Last weekend’s search yielded this excellent 30 year old text. The constitution and by-laws aren’t worthy of much time but what follows is historically important, to be sure.
But before we get to that – what is the WSBFACPA? Section II of their constitution states:
“The purpose of this association is to promote good fellowship among its members and, at the same time, provide a means for the reading and discussion of papers of interest to the blast furnace and coke industries”.
Sounds like a good time to me! In 1991 the dues were a paltry $15/year (with $1/month late fees). Honorary members paid no dues at all, but it is safe to say they ‘paid dues’ in a demanding industry for a number of years. They held four meetings a year (February, June, August and November, on the first of the month or “as near as possible”). The charter members held their first meeting on November 20 1915.
The organization no longer exists, and there is very little information on when it ceased to exist, or why. I did find the following, but it is little help.
Most notable here are what must be the last board of directors. Peter Beemsterboer is from the legendary family of NW Indiana, who have been processing coal for the steel industry for a very long time. Strangely, no member of the family was on the board up to 1991. But not shockingly, they did run a half page ad in the directory.
As for the other two, Mike Corbett was the last BP area manager at Acme when they closed in 2001. I was not familiar with Mr. Kobus. Looks like besides a career in the industry, he has moved onto photography and history of same, with an extensive body of work.
Worthy of note that the EASTERN States association still exists (since July 22 1921) and their mission statement is identical to ‘Section II’ above.
By 1956-57 I begin to recognize names from Interlake. The more I read, the more I realized for a fairly small player in a big game, Interlake/Acme did an excellent job of make their presence felt on the board for many years! After a deep analysis of the members listed in this directory, spanning 34 years, here are the results.
(Note: I do not have documents from the coke plant prior to the early 50s, so there may be additional Interlake Iron/By-Products Coke employees on the board, but without reference for their surnames I am forced to move through time until I find those I know.)
H. R. Nicklaus
Harry Nicklaus was the plant superintendent in the mid 50s, likely until Roger Nagan took over (more on him below). Not long ago, I encountered a number of memos with Mr. Nicklaus’ name on them. Besides a career with Interlake Iron, he served in various capacities for five years (starting the same year the memo above was written), culminating in the role of president in 1959. Mr. Nicklaus was an employee as far back as 1942, according to the National Labor Relations board. The board had filed suit against Interlake for union busting activities and found liable. This excerpt is from the appeal to that decision (which they also lost).
By 1953 he was the top dog at the coke plant. And lest you think this just means of keeping an eye on BP – don’t forget about PR!
Having served his time in WWI and down on Torrence Ave, Mr. Nicklaus retired to Ohio where he passed away in 1964.
R. A. Nagan
Roger Nagan was also plant superintendent, continuing into the 1970s. I am not clear if Mr. Nicklaus was his direct predecessor or not but it is possible. Mr. Nagan had a lengthy career with Interlake Iron/Steel (he likely worked for the company pre and post Acme merger) and also a proud tenure with Western States. Serving in various capacities for eight years beginning 1962, he served as president exactly 10 years after the last Interlake prez in 1969.
Mr. Nagan is listed in the Honorary Members section of the directory, and for good reason. He retired to Ohio and passed away in 2003.
D.R. Garthus
Don Garthus was the assistant coke plant super under Roger Nagan. He was in that role by the mid-60s, but didn’t make an appearance at Western States until 1971, where he returned the following year. After that, he was off the map for a while, and it looks like some health issues may have played a part in that.
Oddly, he returned to the organization over a decade later in 1983. He is listed as an honorary member in 1991. Sadly, in 2009 Mr. Garthus passed away.
R. C. Rankin
Bob Rankin is one of the most illustrious members of the Western States organization. I believe he was super between Roger Nagan and Jack Garzella.
