Farewell to a Steel Mill
11 October 1997 I retired from National Works in 1981 after working in the Pipe Mill Electric Shop for a little over 41 years. We always had a pension party for the retiring members once a year. Enclosed is a poem I wrote for a pension party that occured a few years after my retirement. I don't know if you can use it or not, but you can use any part of it or all of it if you so desire. National Works was a great place to work, and it wasn't unusual for multiple members of a family to work there. Besides myself, my grandfather, father, and an uncle worked there, also my son part time while attending college. Good luck with your project and looking forward to seeing it. Sincerely, |
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Mr. Brush died in January 2007 without this poem ever having been published, as far as I know. I'm very happy to publish it now in what will potentially be a much larger audience (the Internet) than we had at the Daily News:
"Farewell to a Steel Mill"
By Ed Brush
Images from the 1926 "Yough-a-Mon" yearbook
National Works is finished, just a memory to us all,
So if you'll bear with me tonight, here's things that I recall:
The place was always busy, people moving everywhere,
Some things you may remember, from the years that you spent there.
Bricklayers you'd see everywhere, with carpenters at their side,
And if they ever took a break, their tools they'd have to hide.
The riggers and the shippers covered lots of ground,
And if there was anything to building, the boiler shop came 'round.
The hot mill men, they made the pipe; it was finished on the floors,
A lot of people handled it before it went out the doors.
Machinists did the close work, the die shop handled tools.
With those watchmen at the gate, you obeyed the rules.
Couplings from the "blank and tap" were always on the move,
Inspectors, clerks and painters were always in the groove.
One place was extra special --- a shop I mention here,
T&P Electric, whose memory we hold so dear.
Most of you all worked there, and lots of friends we made,
But time passes by so quickly, and memories --- they fade.
Remember on St. Patrick's Day? The lines were always green
And those big Irish shamrocks, the likes you've never seen.
"Hey You" and her kittens roamed the shop at will.
(I'll bet if you looked really close you may find one still.)
We always had a Christmas tree to celebrate the season.
(And if you felt like drinking, we didn't need a reason.)
You'll never change the mill again, or pull scale from any hole,
The cranes will all stay idle, as progress takes its toll.
Years and years the pipe rolled out, and kept us all quite busy,
(And the tonnage that was shipped each year made you feel quite dizzy.)
The pumps were always busy, and the lifts traveled overhead,
Nobody liked the place at all --- or at least that's what they said.
The mill was hot in summer, and in winter you did freeze,
And no matter what you did there were some you couldn't please.
Some jobs were always difficult, and mistakes, you couldn't make,
Those famous words on every job: "How long's it going to take?"
Motors, wheels and cables, if most of you recall,
Gave us lots of trouble --- but we fixed them all.
There are friends we made down through the years, that are no longer here,
And when we think of some of them, we may shed a tear.
So if you're up there watching, and checking us below,
We all send our love to you, with a friendly, big, "hello."
So, U-S-S or U-S-X, it really doesn't matter.
The place has gone silent now, as opposed to old-time clatter.
There's something, though, they can't replace, as anyone can see:
Our friendships last forever, I'm sure you will agree.
It really is a pleasure to be with you tonight,
Because to see your faces is a very welcome sight.
To T&P Electric, we raise our glasses high,
As we join together in a friendly, but sad, goodbye.
To see those rusting buildings, we know National Works is done,
But I think you'll all agree with me:
Through the years, we had some fun.
-- Ed Brush, 1919-2007
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This article is from tubecityonline.com/steel, the Steel Heritage section of Tube City Online, P.O. Box 94, McKeesport, PA 15134.