I have written about various aspects of my connections to Scovill
Manufacturing Company a number of times. But I thought it appropriate to pull
them all together, as well as give a history of the company.
Scovill began life in 1802 as a button factory that was started by Abel
Porter (*1), my 3rd cousin (5 times removed). In 1811, James Scovill
and two others bought Abel’s business and began turning it into a brass company
(*2). A few years later, James’ brother, William, bought out the other two men
and the two brothers renamed it after themselves. James and William are also
related to me through another connection as well (*3).
In 1918, my great-grandfather, Louis Russell (*4), began working in
Waterbury, building a new power plant for Scovill. Here are the details of that
as previous published in (*5).
My
great-grandfather, Louis Russell (1871-1946), was born in Kent, but grew up in
New Milford. He learned how to be a millwright from his father. He initially
worked for the New England Lime and Cement Company, then trained to be an
electrician and began working for the Tucker Electrical Construction Company.
During WWI,
Connecticut produced nearly ¾ of the brass munitions used by the US. There were
a number of large brass mills in Waterbury, CT, one of which was Scovill
Manufacturing Company. When Russia entered the war, they wanted to have access
to these same sorts of brass munitions. Czar Nicholas II paid Scovill to build
a new power plant so they could increase their production and sell this
increase to him. The Tucker Electrical Construction Company was selected by
Scovill to build this new power plant. My great-grandfather moved his family to
Waterbury during the war to help build this new power plant – a move that was
funded by the Russians!
When the plant was
finished, my great-grandfather was hired by Scovill to help run the plant that
he had helped build. So, on August 26, 1918, the Russell family began working
for Scovill – a relationship that lasted for over 60 years.
In 1924, when my grandparents separated, my grandfather, Erskine, left
his wife and two small children living in Bridgeport and moved to Waterbury to
live with his father and step-mother. His father, Louis, got him a job also
working in the power plant. My grandfather eventually divorced, then later
remarried in 1933, moving out of his father’s house, but continuing to work for
Scovill.
In 1937, my father left his mother and step-father in Danbury and also went
to live with Louis and his wife. When he graduated from high school in 1939, he
also began working for Scovill as a draftsman. During WWI my father was serving
in the US Navy in the South Pacific. Louis finally retired (at age 74 and with
27 years of service) when the war ended and died just a few months later. There
is a picture of him in the Scovill Bulletin in February 1946 in honor of his
years of service. Erskine also left Scovill at that time (with 21 years of
service). Thus, when my father returned from his service in April 1946, he
found himself the only one still working at Scovill. Nonetheless, he remained
at Scovill until 1981 when he retired early (at age 60 and with 42 years of
service). He also has a picture in the Scovill Bulletin in April 1964 when he
had 25 years of service.
Meanwhile, I had my own encounter with Scovill, but not as an employee.
During 1963-1964, the company had a contest for children/grandchildren of
employees to write a paper on a current business topic. The top two winners
each received a share of company stock (worth about $40 at the time) and the
next three top paper writers received $25 and a glass serving dish. In the fall
of 1963 I was one of the “honorable mentions” and received one of the $25
prizes, then I entered again that winter and received a share of stock. The
topic for that quarter was “The Effect of Proposed Tax Reduction on Our
Economy.” An excerpt from my paper appeared in the Scovill Bulletin for
February 1964 and read:
“Paying less taxes
would enable them (individual taxpayers) to have more money. This money would
be spent, invested, or saved. If spent, the increased flow of money into stores
and businesses would lead to expansion of these businesses so they could handle
the increased volume of business. New jobs would result, both in the businesses
and the firms that supply them. Money invested in businesses and industries
would enable them to expand. Dividends returned to the investors could be
spent, saved, or reinvested, and since money saved is actually invested in a
savings institution, the same would apply there.
“What is the effect
of a tax reduction on our economy? On the whole we come to see that it brings
more jobs, increased business, and new products, which makes for a better and
more vigorous economy.”
They ran the contest once more in the spring, then the six winners were
invited to the company annual meeting as guests of the company. My picture
appeared along with the other five winners alongside of the board chairman as
well as the company president in May 1964.
The president at the time was
Malcolm Baldridge (*6). He had been recruited by Scovill and joined as
president in 1962, at the fairly young age of 40. Shortly after the picture that
was taken with me, the previous board chair resigned and Malcolm became
chairman and CEO in addition to being the president. He left Scovill in 1980
and joined the cabinet of Ronald Reagan as Secretary of Commerce. The Wikipedia
article has many more details on his life.
Following that meeting of the shareholders, I was given a tour of the
plant and offices of the company – with my father given the day off from his
normal duties to accompany me. This was a rare privilege as the outside world
was generally not allowed in – even my mother during my father’s over 40 years
with the company was never allowed to see where he worked. We saw the
continuous casting of brass, the rolling mills which turned the long ingots
into sheets, and even the drafting tables where my father toiled.
I held onto my share of stock in Scovill for many years. The stock
price rose to $100, then split so I had two shares. Four times a year my mother
received a check (I was a minor so the stock was had on it “UGMA (uniform gifts
to minors act)”). During my last undergraduate year of college, I sold those
two shares as I was paying for my own college education and that additional $120
or so was needed to help pay that year’s tuition.
After 1981, when my father took early retirement and went to work
elsewhere for several years, our family association with Scovill ended. But the
plant maintained a large presence in Waterbury. I was by then living in PA and
only passed the plant during our periodic visits to CT to visit my parents and
other relatives.
Beginning around that same time, the diversification that had taken
place under Malcolm Baldridge was being undone. Hamilton Beach (mixers and
other appliances) which was a subsidiary of Scovill was sold off (*7). Schrader
Air Valves was also sold off (*8). The brass mills which had been spun off as a
separate company (Century Brass) in 1975 were shut down in 1985, ending the
production of brass in Waterbury after 175 years (*9).
In 1997, Scovill Fasteners, the last remaining portion of a once large
diversified company, moved its corporate offices to Clarkesville, GA – a plant
that our family had visited back in the early 1960s when my father went there
for a weeklong project and the family all traveled with him and took vacation
in the town (*10). Meanwhile, the large property occupied by the old mills and
offices had been bulldozed and turned into two adjoining malls, the Brass Mill
Center and the Brass Mill Commons (*11). These opened in 1997.
The company is now just a small shell of what it had once been. They no
longer have any presence in Waterbury. Between my ancestral relationship to its
founders, and all my relatives who spent the bulk of their working career
there, it makes me sad whenever we have the opportunity to drive past what is
now an aging mall.
Notes:
