Acme Steel, Chicago Coke Plant
I have written on this topic before, it is often cited as one of the contributing factors to the downfall of the company. A gamble that just didn’t pay off in the end (though ironically, the caster still functions today). Steve Bennett’s speech ‘selling’ the idea to investors is an impassioned plea from a man […]
Recently I have learned of the joy of census records. As of 2024, 1940 and 1950 are currently available to the public for free. In 2030, 1970 will become available as well. Records prior to 1940 are also available, but you’d have to pay. But this is fine, because 1940/1950 are a sweet spot for […]
I have been on the AIST mailing list for some time, I recently glanced at an email advertising their annual directory. This got me thinking – it would be pretty interesting to get a hold of an older directory and see what info could be had regarding Acme/Interlake. So off to eBay I went. I […]
One of the more odd items I have found on ebay. This is for a letter press, which would ink these blocks, then push a piece of paper into them. To be clear, these are individual blocks and it is unlikely that they were ever printed together like this. I bought them just as an […]
How did you come to work at Acme? I worked at Acme from 1990 until it closed. I had worked at USS in Gary in Labor Relations/HR for 15 years before coming to Acme. Jerry Shope, Richard Stefan and Joe Dula recruited me from USS. Working at Acme were some of the best years of […]
Searching through Cook County records is non stop fun if you are inclined to do some madness. You can check it out here. One of the big problems is that the entity names vary, or at least vary how they were recorded. This is illustrated by the heading at the top of the page. And […]
This footage was shot in February 2023. It was supposed to be part of a video for YouTube which was not related to Acme. I decided not to use it because that video was getting a bit long. But I knew I might not get out this way again (not on bike, at least) anytime […]
A helpful fan of the site was able to share a folder of what appear to be scans of slides. All evidence points to this being the Interlake Toledo coke plant (not Chicago) and with the Interlake name we know it is pre-1986. The Toledo plant closed in 1978. I was excited to share these […]
Got an unexpected email this morning! Within an hour, Bernie and I were having a long chat on Zoom. It was great to speak to a South Deering native (he grew up in Trumbull Park) and I am honored to have my work and website appear on Chicago stalwart WBBM. Thanks again to Bernie!