuit in 1947, and Red Shanabrook (F'in.), will manage the Hamilton team.

The players from last season's championship club that won 7 and lost 1 under Red (Finishing) Shanabrook's guidance, back for another campaign are: Betty For­rey (Screw Mfg.), Alice Johnson (Dial), Marthai Trollander (Screw Mfg.), Beatrice Hershey (Case), Betty Goodhart (Bal. & Hspg. As­sem.), Frances Burkhart (Dial), Jeanne Graeff (Jewel set.> and Julia Heida (,Dial & Mat'! Stores). T h e new candidates are: Joyce (Continued on P. 3, Col. 4 & 5)

While strolling through the factory one day in the merrie, merrie month of May, we picked up these notes: Hamilton's name will reach 153,034,125 readers from April to June (2nd quarter of Hamilton's Advertising year), with 14 full page advertisements (nine in color five in black and white) in nine leading magazines (Life, Look, Coun~ try Gentleman, Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, Esquire, National Geographic, Hoilday and Christian Science Monitor) with a com­bined circulation of 37,607,353.

E. W. Drescher (Supt. Prod. ~esign) spoke on the subject, "Ap­proach to Modern Movement Design," at the Horological. Institute of America meeting in Washington, D. C. on May 23 ••• 1\L N. Riven­burg (Prod: Adv.) and Jim Farmer (Prod, 'Perf.) play the piano for a hobby ... Both give out with the long hair (Imagine Farmer with lOIIlg hair) type of ivory tickling.

Harold Patterson (Case Stock) is no longer with the Company ... Pat Groah now works in that department ... Pat Kutz, (F. R. & Cost Stds.) is another fellow who causes headaches from the glare of his Lost Weekend neck-ties ... Bob Frey, President of the Hamil­ton Watchworkers Union, figures if jockeys wore silks corresponding to the colors in Paul's cravats, they'd frighten the horses.

There are times in life when a guy wishes he could crawl int.o the wallpaper and become one of the designs . • • Bill Dussinger (Mech. Plan.) ran into such a situation the other nite as he waddled up Market Alley near the Square duked out in tuxs and tails . . . Who should he meet but Ray D irks (Machine Shop), that bespec­tacled "tearer downer of character and people" • . . Ray immediately applied the biz to D ussie and in collaboration with Al (Springfield) Radcliffe (Equip. & Tool Des.), they're now billing "The Dussl' as "Willie the Penguin".

Any one interested in gaining knowledge on the slippery art of removing an eel from a hook, contact, take the elevator or wire Jean Hertzler (Dial) ... A few notes from Metals Processing: New employees are John English and Andy Haas ... Russ Haus of that section has an older brother, Johnnie, who is police reporter for the New Era.

Dicki Weitzel (Met. Proc.) figures he'll save $100.00 if he quit smoking for a year .. • Have you noticed how gray at the temples Skip Wise (Spec. Assem.) is getting? .•. George Dommel of the same dept., figures the chop kid must be gettin' old.

Doc Hergenrother (Screw Mfg.) spent three weeks preparing for one day of fishing . .. When F Day arrived it rained ... Doc's still batting a .1000 but can't figure out why he didn't get a rain check ... Four new employees in Case Office are: Josephine Parkyn, Char­lotte Ressler, Loretta Afflebach and Jim Zuchva.

Our correspondent, 6%, wires us that Jo~ie "Tripe" Werhel (Service) is the only fisherman in circulation who walks up to the Conowingo Dam bare handed ... That's because his two kids, Don and Bud, lug all the equipment ... Oscar YoWlg (Sm. Tool) returned to work on April 30 after being away since the week before Christ­mas due to illness.

Back in June 1927, Harry Ruthhart (Material Sales) organized the Hamilton Watch Company band, a 25 piece aggregation, that played its concerts in the parking enclosure outside the Service Dept. ... Excluding Harry, there are six members of that original outfit still working at Hamilton ... They are: Walt Breen (Maintenance), who blew a mean French horn; Edgar Way (Sm. Tool), the Gene Krupa of his day; Rudolph "Dude" Williams (Service), the Golden Twenties Tommy Dorsey of the trombone; Cornet man, Ai Dillich (Finishing); Dennis Staley (Damask), who operated the licorice stick like a Benny Goodman; and Charley Habecker (Bal. & F. S.), who pushed wind thru his clarinet a la Artie Shaw.

