Do you know the classic photo of a bunch of people sitting on a steel beam high above New York having their lunch break? They were erectors. Erectors were the field staff that went out to a site and actually erected the steel pieces (beams, posts, struts) into a structure. Despite the company name suggesting steel bridges, by the 20s most of those companies had diversified. Typical jobs were steel framed factory buildings, the steel frames for multistory buildings, transmission towers, and, of course, steel bridges. Such companies would work all over a very large region. You know that your grandfather had a fantastic head for heights.
Thank you so much for this excellent context, has saved me a lot of time! Amazing to think just how much he must have built, then, if they did lots of different kinds of projects. I imagine he did have a good head for heights, unfortunately not hereditary. Thank you for reading!
Another excellent article and spot on. The transcribed record is full of little bits of information that can be useful if you are looking for the detail to confirm something you think you know. A lot of my research is based on oral history passed on to me by my mother. As everyone knows this is only as reliable as our collective memory and cannot be substantiated by the whys and wherefores which become lost in the past. My mother's memory of why her half sister was adopted by her mother's husband while she was abandoned is not entirely true. She only had half the story and seeing for the first time where the family was living in 1921 made me go ahhhhhh so that's what happened. It also confirmed what I had come to suspect about my grandma - always look out for number one. But then I have to put things into the perspective of 26 year old single mother (twice) with diabetes!
Do you know the classic photo of a bunch of people sitting on a steel beam high above New York having their lunch break? They were erectors. Erectors were the field staff that went out to a site and actually erected the steel pieces (beams, posts, struts) into a structure. Despite the company name suggesting steel bridges, by the 20s most of those companies had diversified. Typical jobs were steel framed factory buildings, the steel frames for multistory buildings, transmission towers, and, of course, steel bridges. Such companies would work all over a very large region. You know that your grandfather had a fantastic head for heights.
Hi Andrew,
Thank you so much for this excellent context, has saved me a lot of time! Amazing to think just how much he must have built, then, if they did lots of different kinds of projects. I imagine he did have a good head for heights, unfortunately not hereditary. Thank you for reading!
All the best, Elliott
Another excellent article and spot on. The transcribed record is full of little bits of information that can be useful if you are looking for the detail to confirm something you think you know. A lot of my research is based on oral history passed on to me by my mother. As everyone knows this is only as reliable as our collective memory and cannot be substantiated by the whys and wherefores which become lost in the past. My mother's memory of why her half sister was adopted by her mother's husband while she was abandoned is not entirely true. She only had half the story and seeing for the first time where the family was living in 1921 made me go ahhhhhh so that's what happened. It also confirmed what I had come to suspect about my grandma - always look out for number one. But then I have to put things into the perspective of 26 year old single mother (twice) with diabetes!