This & That….
April 13, 2014
This & That by Jack Coll
May 1, 2014The Lee Way; Some Pretty Interesting Stuff
The Lee Way
Some Pretty Interesting Stuff
By Jack Coll
Part One
4-16-14
Throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s Lee Tire & Rubber Company, once located on Hector Street published bi-monthly newsletters called “The Lee Way” giving up-dates on the company’s business, informing employees of up-coming events, praising employees for their idea’s, informing employees of promotions and so on.
Lee Tires, as it was known back then also participated in many of the industrial sporting leagues such as baseball and golf. Lee Tires also sponsored many employees’ children with soap box derby cars. “The Lee Way” newsletter would always give up-dates on all the company’s sports events. Lee Tires was one of the last of the remaining industrial giants who would sponsor company picnics and Christmas parties for the employees.
“The Lee Way” would also give little funny antidotes and short histories of this and that from time to time, every once in a while throw in a poem, or a famous quote and I thought it might be entertaining to highlight a number of these little segments from the numerous publications that I got my hands on, a little something to enjoy on these spring days and nights. I will label each segment with the date of the published newsletter, and provide the segment as it was written, some longer than others. This is a recreational column so please sit back and enjoy!
The Lee Way
January 1974
SOUND FAMILIAR?
From the beginning of man, there have been laws to govern the people. But every day man encounters “Murphy’s Law,” and it is that law that drives him up the wall. As Confucius said, “Man who has choice has troubles,” and that, translated into Murphy’s Law, is simply: “If anything can go wrong, it will.”
Here’s a list of corollaries to Murphy’s Law. Read and wince.
It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.
Interchangeable parts won’t.
Any wire or tube cut to length will be too short.
Identical unites tested under identical conditions will not be identical in the field.
After any machine or instrument has been fully assembled, extra components will be found on the bench.
A dropped tool will land where it can do the most damage (also known
as the law of selective gravitation)
Any error that can creep in, will. It will be in the direction that will do the most damage.
In any given computation, the figure that is most obviously correct will be the source of error.
The most logical way to assemble components will be the wrong way.
In any given miscalculation, the fault will never be placed if more than one person is involved.
Dimensions always will be expressed in the least usable terms.
The probability of a dimension being omitted from a set of instructions is directly proportional to its importance.
The Lee Way
December 6, 1972
Hitchhike Defined
Associated with automobiles today, the term “hitchhike” practically predates the horse and buggy.
It began with a practice involving two men trying to reach a common destination with but one horse.
One would start out on horseback, the other on foot. At a pre-determined point the one on horseback dismounted, hitched the horse to a tree and continued on foot. When the hiker caught up, he mounted the horse and passed the former rider. By alternating their hitching and hiking, both eventually reached their destination.
The Lee Way
September 1974
The Durable Shoe
When you’re walking you may want to consider these facts, gathered by Goodyear shoe products engineers:
The average person takes a 26-inch step and walks five miles a day. This means he or she takes 2, 437 steps to the mile or 12,185 steps in a five-mile day.
At this rate, a person weighing 160 pounds grinds almost 975 tons of meat, bone and troubles into his shoes in a single day.
Since the average person buys three pairs of shoes of all kinds a year, each pair absorbs a whopping 37,000 tons of punishment.
No winder shoes wear out!
September 1974
Lee’s softball team won the Industrial Division playoffs in the Conshohocken Slow Pitch Softball League last month by beating Hale Fire Pump two games out of three.
The title is the team’s third in the past four years of competition.
In playoff games, Lee polished off Quaker Chemical Corporation, 13-2 and then swept the semifinals by dumping C & D Battery twice, 6-5 and 9-4. Manager Harry Natalini’s charges then took two of three games from Hale Fire Pump in the finals to win the playoff title and trophy.
September 1974
Time Out For Today
Today is here. I will start with a smile and resolve to be agreeable. I will not criticize. I refuse to waste my valuable time.
Today has one aspect in which I know I am equal to all others—time. All of us draw the same salary in seconds, minutes and hours.
Today I refuse to spend time worrying about what might happen—it usually doesn’t. I am going to spend time making things happen.
Today I am determined to study to improve myself, for tomorrow I may be wanted, and I must not be found lacking.
Today I begin by doing, and not wasting my time. In one week I will be miles beyond the person I am today.
Today I would not imagine what I would do if things were different. They are not different. I will make success with what material I have.
Today I will stop saying, “If I had time….” I know I never will “find” time for anything. If I want time, I must make it.