Speaking of musicians,, Joe Fratantuono, who started in Damas­keening on April 30, was leader of the Colonial Theatre orchestra back in the good old days of vaudeville ••• Joe played the violin ••• Aside to Bill Marks (Automatic): Watch it William .•. It was1 just about this time last year when you blacked out and woWld up cookin' a bunch of tulip bulbs for onions.

We understand that Frankie Byorick (Prod. Plan.) got so wrap­ped up listening to Bill Sterling's recent talk that he fell asleep ... Kenny Derr (Eng. Services), who is interested in art, figures there are some 25 or 30 covered bridges in Lancaster County . .. He intends to put them all on canvas in time .. . So far he's painted 10 ... Sally Rothermel (Spec> Assem.) went to Havre De Grace on Sat. April 26, and came home 81 clams wealthier because of a place investment on a beetle known as Yafinob.

Bob Rothfus (Bal. & F. S.), the ork leader, is expanding into the movie field • • . The Cecil B. DeMille of the Flat Steel sector bought out Frankie (B & F. S.) Hoffman's movie equipment and is now available for parties, taffy pulls, clam bakes and old maids' cOlll­ventions •.. Ed Powell (Bal. & F . S.) cracks walnuts in a vise up in that dept.

Machine Experimental had its first hay ride rained out on April 16th but did all right around the festive boards at Jane Colvin's Millersville home that evening . . . They tried their second hay ride on April 30th and this trip the weatherman cooperated ... George Clor, (Fit. St.) was a singing endman in the recent Millersville Min­strels ... Bertha Deibler (Frt. Jew!.) now believes in signs ... The reason: She took a high heeled flip-flop operating against one that said: "Slippery Floor".

Jack Scheffer (Escape) informs us that his two hobbies are deep sea fishing a nd reading, preferably science mags •.. Peggy Shade (Chem .-Met.) tells us that Bill Weiser (Met. Res. Lab.) and Mary Lou Sieber were enga,ged on April 24th . . • Bill and Mary Lou are both from York w he re they were classmates, •. Suie Hammer (Dial) bought a bottie of "'White Sh oulder s" perfume . . • After numerous applications of the sweet stuff it seemed to lose its odor and no mat­ter h ow much she used the bottle never went down •.• Came the day of daWIJl and Su ie foWld that by removbtg the wax ceiling on the bottle, the odor returned and the stuff started drainiilg out just like it should.

Bill Aukamp (Sales) played a round of golf down south recently and hired a colored caddie, who worked in his bare feet •. . The kid wouldn't bother to stoop to pick the ball out of the cup ... He'd just reach in with his t oes and lift it out.

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PRODUCT PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENT Although less than a year old

and still in its experimental knee pants, the Product Performance Department, supervised by Pro­duct Analyst J. W. Farmer is be­ginning to step out on its own under the guidance of Director of Quality A. B . Sinkler.

Charged with the responsibility for determining why the few Hamiltons that do not perform satisfactorily have gone wrong, and for getting this information to the places where it will do the most good, the department is producing data that are proving helpful to numerous other depart­ments of the Company.

The Product Performance oper­ation is basically simple, namely to examine watches, record the inspector's findings and transmit

J. W. Farmer, Product Analyst, looks over a watch through the Spencer steroscopic microscope.

the information to interested par­ties. The actual practice, however, is not as simple as might be sus­pected.

In examing the watches, no­thing is taken for granted. Al­though the inspector's basic tools are the conventional loupes, twee­zers, screwdrivers, and feelers used by watchmakers throughout the world, they are augmented by a modern Spencer steroscopic mi­croscope with a wide range of magnifications and a variety of lighting arrangements and the usual inspector's tricks are sup­plemented by detailed microsco­pic examination of any part con­cerning whose construction or function there is any doubt. Should this type of examination fail to get to the bottom of the trouble, all the resources of the Inspection a n d Engineering groups are available and the ser­vices of these outside experts are frequently . enlisted to eliminate the last possible element of guess­work.

The actual examination tech­nique is comparable to that of a coroner's autopsy in which no pains are spared to determine ex­actly what has gone wrong- and why, as well. Every part of each watch is inspected in detail, fol­lowing a definite sequence, even though, as sometimes happens, sufficient reason for the indicated trouble may be found without tearing down the watch, each watch is completely dissembled according to prescribed routine so that when the examination is completed the inspector's report covers the watch as a whole.

