Highlights
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation, which was based in Bethlehem, Pa., was once the largest producer of steel in the United States. Formerly the Bethlehem Steel Company, it was a major supplier of steel for ships, ammunition and other ordnance during World War I and World War II, and it stood as a symbol of the industrial might of a nation for much of the 20th century. Bethlehem Steel's earliest predecessor, the Saucona Iron Company, was founded as an iron works in Bethlehem, Pa., in 1857. The company grew rapidly as the industrial age dawned, buoyed by conflicts abroad, the construction of the railroads and the rapid, steel-reliant expansion of U.S. cities. In 1904, steel tycoon Charles M. Sch...
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation, which was based in Bethlehem, Pa., was once the largest producer of steel in the United States. Formerly the Bethlehem Steel Company, it was a major supplier of steel for ships, ammunition and other ordnance during World War I and World War II, and it stood as a symbol of the industrial might of a nation for much of the 20th century. Bethlehem Steel's earliest predecessor, the Saucona Iron Company, was founded as an iron works in Bethlehem, Pa., in 1857. The company grew rapidly as the industrial age dawned, buoyed by conflicts abroad, the construction of the railroads and the rapid, steel-reliant expansion of U.S. cities. In 1904, steel tycoon Charles M. Schwab formed the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, and he was replaced as president by Eugene G. Grace in 1916, with Schwab remaining as chairman of the board. Together, the two men oversaw a series of acquisitions and innovations that helped build Bethlehem Steel into an industrial giant. Among its holdings was the plant at Sparrows Point, Md., once the largest steel mill in the world. But by 1960, the U.S. was importing more steel than it was producing domestically, an ominous sign for Bethlehem Steel and the steel industry as a whole. Unable to keep up with changing technology and competition from overseas, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2001, and its assets were sold off. Bethlehem Steel's downfall often is cited as a prime example of the U.S. economy's transition away from industrial manufacturing.
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Back Story: Remembering the 'Rosie the Riveter' of black Baltimore
A large, framed poster from 1943 hangs on the wall of Hermione C. "Hermie" Graham's Columbia home. It features a young African-American woman sitting at a telephone switchboard busily routing incoming and outgoing phone calls through a plug board. It is...Tags: NAACP, Minority Groups, Employees, Consumer Electronics Industry, National Government
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Paul P. Blitz
Paul P. Blitz, a decorated World War II veteran who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, died from complications of pneumonia Oct. 19 at Franklin Square Hospital Center. The longtime Essex resident was 95.
Born in Monessen, Pa., the son of Finnish...Tags: Hospitals and Clinics, France, Diseases, Family, Dundalk
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At Your Service
Of The Morning CallPop singer Billy Joel sang 25 years ago about how "we're living here in Allentown, and they're closing all the factories down." In a general sense, that's what happened to a lot of manufacturing in the Lehigh Valley. What Joel didn't sing about was the...Tags: Further Education, Employees, Consumer Electronics Industry, Transportation, Real Estate Agents
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Valley's economic health hinges on small business success
Of The Morning CallFaced with rising health care and fuel costs, an increasingly competitive market for skilled workers and less-than-positive forecasts for the U.S. economy, the Lehigh Valley's small businesses will have some tough challenges in 2008, but they remain...Tags: Employees, Small Businesses, South Whitehall Township, Economic Policy, Employers
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A safe bet: Sands BethWorks Casino likely to be a top employer
Of The Morning CallAlmost overnight, the Sands BethWorks Casino will do something it has taken some of the area's biggest companies decades to do: become one of the Lehigh Valley's top 10 employers. By the time the casino, hotel and shopping complex opens next year,...Tags: Employees, Family, Economic Policy, Tourism and Leisure, Casino and Gambling Industry
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Assembly votes to let retirees in health plan
Sun StaffThe General Assembly passed legislation last night to help Bethlehem Steel Corp. retirees who are not old enough for Medicare to obtain state-backed insurance coverage. Under the legislation, Bethlehem retirees between the ages of 55 and 64 would be able...Tags: Laws, Retirement, Government Health Care, Peter A. Hammen, Credit and Debt
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Family speaks of being proud of brother, son
Sun National StaffThe frenzy surrounding the nomination of Judge John G. Roberts Jr. to the U.S. Supreme Court paid a short visit to a well-trimmed golf course suburb off Route 40 in Ellicott City yesterday, where the nominee's parents and two sisters crowded around an...Tags: Family, Ellicott City, The White House, Metal and Mineral, Clubs and Associations
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GM loses $1 billion, will cut 25,000 jobs
Sun StaffGeneral Motors Corp., a symbol of American industrial might a half-century ago when it became the first U.S. company to make $1 billion in a year, announced plans yesterday to cut 25,000 jobs after losing more than $1 billion in the first quarter of...Tags: Employees, Layoffs and Downsizing, Economic Policy, Vehicles, Bankruptcy
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A factory that shaped their lives in Dundalk
Sun StaffLongpoint Road is a quiet street of bungalows, some with carports, on a peninsula that reaches to Dundalk's Bear Creek. It's a place where families have for years gathered for cookouts, where John Eltringham would lend his electric cement mixer to a...Tags: Essex (Baltimore, Maryland), Fort Meade, Employees, Layoffs and Downsizing, Economic Policy
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Retooling for a new reality
Special to SunSpotWhen John Thornton came to Baltimore from Oxford, N.C., in 1956 to visit an uncle, he didn't expect to stay. But 47 years later, the retired steelmaker is like many who put down roots here. Shortly after arriving, Thornton found work at a restaurant...Tags: Employees, Layoffs and Downsizing, Consumer Electronics Industry, Arby's Group, Inc., Bankruptcy
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ISG bids $1.5B for Bethlehem Steel
The Associated PressInternational Steel Group Inc. offered on Monday to buy Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s steel mills and related assets -- including the company's Sparrows Point operation -- and bring the once-mighty industrial giant out of bankruptcy. ISG, based in Cleveland,...Tags: Guaranty Corporation, Employees, Layoffs and Downsizing, Interior Policy, Retirement
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The discouraged worker: Your stories
SunSpot StaffLast week, many of you wrote SunSpot about your discouraging employment search. Some of you have been looking for work for as long as three years – having been laid off from a myriad of jobs, from high technology to welding work at Bethlehem Steel Corp.’s...Tags: Prisons, Family, Consumer Electronics Industry, Vehicles, Animal Science
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