Friends,
Tuesdays at the Dock have been well attended. We appreciate the great response and plan to enjoy these gatherings from 9:00 to 11:00 each Tuesday through September.
As a result of the Reunion Project, we now know more about the history of the plant than ever before. We also have a better sense of the lives that were impacted by the activities at the plant. Mostly good, some not so good, but all certainly worth knowing and sharing. We hope you will enjoy reading a few of these stories in the coming weeks and months.
A young lady named Doris is the subject of this Pillsbury story. She and her siblings were raised in a house on the 1300 block of N. 8th St. She graduated from Lanphier High School in 1955. Her first full-time job out of high school was at Pillsbury.
Doris and her family were members of Third Presbyterian Church (1030 N. 7th St.). A member of the church, Mr. Edward Palmen, was a Department Manager at Pillsbury. When she graduated from high school, he helped Doris get a job at Pillsbury. She worked as a clerk-typist for four years then married and moved on.
The 1956 City of Springfield directory was used as a reference in verification of the correct spelling for Palmen and for Doris’s job title. Note: Doris is listed as one of five people working at Pillsbury on that one page of the directory.
The mid-1950’s were the peak employment years for the Springfield Pillsbury plant. The Bakery and Grocery Mix expansion at the plant occurred in 1949 and that created more jobs. Goods were still largely being moved within the plant by hand carts. And the C-Mill was still in operation at this time (it stopped operating in 1964). Some estimates put the number of Pillsbury employees at 1500 in 1955.
We have heard several stories now of how people came to work at Pillsbury. Many have told us they had a family connection or a good friend that recommended them. This is a tried-and-true method for employment success and Doris’s story is a great example.
The Reunion Project Team
pillsburyproject.org