The standard applied to each watch is ex;pressed by the ques­tions: Is this watch, in each of its parts and assemblies, in such condition that it will perform in the manner that can reasonably be expected of a watch. of this grade over a reasonable length of time? Obviou11lY,.. applying a stan­dard of this sort calls for long and varied practical experience on the part of the technician who does the actual work.

The department's principal in­spector, Mr. G. Austin Fulk, ad­mirably fills this bill . Trained to the trade at the Rockford <Illin­ois) and Deuber-Hampden Watch Companies before he came to Hamilton some 42 years ago, Mr. Fulk has since earned an enviable reputation as a meticulous crafts­man. At various times since the department opened for business, Mr. Fulk has been assisted by Earl Koser and Ellis Landis, both now supervising inspectors in the Assembly group.

The second part of the job is to get the information to the people who can use it. Sometimes this must be done in a hurry. For ex­ample, some time ago, Mr. Fulk found a watch with one too many teeth in the hour wheel. One tooth more or less ~mt of thirty-odd may not sound like much, but it's plen­ty to throw the hour hand com­pletely out of synchronization with the minute hand. Further­more, these wheels are manufac­tured in lots of over 5000, and there was the possibility that if one had gotten through there might be thousands more. Through the facilities of the In­spection Department, the factory was alerted from the Train De­partment to the jobbers in Tim­ing & Casing, and the entire plant was ransacked to make sure that there were no more wheels with spare teeth. (It developed that only one had been made - the set-up man on the tooth cutting machine had corrected his error at once, and through a chain of unusual circumstances the one bad wheel had slipped through).

Ordinarily, however, informa­tion goes through a considerable "digesting" process before it is sent out. This process is designed to sort out the occasional errors and to concentrate attention on the faults that crop out repeated­ly. The first stage is the review of each individual report, to en­sure that it is complete and ac­curately represents the condition of the watch.

A Hamiltonian for 42 years, A. Austin Fulk is the chief inspector for the department.

The report form is made up of an original, which goes with the watch to the department that sent it to Product Performance for an­alysis, and a carbon copy, which is made on a card that is retained for reference.

One of the great differences be­tween the Product Performance Department operation and work of a similar nature carried on in the past is that Product Perform­ance is geared to maintain perma­nent records designed so that they can at any time be pulled out of file and analyzed for infor­mation by type of watch, type of defect, age of watch, apparent responsiblity for trouble, price class of watch and certain other factors. The card form is ar­ranged so that all this informa­tion can be punched into the edge of the form, making it possible to sort the cards rapidly and accu­rately by the desired classifica-

Timely Topics

It's Emily Linton's job to com­pile detailed statistical informa­tion for Product Performance.

tions. The essential information con­

tained in the reports is abstracted weekly and turned over to Miss Emily Linton, whose job it is to do the detailed statistical work of the department, along lines established by Mr. Farmer.

The Product Analyst's job is one of · interpreting the statistics, arranging them so that they can present a picture that is accurate, fair and reasonable, determining in what form , how frequently and to whom they shall be presented and then seeing that they get out to the interested persons promptly, accurately and in such arrange­ment that it is easy to interpret them correctly.

At the present time summary reports are presented each week to Messrs. Sinkler, M. L. Erb and Einar Borgerson, the three key men in the organization for main­taining quality in both parts, pro­duction and assembly. These re­ports show, by grade, the defects that occur most frequently. Spot reports on individual watches are sent to the Inspection Depart­ment and to foremen when war­ranted. In addition, the depart­ment prepares a quarterly report for Factory and Sales staffs, in which findings for the quarter are tabulated and charted. Other major and minor reports to a considerable number are prepared to cover in detail special situations that cannot be treated fully in routine studies.

Started as more or less of an experiment last June, Product Performance is making a place for itself among the many other departments that are working to­gether to keep Hamilton the great name it is in the watch industry.

8 TEAMS IN MEN'S H.R.A. SOFTBALL LOOP

With the H.R.A. Men's Softball League presently in operation with eight teams batting, some 145 employees are involved in the competition.

Dick Tshudy (T&C), the new president of the circuit, plans three rounds of play for the eight clubs which means that each team will play approximately 20 games, excluding the round robin playoffs listed for the end of the season.

The first round started in mid­May and will run until June 11. The second round starts on June

CHARLEY NEWCOMER (Continued From Page 2)

He lists a few simple safety precautions for pedestrians as follows:

(1). Do not jaywalk. It's dangerous. Use your intersec­tions for crossing the street.

