Category: History/Research

The Acme credit union – still in operation today – predates the 1964 Acme/Interlake merger. Even though no business has functioned under the name ‘Acme’ on Perry Ave for decades, the name remains for (today) employees of Cleveland Cliffs. Time to time a few relics pop up on eBay or elsewhere – I have archived […]

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 […]

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 […]

ON JUNE 10, 1985, AT 6 AM, EMPLOYEE # 1 WAS WORKING AS A DOOR CLEANER ON THE PUSHER SIDE OF A COKE OVEN. AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT EMPLOYEE #1 WAS SWEEPING THE BENCH ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE PUSHER MACHINE. ANOTHER EMPLOYEE WAS PRESENT ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE PUSHER. […]

A few months ago I found a really cool print ad on ebay. Well what do you know – I found another one from the same series! While the first was undated, this one was attributed to Time Magazine, November 1963. Every foot of flat rolled steel you order from Acme Steel comes out precisely […]

I came across this item on ebay and watched it for about 10 days. They wanted $35 plus $5 shipping. This is a big price for what I knew would amount to probably 1 page of coke related content. This item does however offer some other info just at face value. It seems to insinuate […]