Today I will act toward other people as though this might be my last day on earth. I will not wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow never comes.
The Lee Way
August 1978
Union Picnic
The United Rubber Workers Local 785 annual picnic will be held Saturday, August 12, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Lakeview Park near Royersford.
Rain date will be the following day.
Tickets, at $6 apiece, can be purchased from Andrew Harvey, Tyrone Waller, Joe Anastacio, Bill McBride, Anthony Yacovelli, Joe Yarosinski, Ray Lare, Paul Wright, or Eddie Summers.
Those who attend are urged to bring their own pitcher and glasses for beer.
The Lee Way
May 1975
‘Mean Mom’
I had the meanest mother in the world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs and toast.
I am ashamed to admit it, but she actually had the nerve to break the child labor law. She made us work. We had to wash all the dishes, make the beds, and learn to cook and all sorts of things.
By the time we were teenagers, she was much wiser—and our life became unbearable. None of this tooting the car horn for us to come running. She embarrassed us no end by making our friends and dates come to the door to get us.
My mother was a complete failure as a mother. None of us has ever been arrested. And who do we have to thank for this terrible way we turned out? You’re right.
Look at all the things we missed. We never got to take part in a riot and a million other things our friends did. She made us grow up into God-fearing, educated, honest adults.
May 1975
A Sign of the Times? Perhaps
(Editor’s Note: The following announcement is fictional and, so far as we know has not appeared on any company’s bulletin boards. With emphasis today, on finding ways to increase workers’ productivity as a means to enable businesses to survive these difficult times, it some day may.)
To All Employees:
Due to increased competition and a keen desire to remain in business, we find it necessary to institute a new policy, effective immediately. We are asking that somewhere between starting and quitting time and without infringing too much on the time usually devoted to lunch period, coffee breaks, rest periods, storytelling, vacation planning and the rehashing of yesterday’s TV programs or ball game that each employee endeavor to find some time that can be set aside and known as the “work break.”
To some, this may seem a radical innovation, but we honestly believe the idea has great possibilities. It can conceivably be an aid to steady employment, and it might also be a means of assuring regular pay checks.
While the adoption of the Work Break Plan is not compulsory, it is hoped that each employee will find enough time to give the plan a fair trial.
–The Management
The Lee Way
October 1974
(Jack Coll’s editor note: This one’s a real kick in the ass, remember this was 1974)
Gas Prices High?
Complaining about gasoline prices? Well they’re really not that bad when compared with fuel costs in other countries.
Prices for premium gasoline per U.S. gallon earlier this year were as follows:
United States, 50 cents
France $1.32
Spain, $1.18
Italy, $1.16
West Germany, $1.12
United Kingdom, 95 cents.
October 1974
What Is A Customer?
A customer is the most important person ever in the building…In person or by phone.
A customer is not dependent on us…we are dependent on him.
A customer in not an interruption of our work…he is the purpose of it.
We are not doing him a favor by serving him; he is doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so.
A customer is not an outsider to our business…he is part of it.
A customer is not a cold statistic…he is a flesh and blood human being with feelings and emotions like our own and with biases and prejudices.
A customer is not someone to argue or match wits with. Nobody ever won an argument with a customer.
A customer is a person who brings us his wants. It is our job to handle the profitably to him and to ourselves.
October 1974
Men—Weekly Basketball Will Keep You Trim
A bunch of the fellas have been ‘hooping’ it up at the Conshohocken Fellowship House once a week since September.
The men, all salaried office employees, meet informally for two hours of basketball.
The day of the week and time changes to accommodate players. Lou Manetti, industrial engineer, says, “The purpose of the games is to keep us trim.”
Although all men who work in the offices are invited to attend any time, there is a group of regulars. They are Manetti, Frank Lepore, Milo Johnson, Dick Line, Bob Gillespie, George Dozier, Bill Bond, Tom James, Bob Bowman, Bob Marshall, Jim Booth, Frank Matozza, Frank Gravinese and George Kemper.
The group plans to make the weekly games a year-round activity.
The Lee Way
January 19, 1972
Why Not Smile?
It happens in a flash but the memory of it lasts forever. It cannot be begged, borrowed or stolen, but it is of no earthly good to anyone until it is given away.
It takes only 17 muscles to smile. . . . 43 muscles to frown. Conserve energy.
This has been fun, part two is on the way.
This column has been brought to you by;
Knucklehead Productions &
Jennifer Lynn Photography
All of the above excerpts were taken directly from the Lee Tire by-monthly newsletters titled, “The Lee Way.”