(2). Don't step out into the middle of the street with the signal against you. When you do this you take your life in your hands.

(3). Obey the traffic signals. Walk with the traffic. Don't cross traffic. This is highly dangerous.

(4). Stay on the sidewalk until the signal for you to go is given.

(5). Standing in the street, just off the curb, when the signal is against you is also highly dangerous. It makes you a target for drivers who like to jockey into position by sneak­ing along close to the curb so that they can maneuver into the front line.

Charley, who succeeded Ed Baker as traffic officer, figures the 5 P. M. traffic rush is the heaviest of the day. It not only takes in the Hamilton employees, but the workers from nearby industries as well.

Fifteen minutes is the approximate time Charley has fig­ured for the traffic on both the 12 noon and the 5 P. M. shifts to pass. Naturally, on rainy or snowy days, it takes a bit longer.

Charley has only had one close call in his 12 years. That happened one rainy, Fall, 5 P. M. about four years ago.

"Traffic had just thinned out for the night run," said Charley, "but I figured I'd pass the few remaining cars on their way. I just happened to look up Columbia Avenue and there in the middle of, the street, coming west was a car headed my way at a nifty clip. I figured he'd slow down when he neared me. My judgment was poor and he piled right through.

"One of us had to move and it was me. I made a last sec­ond leap out of his way. He just missed me. I blew my whistle. He didn't stop. It was dark and raining and I couldn't catch his license number. I suppose he didn't see or hear me."

GIRLS' SOFTBALL (Continued From Page 2 )

3

Rhen (Personnel), Ida Smettz (Bal. St.), Suzanne Wiley (Screw Mfg.) Mary Ann Werhel (Bal. St.) , Freda; Dearolf (Cost Analysis), Elean'.or Patterson (Prod. Disp.), Helen Masters (Screw Mfg.), Wini­fred Vail (Dial), and Melvina Sabatini (Dial).

Hairspring Mtg. Standards I Assembly 1 A1

I Assembly Res. •B• Cost Analysis

HOW OLD ARE WE ? Production Dispatohing I Timing Some 0 f us look

forward to birthdays: Engineering Services I AVG. Mech. & Process Eng. AGE others would rather

ALL forget, None 0 f Personnel

I GROUPS us escape them.

Specialties Mtg. Compared to y'o u r Watch Design group or to all

Automatic - Dial

I Hamilton personnel,

Chem. & Met.Research how 01 d - or how Production Control Screw Manufacturing Young - are you?

In age? In spirit? Casing - Escape Office - Plate Specialties Assembly

Balance & Flat Steel

I Jewel Setting Time & Motion Study

Balance & Hairspring I cr·ystal Tool Lab. - Inspection Press - Small Tool

~

Bal. Staff - Dial & Mat. Stores Equip. & Tool Design Friction Jeweling - Train Watch Research - Works Lab.

Heat Treating - Service I

Finishing - Machine Shop Quality Control

Machine Experimental I

Damaskeening I

Foremen I

Maintenance I

Metals Processing I

Cafeteria I

15 20 25 30 35 4o 50 55 AVERAGE AGE

14 and will operate until mid-J uly with the third round following lo from mid-July and concluding the third week in August due to va­cation. The playoffs will start im­mediately following th e final games of the regular season.

Recently the Personnel Department compiled data .from its files on the agei range of the 30()()I employees presently employed in some 47 department8 throughout the Hamilton Watch Company. This in­formation was put in graph form and present.ed as an int.eresting page of flUltual mat.erial appearing in the April 19th Hamilton Man­agement Association Bulletin. From this graph of the 47 depart­ments listed, the foremen are put into a separat.e group, while the Office Building Departments are combined int.o one and listed as "Office." These are the flUlts: (1). The average age of all groups is 33. (2). The oldest average aged department is Ca.tet.eria, M years. (3). The Hairspring ManutlUlturing Department and the Standa.rds Section t.op the chart as the youngest age groups, 23 years.

The diamonds being used are located in Buchanan Park. They are known as the Upper and the Lower diamonds. The Lower diamond is located just below the Chi Phi fraternity house on Race Avenue. The Upper diamond is located above the Chi Phi house at the rocks.

4

• SPORTS SHORTS • According to Gene Barber (Prod. Con.), who will a.ct as bossman

of the 1948 H.R.A. Tennis Tournament, the matches will get Wlder­wa,y the latter part of June ••• Incidentally, Barber was recently re­appointed tennis pro at tho Lancaster Country Club.

