One dozen World War II aircraft

The World Book Encyclopedia.  Chicago:  Field Enterprises Educational Corporation, 1958.

Another Message Delivered on Time

Max Burns, Ken Messenger; The Winged Wheel Patch, Vanwell Publishing 1993

Despatch Rider Arnold Burtch checks to make sure he's on time.

BSA 1964

Operating a press in the 1930's

Standard American Encyclopedia. Chicago:  
Consolidated Book Publishers, Inc., 1939.

The Maestro prepares for his performance!  It looks like such a comfortable working position to assume for an 8-hour shift.

We used to make things in this country. #13: Evans Rule Company, Montreal, Quebec (Updated)

The Evans Rule Company was once the world's largest tape measure manufacturer, with facilities in North Charleston, South Carolina; Elizabeth, New Jersey and Montreal, Quebec.  Evans supplied most of the tape measures sold by Sears, Roebuck & Co.  

Popular Mechanics, June 1954

Popular Science, March 1956

Continue-Flo Products, Burlington, Ontario.  1961 Catalogue

                                               

Evans also made chalk lines 

and a utility knife, with their own name on the blades:

(Their style of blades, with a central hole that fits over a boss on its retractable holder, seems unique to them. Other brands of utility blades will not fit.)

Their main facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey purchased in 1951, was the former home of the American Swiss File & Tool Company, which had been established in 1900 by Edward P. Reichhelm who had emigrated from Prussia, fought in the American civil war, and ultimate become a mechanical engineer.  He introduced the use of gas furnaces for annealing and hardening file steel.

At some point, Evans became a subsidiary of the Masco Corporation.

Masco Screw Products first contract was for a machining job from the Hudson Motorcar Company. Photo source Masco


In 1986, Evans introduced the tape-square, an idea which didn't appear to catch on.

The Family Handyman.  October, 1986.

That same year, the L.S. Starrett Company bought Evans for between $20 and $30 million.   It became a division of Starrett, which cut costs by consolidating all of the Evans tape measure manufacturing in the Dominican Republic.  Evans is no longer offered as a brand by the parent company.  As for the Montreal plant, it was closed down sometime during all of the buying and selling of the company.

Manitowoc Shipbuilding Corporation

William H. Elson, Christine M. Keck & Mary H. Burris.  Junior High School Literature, Book Two.  Revised Edition.  Chicago:  Scott, Foresman & Co., 1920, 1928.

This Wisconsin company lasted from 1902 to 1972.  During World War II, they built 28 fleet submarines.

We used to make things in this country. #14: Kester Solder Company of Canada, Limited, Brantford, Ontario

In July 1899, a Buffalo, New York inventor named Jesse Kester received U.S. Patent 628541 for "self-fluxing solder", wire and bar solder which contained its own flux.  He started the Kester Electric Manufacturing Company the same year, renaming it the Chicago Solder Company in 1905.  In the early days, the company hand-delivered solder to the Ford Motor Company.  His solder eventually enabled the mass production of radios, TVs and telephones, with Chicago-based companies like Motorola and Zenith benefitting from the Kester invention.  In 1929, the company was renamed Kester Solder.  Two years later, they opened a manufacturing facility in Brantford, Ontario.  Kester operated independently for nearly 40 years until its acquisition by Litton Industries in April 1967.   The Brantford facility continued under Litton control.

In 2001, Litton was purchased by Northrop Grumann, and Kester was spun off three years later to American Capital Strategies Ltd., which paid $60 million for the company.  In 2006, Kester was acquired by Illinois Tool Works (ITW) for an undisclosed amount.

These days, Kester has its headquarters in the Chicago suburb of Itasca, Illinois with additional manufacturing facilities in Mexico, Singapore, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, and Malaysia.  Brantford, Ontario was clearly a casualty.

ISO Motor Scooter in 1959

Shell game

Edgar McInnis.  The North American Nations.  Toronto:  J.M. Dent & Sons (Canada) Ltd., 1963.

Radar detectors

Esquire.  How We Lived 1933-1983.  June 1983.

Time was.  For an interesting historical look at these devices, visit The Radar Detector Museum.