Interview with Joseph M. Campbell, 1957 August 15 [audio](part 2)
- Father's immigration to the United States; Cambell's family; Father's career; The Brandywine Creek; Moving mill wheels around Hagley YardPartial Transcript: "He had a cousin here... then he sent for my father..."Synopsis: Cambell talks about his father's immigraiton to the United States. He says that he already had a cousin employed by DuPont. He talks about his family and siblings. He says that the first generators at Hagley were in Breck's Mill and he learned how to be an electrician there. He talks about his father's career. He talks about the Brandywine Creek he says that he remembers when it was cleaner and talks about the fish and snakes that lived in the area. He talks about the noise made by the mills. He also describes how the powder men moved mill wheels around the yards.Keywords: Brandywine Creek; County Donegal, Ireland; Electricians; Family; Fish; Fishing; Hagley Community House (Breck's Mill); Hagley Yard; Immigration; Mill Wheels; Rent; Shipping; Siblings; Snakes; Squirrel Run (Del.: Village); Transportation; Wagons
- Maternal grandfather's work as a wagoner; Replacing wagons with railroadsPartial Transcript: "They were out in all kinds of weather, sometimes out three or four days..."Synopsis: Cambell talks about his grandfather's job as a wagoner. He says that he remembers DuPont using mules instead of horses. He talks about his grandfather's wagon routes, delivering blasting powder to mines and quarries. He talks about the safety measures DuPont took to avoid towns and settled areas when hauling explosives. He talks about DuPont's transition from using wagons for shipping to using the railroad.Keywords: Allentown, Pa.; Blasing Powder; Blizzards; Horses; Mules; Quarries; Railroads; Safety; Susquehanna River; Tinicum, Township, PA; Wagoners; Wagons
- Going into Wilmington; Squirrel Run village and maintaining a home; Leisure time; Fourth of July celebrations; School and educationPartial Transcript: "Well, yes. we didn't have to go very often, they mostly raised their own stuff around here... only thing they had to go to town for was clothing, shoes..."Synopsis: Cambell talks about shopping and what was available locally and what he had to go into Wilmington to buy. He also talks about traveling peddler's and a local general store. He talks about the village of Squirrel Run and says that as the stream approached Hagley it was diverted into a race. He talks about home maintenance and says DuPont provided the necessary materials. He talks about Italian immigrants coming to the Brandywine and says that in his own time there were only about three Italian families. He also talks about some of the French and Alsatian families on the Brandywine. He talks about what he did with his free time. He talks about Fourth of July celebrations on Keye's Hill. He talks about schooling and education.Keywords: Alexis I. du Pont School (Wilmington, Del.); Alsatian Americans; Baseball; Clothes; Fishing; Food; Fourth of July; French Americans; Horseback riding; Irish Americans; Italian Americans; Keye's Hill; Maintenance; Peddlers; Saint Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church (Wilmington, Del.); Shopping; Squirrel Run (Del.: Village); Stirling's Store; Swimming; Wilmington, Del.
- The powder making community's relationship with Wilmington; Members of the du Pont family; Portable powder plant; The Cannon House and testing gunpowder; Closure of Hagley YardPartial Transcript: "We called 'em snobs, some tried to steer clear of us..."Synopsis: Cambell talks about the powder community's relationship with Wilmington. He compares and contrasts DuPont's powder workers wages and work with the state of other mill workers on the Brandywine. He talks about his relationship with members of the du Pont family who worked in the Experimental Station at the powder yard. He says that Francis I. du Pont created a portable gunpowder plant that he set via rail to a coal mine, he explains that it did not work and was scrapped. He says that he rarely associated with Alfred I. du Pont. He talks about other members of the du Pont family who worked on site. He talks about a building called the "Cannon House" and testing gunpowder. He says that testing occurred south of the city of Reading, Pa. He talks about the slowing down of production at Hagley and its eventual closure. He talks about the remaining parts of the worker's villages around Hagley.Keywords: Brandywine Creek; Cannon House; Du Pont, Alfred I. (Alfred Irenee), 1864-1935; Du Pont, Charles I. (Charles Iré né e), 1859-1902; Du Pont, Francis I. (Francis Iré né e), 1873-1942; Du Pont, Hagley Yard; Du Pont, Pierre S. (Pierre Samuel), 1870-1954; DuPont Experimental Station; Hagley Community House (Breck's Mill); Joseph Bancroft and Sons Co.; Labor; Mills; Quality Control; Reading, Pa; Testing; Wages; Wagoner's Row (Del.: Village); Wilmington, Del.; World War (1914-1918)
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