Hamilton was well represented at the Penn Relays on April 23-24 . . . . For the 24th portion of the program Pax Gifford (Supv. Crystal Tool Lab.), Dave Goldberg (Chem. Met.), Ernie Mester (Section Supt.) and Bob Melsom (Mat'l Sales) were in the Franklin Field stands watching the events.

Gifford has something at stake every time the Penn Relays are run since he was on a team1 that set a world's record back in 1939 which still holds • • • Pax anchored the Mercersburg Academy 440 yard relay quartet to a world's Preparatory School record of 42.2 that year.

Ed Fechter (Machine Exp.), a recent Rutgers grad, used to pitch softball for teams in and around Trenton, N. J . ... He did hill duty for the Catholic War Vets in the Mercer County (Trenton) circuit, and the Trenton Porcelain team in the Trenton Industrial League ... He was also quite a soccer player, handling a wing job for the Don Poores outfit in the Trenton City circuit.

R. M. Kant, the new Hamilton President, likes the Boston Red Soxt to hit the wire on top in the American League ••. To date, he hasn't handed down his selection in the National circuit.

Paul Preston, a former Engineering Services employee who made his favorite sports of roller and ice skating pay off, is currently one of the stars in the "Iceland Fantasy" show playing the Boulevard Room of the Stevens Hotel in Chicago ... Dick Gable and Jack Hen­dricks, both of Prod. Disp., who play a lot of brass for Bob Lyter's band, have taken to tennis to smell like athletes . . . Gable, who pushes wind into a heated trumpet, could have had auditions with Tony Pastor, Charley Barnet and Dean Hudson.

Len Kissinger (Service), who is a member of the Lancaster Board of Baseball Umpires, informs us that since the local "shads" have upped their .per game fee to $7.50 all is not well between! them and the City & County League managers, who can't see eye to eye on the price • • • If the boys in the blue serge suits are working by the time you read this, you'll know they got their price.

In 1935 when the Detroit Tigers copped the world's title Hamilton pocket watches were ordered by the Bengal's front ·office with a special tiger head dial on each watch ... Norristown H. S. winners of the 1947-48 P .I.A.A. basketball championship, were given Hamilton gold wrist watches by the Norristown fans, while the Yor~ fans pre­sented Hamiltons to the York H. S. court team that won the District #3 title and then advanced to the semi-finals for the State crown where they were eliminated by Norristown.

Les Kachel (T&M), who used to churn a lot of water for F&M's tank team, holds an underwater swim mark of 94 yards which he established in 1941 in Fa.ckenthal Pool 001 the Diplomat campus ••• Les did a.11 but four lengths of the 35 ya.rd pool when he blacked out and had to be pulled from the drink by a spectator who dove in after him with his street clothes on.

Ken McMillen (Damaskeening), who is president of the Lan­caster Board of Football Officials, is also an active member of the livewire Millersville Recreation Association, an organization that does a lot in the way of sports for the kids of that thriving little metropolis.

There a.re approximately 75 ma.le employees active in noontime quoit activities at Hamilton ••• Even the gals are interested in toss­ing the brass rings • . • One department recently sent in a petition with thirty names on it . . • All the gals need is a location to start throwing the ringers.

Wilmer Gingrich (Chem. Res. Lab.) competed in the ABC tourn­ament at the Detroit Collosseum April 16-17 .. He rolled with the Bitzer-Nash Ambassador of the Merchant League .. Will's team had a total of 2729 and finished second high among 40 teams who rolled on their April 17th) shift ... Individually, Will rolled a 602 triple as a team member ... In the doubles he bowled 570, while he slumped slightly in the singles with a 490 ... The latter part! of this month, Fred Chambers (Plate) will also go to Detroit to compete as a mem­ber of the Dellinger's team of the Merchant League.

All you have to do in order to reserve a tennis court in the Barr Lot is to get a permit from Ken Weeks (Personnel) any working day, Monday thru Friday from 8 to 5 P. M.

Dick Weitzel (Metals Proc.) has given up competitive golf Can't find the time to play . . . The same goes for Mick Kiely (Bal. Staff) who used to be able to operate in fast golf company ... Mick figure~ he may have a few outings now and then over the Williamson Park course.

