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Profits and Patriotism:
Milwaukee Industry in World War II
By John Gurda
IN 1922 Les Greget, a young man from Mawille, Wisconsin, came to Milwau¬ kee and took a job with the Falk Corpora¬ tion. Based in the Menomonee Valley, the city's industrial center, near 35th Street, Falk was already the nation's largest pro¬ ducer of gear drives, serving both marine and industrial customers. Greget worked steadily for the next ten years, finishing his machinist's apprenticeship and taking over the operation ofa boring bar, which might be most simply described as a very large machine that drills very large holes in very large gear cases.
Then came 1932. After two years of heavy losses, Falk laid off nearly all its employees. Les Greget lost his job, and soon lost his home as well. He worked only intermittently for the next three or four years, until Franklin Roosevelt's shipbtnlding program brought new work into the shops. Falk stopped losing money in 1938, and the company showed steady growth in its order rates.
Then came Pearl Harbor. Almost in¬ stantly, the plant shifted from high gear
Editors' xoie: In slightly different form, this paper was delivered before the Founders Day meeting of the Slate Historical Society ofWisconsin in Milwau¬ kee, Februar\ 20, 1993.
24
into overdrive. Les Greget found himself at the boring bar ten hours a day, seven days a week. He kept up that pace for the next four years, working for more than 1,400 consecutive day.s—without even a weekend off.
That, in a utitshell, is the story of Milwaukee industry and World War II. Local manufacturers jumped practically overnight from the forced idleness of the Great Depression to the breakneck pace of war production. The transition was neither easy nor painless. New prob¬ lems and new challenges cropped up everywhere, and they all had to be ad¬ dressed right now. But Milwaukee's in¬ dustries rose to the challenge, and they played an absolutely pivotal role in the Allied victory of 1945.
This essay offers two Milwaukee compa¬ nies as case studies of wartime industries: Falk and Allen-Bradley. I highlight those two not because they were the largest or the most important, but simply because I know them best. Other companies are enlisted in the concluding section, which describes some ofthe patterns common to practically all defense industries.
The Falk Company was established in 1892 on the ruins of a family-owned brew¬ ery. Founded bv Herman Falk, an iras-
Copyrighl © 1904 b;- llu- Stiui' I lisloiical Socic-lx . All rigtiLs of reproducliDTi in ;in\' toiiii rt'seiTt'd.
Object Description
| Title | Wisconsin magazine of history: Volume 78, number 1, autumn, 1994 |
| Article Title | Wisconsin magazine of history: Volume 78, number 1, autumn, 1994 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | State Historical Society of Wisconsin |
| Series | Wisconsin Magazine of History ; v. 78, no. 1 |
| Format-Digital | xml |
| Publisher-Electronic | Wisconsin Historical Society |
| Rights | © Copyright 2007 by the Wisconsin Historical Society (Madison, Wisconsin). Photos on p. 30, 31, and 32 courtesy of Rockwell Automation, Inc. |
| Publication Date-Electronic | 2007 |
| ISSN | 1943-7366 |
| Identifier-Digital | vol78no010000 |
| Description | This issue is heavy on Milwaukee and includes articles on the meatpacking industry in Milwaukee and Milwaukee industry during World War II. |
| Volume | 078 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Year | 1994-1995 |
Description
| Title | 24 |
| Page Number | 24 |
| Article Title | Profits and patriotism: Milwaukee industry in World War II |
| Author | Gurda, John |
| Page type | Article home |
| Format-Digital | jpeg |
| Publisher-Electronic | Wisconsin Historical Society |
| Rights | © Copyright 2007 by the Wisconsin Historical Society (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Publication Date-Electronic | 2007 |
| ISSN | 1943-7366 |
| Identifier-Digital | vol78no010026 |
| Description | Profits and Patriotism: Milwaukee Industry in World War II: This essay details the effects of World War II on two Milwaukee companies, Falk and Allen-Bradley. The account of the Falk company, which supplied gear drives for military and cargo ships, describes wartime expansion of the plant, the increase in African-American workers, company sponsored recreation programs, and technical innovations in the 1930’s and 1940s. The history of Allen-Bradley, established by Lynde Bradley (1878-1942), details the company’s rapid expansion, women workers, and plant amenities including a dance hall, rooftop sundeck, and an in-plant hospital. World War II industrial patterns, including the development of a quasi-socialist wartime economy, the strengthening of local manufacturing economies, and citywide patriotism, are also discussed. (11 pages) |
| Volume | 078 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Year | 1994-1995 |
| State/Province | Wisconsin; |
| County | Milwaukee County; |
| Community | Milwaukee; |
| Decade | 1940-1949; |
| Organization Name | Falk Corporation; Allen-Bradley (Firm); |
| Subject | World War, 1939-1945--War work; Manufacturing; Industry; |
| Full Text | Profits and Patriotism: Milwaukee Industry in World War II By John Gurda IN 1922 Les Greget, a young man from Mawille, Wisconsin, came to Milwau¬ kee and took a job with the Falk Corpora¬ tion. Based in the Menomonee Valley, the city's industrial center, near 35th Street, Falk was already the nation's largest pro¬ ducer of gear drives, serving both marine and industrial customers. Greget worked steadily for the next ten years, finishing his machinist's apprenticeship and taking over the operation ofa boring bar, which might be most simply described as a very large machine that drills very large holes in very large gear cases. Then came 1932. After two years of heavy losses, Falk laid off nearly all its employees. Les Greget lost his job, and soon lost his home as well. He worked only intermittently for the next three or four years, until Franklin Roosevelt's shipbtnlding program brought new work into the shops. Falk stopped losing money in 1938, and the company showed steady growth in its order rates. Then came Pearl Harbor. Almost in¬ stantly, the plant shifted from high gear Editors' xoie: In slightly different form, this paper was delivered before the Founders Day meeting of the Slate Historical Society ofWisconsin in Milwau¬ kee, Februar\ 20, 1993. 24 into overdrive. Les Greget found himself at the boring bar ten hours a day, seven days a week. He kept up that pace for the next four years, working for more than 1,400 consecutive day.s—without even a weekend off. That, in a utitshell, is the story of Milwaukee industry and World War II. Local manufacturers jumped practically overnight from the forced idleness of the Great Depression to the breakneck pace of war production. The transition was neither easy nor painless. New prob¬ lems and new challenges cropped up everywhere, and they all had to be ad¬ dressed right now. But Milwaukee's in¬ dustries rose to the challenge, and they played an absolutely pivotal role in the Allied victory of 1945. This essay offers two Milwaukee compa¬ nies as case studies of wartime industries: Falk and Allen-Bradley. I highlight those two not because they were the largest or the most important, but simply because I know them best. Other companies are enlisted in the concluding section, which describes some ofthe patterns common to practically all defense industries. The Falk Company was established in 1892 on the ruins of a family-owned brew¬ ery. Founded bv Herman Falk, an iras- Copyrighl © 1904 b;- llu- Stiui' I lisloiical Socic-lx . All rigtiLs of reproducliDTi in ;in\' toiiii rt'seiTt'd. |