Mr. Rankin is listed as a director for six consecutive years (1974-1979). He was elected president in 1978. Interestingly, when the directory was printed he was no longer with Interlake/Acme, but with Inland Steel! Based on the timeline, I think he walked away from the superintendent position at the coke plant to take the gig at Inland. Must have been pretty sweet! Seems that most (all?) other superintendents worked until they retired.
According to his obituary, Inland wasn’t the only other company he worked with during a long career in the steel industry. Sadly, he only enjoyed two years of retirement before passing away in 1995. He will be remembered as the third Interlake employee since 1950 to be elected president, with each almost exactly 10 years apart.
R. B. Chamberlin
It took some digging – the name was familliar. After searching scanned memos, I found Mr. Chamberlin.
He was assistant super under H. R. Nicklaus in the mid-50s. He only made a single appearance at Western States on the board, in 1961.
J. R. Lee
One of only two (D. R. Garthus being the other) Interlake employees to serve non-consecutive terms on the board, Mr. Lee worked at the coke plant into the late 1970s. He was on the board of directors in 1980, then again in 1982 and 1983.
J. A. Zbos
Mr. Zbos served for a full ten years on the board – very impressive. Best of all he was elected president in 1988. Luckily, by the 1990s company correspondence began to conveniently drop hints on job titles like the above – helpful for a historian some 25 years later.
F. C. Gambol
I have run across a number of memos from Frank Gambol in my archeology. For me, he was the first identifiable name from the furnace plant. He served on the board for three consecutive years up until 1991, and presumably beyond as I know he continued with Acme until the end in 2001.
J. T. Seaman
Mr. Seaman was another furnace plant superintendent. Curiously, he is listed as “J. T. Seaman Jr.” in the Western States directory but I’ve never seen such references (with Jr.) in Interlake memos. He was on the board for four years up until 1972 and made president in 1971. That is especially impressive given that Roger Nagan was president just two years earlier. Clearly, Interlake was making their presence felt in the late 60s/early 70s. So it is interesting to see him active a full two decades after he was president, but now at then Chicago coal firm Hickman Williams (the company still exists, but their SE side office moved to the south suburbs some time ago).
R. P. Winters
I initially missed Mr. Winters board of directors appearances in 1971 and 1972. The name rang a bell but it took me a minute to locate the memo I had in mind. Turns out it was one I had just scanned a couple days before. I am not clear on his role at Interlake but perhaps it was in maintenance, or as some kind of OSHA/safety officer. Interesting that he had not been active on the board in a decade but was still plugging away down at the coal plant.
J. Garzella
Up to this point, I have gone in chronological order. But alas, I had to save the best for last. If you have spent any amount of time on this site, you already know Jack Garzella was the division manager until the plant closed in 2001 and I have mentioned him repeatedly. Interesting that he is one of few board members listed over the years that does not use a middle initial. Mr. Garzella was an active board member for six years between 1984-1989, and was elected president in 1988. It seems odd that he was not active for the next two years (the last two listed in this 1991 directory), but the answer may lie below…
R. J. O’ Hearn
For weeks now, without fail and regardless of weather, I have spent a minimum of an hour in Mr. O’ Hearn’s office. In fact, this very directory was of course recovered from that room. I know I have my task and I feel it is important, I only hope that Mr. O’ Hearn would have some understanding why I would rummage through his things. Clearly, most people do not ‘get to know’ someone by inspecting their letters and possessions but that is what I have done.
How well do I actually know the man? Poorly, perhaps. What I do know is that he was a board member in the last two years listed in this directory. I wonder if it is not a coincidence that his boss also disappeared at the same time. Perhaps he sent Mr. O’ Hearn in his stead, to represent the coke plant? I’m sure he did a fine job, regardless of motive.
In 35 years, twelve different Interlake/Acme employees made appearances on the board of directors at Western States. More impressive is that six were elected president (1959, 1969, 1971, 1978, 1986, 1988) in that time. I hope sometime I can find another directory, post-1991 and analyze the last decade of the coke plant.
I decided against scanning the entire directory, but I did scan the important bits and added annotations where appropriate.