After 15 years in local and orga.nizoo baseball, Bob Braner (Spring Room) has hung up his glove and spikes •.. Paul Hershey (Assem­bly "'A''), manager of the Hamilton Tick Tock softballers, is looking a.round for another good pitcher t-0 make the Tick Tockers a tough number to knock off.

Dick Tshudy <T&C) ought to prove plenty capable as the new president of the H.R.A. Men's Softball League this year .. . He has a lot of sensible ideas ... This column thanks Ed Long (Works Lab.)

.for his fine cooperation as drum beater for the Hamilton Men's Bowling League this past season . : • Ed's term as secretary ex­. pired ... His successor is Charley Cibos (Escape).

Timely Topics

CASH PRIZES AND TROPHIES AWARDED AT HAMILTON MEN'S BOWLING PARTY

At the annual Hamilt-0n l\fen's Bowling League banquet, seventy­four keglers enjoyed the eats in the Plantation Room of Wiggins Restaurant.

Seventy-four members of the Hamilton Men's Bowling League gathered around th e festive boards in the Plantation Room of Wiggins Restaurant for the an­nual banquet on April 21st.

The awarding of trophies and small cash prizes to various teams and individual winners and the installation of the new league of­ficers highlighted the affair.

The Specialties Assembly team, winner of the "A" League, re­ceived trophies and individual cash awards of $3.00 each. The team was composed of: Captain George Falk, Bob Welsh, Jack Conklin, Eddie Bostick and Bob Lowery.

Individual trophies and $3.00 each went to the Spring Room team, winner of the "B" circuit, a club composed of: Captain Hen Dorwart, Ted Lamparter, Aubrey Landis, Charley Baltz and Dick Tshudy.

George Falk, who walked off with high average for "A" with a mark of 175.13 for 84 games, re­ceived a trophy and $3.00. Aubrey Landis, with a high average of 155.26 for 75 . games in "B,'' re­ceived a trophy and $3.00

Phares Ulmer (Plate) with a 602 triple in "A" won himself $2.50, while Hen Dorwart (Spring Room) with a 580 triple in "B,'' received the same amount of dough.

Hen Elsen (Bal. & Hspg.) with a 239 single in "A" received $2.50, while Paul (Movieman) McGee­han of Automatic, slapped a 228 single for top and $2.50 in "B."

The money for cash prizes came from the league's "kitty," while all the trophies were pre­sented by the H.R.A.

Bob Coxey, who rolled with Flat Steel in "A,'' was presented with a "5 Pin," since he had trou­ble making this one all year.

Abe Burkhart (Service), the retiring president, turned the meeting over to Don Smith (Ma­chine Exp.), the incoming prexy.

The league voted to go A.B.C. next year. It was decided to com­bine the leagues into one big 16 team Hamilton Men's Bowling Circuit next season.

The outgoing officers thanked those bowlers present for their fine cooperation throughout the year.

WOMEN'S PIN BANQUET FEATURES AWARDS AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Presenting the Pinions team, winner of the Women' s B-0wling League, and the retiring officers of the circuit. Back Row, All members of the Pinions, (L to R) : Margaret Cunningham. Ruth Reeser, Julia Heida, Arlene Hoff, Beatrice Hershey and Jean Hertzler. Front Row, the officers, (L to R): Evelyn Campbell, vice<­president; Jane Hougendobler, president; and Mildred Heaps, secretary. Miss Hertzler is also the treasurer of the league.

The awarding of cash prizes, gible for two cash awards, the medals and pins and the election $3.00 for high single went to of new officers for the 1948-49 Maude Kendig, a member of the bowling season highlighted the Clicks team, who rolled a 203 sin­annual Hamilton Women's Bowl- gle. ing League banquet attended by Pins were also awarded to the thirty-five keglers in the Planta- following g i r 1 s: Dot Shultz tion Room of the Wiggins Res- (Clicks), -Maude l{endig (Clicks), taurant on April 19th. Mildred Pickel (Cases), JaneHou-

The Pinions team, winner of gendobler (Barrels), Verna Wile the league with 79 victories and (Hands) , Jean Hertzler (Pinions) 41 reversals, were presented with and Evelyn Campbell (Stems), pins and $5.00 each. who all rolled games of 200 or

The Stems team which finished better during the season. second with 75 wins and 45 de- The officers elected for 1948-49 feats, received $3.00 each. are: President, Helen Rinick

Coming in for $1.50 per bowler (Train); Vice President, Frances was the Barrels team which Burkhart (Dial); Secretary, Mil­grabbed the "show" spot with 65 dred Heaps (Cost Analysis); As­victories and 55 defeats. sistant Secretary, Beatrice Her-

Verna Wile, who bowled for the shey, (Case); Treasurer, Geral­last place Hands team, individu- dine Jacobs (Dial); Assistant ally finished on top of the heap Treasurer, Julia Heida (Prod. with a fine 152.21 season average. Disp.) .

