Interview with Joe Costello, 1973 April 17 [audio](part 1)

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  • Personal and family work for DuPont; Jobs and machines in the gunpowder manufacturing process; Working in gunpowder plants
    Partial Transcript: "He had about 43 years... my sister, she had 4 years with the company..."
    Synopsis: Costello talks about working in the powder yards. He says that his father also worked in the powder yards and his sister worked for DuPont as a stenographer. He talks about the different jobs at Hagley and how difficult they were. He also talks about the different pay rates for different jobs. He explains that he worked in other gunpowder plants, but not at Hagley.
    Keywords: Birmingham, Al.; Black powder; E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company; Gun powder; Hagley Yard; Wages
  • Changes to the gunpowder making process; Father's job at Laflin & Rand Powder Company; Changes to packing powder; Other changes to the gun powder manufacturing; Design of buildings at gun powder factories
    Partial Transcript: "Plenty, plenty, the wheel mills for instance..."
    Synopsis: Costello talks about changes he has seen to the gunpowder manufacturing process. He compares his experiences making gunpowder to his fathers job at Laflin & Rand. He talks about changes in the gunpowder packing house. He talks about other change in gunpowder manufacture. Costello talks about the design of buildings at gun powder factories.
    Keywords: Aluminium; Buildings; Gunpowder; Laflin & Rand Powder Company; Manufacturing; Narrow gauge Railroads; Packaging; Rolling mills; Shipping; Stone buildings; Technological advancements

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