Paul ''Pike" Doman (Tabulating) is a former football and bas- For her efforts, Verna collected The captains elected for next ketball player from Catholic High ••• Because a suitable spot to $9.00 and a medal. year are: Julia Heida, Grace hold shoots has not as yet been Ioca.t.ed, the Hamilton Gwi Club has Dot Shultz of the Clicks team Hamlin (Case), Maude Kendig dropped out of circulation momentarily .•• Paul Brown (Bldg. Re- won two medals and $5.00 for a (Frt. Jew'!.) , · Dot Shultz (Frt. pairs) used to do a lot of running for Dick Madison at Lancaster high triple of 554 and a top single I Jew'!) , Helen Pickell (T&C) and IDgh. game of 209. Since Dot wasn't eli- Arlene Hoff (Sec. to Wyn Davis).

CHOP TALK The Works Lab. vs. Heat

Treating bowling match held re· cently at Duffy's brought out the casualities in the competitors ... Bill Shubrooks kicked up a char­ley horse . . . Bill Gassman in· jured his arm ... Amos Hougen­dobler sprained his thumb .... Harry Hovis pulled up with a sore ankle, while Earl Brinkman cut one loose but forgot to let go of the ball ... The · result was he came to rest on his back . . . After living in Gilching, Bavaria, about 18 miles from Munich, Ger­many, for a year and four months, Mrs. Janet Eckert Mc· Clune, who formerly worked in the Watch Design Department, returned home recently with her husband, Staff Sgt. Dick McClune . . Tuesday, April 27, she visited old friends in Watch Design and did some talking about her stay in Germany . . . She dropped these facts . . . German people eat very poor food . . . There's plenty of blackmarketing and stealing going on . . . American movies are available to the peo­ple . . . Germans will give 600 marks or $60.00 for a carton of cigarettes ... Two packs will buy a chicken . . Three packs are good for a turkey ... Oxen are used in place of horses . . . The roads are in such poor condition that if you had a car it would be a wreck in no time ... It took the McClunes 21 days coming back to America by boat . . . While in Germany, Staff Sgt. McClune was stationed at the Oberpfaffen­hofen Air Depot .. Dick Vaughan (Cost Analyst) had ten teeth yanked recently and then had h.is plates installed immediately . . . Dick sez it was tough at first keeping his S's from spraying people . . . Ted Franklin (Sales) addressed a group of Florida Re­tail Jewelers on May 10th at the Association's convention held at the Tampa Terrace Hotel in Tam­pa, Florida . . . Ted took for his subject, "Post War Distribution of Hamilton Watches" ... The man­agers and captains of the teams in the Men's Softball League are as follcws: Dick Tshudy, manager, and Gil Warner, captain of T&C ... Charley Strockbine will work in both capacities for the Finishing outfit ... The same goes for Bill McCloud of Production Control. Paul Brodecker will handle Plate . . . Harry Whitmyer is captain and Carl Nelson manager of As­sembly Research ... Johnnie Mohler is operating in both spots for Metals Processing ... Jack Sherick is manager and Harry Youtz is captain of Service .... Art Lear will manage while Vir· gil Meck will work as captain of the Spring Room combine .... Dick Gelhard (T&C) had a look at the National A.A.U. and Olym­pic Finals in gymnastics at Penn State College on May 1 and he enjoyed every minute of them ... May 5 was Ella Rineer (Cost An­alysis) 21st birthday . . . She passed the candy in that sector and the folks say, "Thanks Ella." . . . We understand that Matt Hauser (Train), who has been employed for 43 years, missed but two days of work in that long span ... That's quite a record to be proud of ... On Tuesday May 4, Bob Hope had Janet Blair as his guest on his program .. Janet hails from Altoona, the home of Helen Lingenfelter (Reception­ist) . . . We asked Helen if she knew Janet before she hit star­dom in Hollywood . . . Helen ad­mitted that she didn't but said that her brother-in-law, Bill, had several dates with Janet when she was known as Jane Lafferty.