Exploring History & Discovering Your Spark
Community in Crisis As Allis-Chalmers got work at its pilot plant in the old street car barns underway, the production workers held an election to choose a bargaining agent. A vote was held on January 18, 1952, in favor of the United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers (UAW)--part of the larger Congress of Industrial… Continue reading There and Gone: The Short History of the Allis-Chalmers Terre Haute Works -Part II
American Midnight: The Great War, A Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten CrisisBy Adam Hochschild My Rating: ★★★★★ What a great read—and everyone should read this. Everything I read I saw parallels with our time. People say history rhymes—in this case it has! Xenophobia—why do we hate immigrants so much? Why do we associate them with… Continue reading Book Review- “American Midnight”
I put together a small exhibit in the display case at work. It feels great to get this stuff out again, and maybe I will get someone else interested in AC!
I stumbled across this article that was published two years ago. I know my fair share about AC, but I learned a few more facts from this article! Our business history articles often focus on the consumer products and services industries with which we all interact – from auto companies to department stores. Yet… Continue reading Forgotten Industrial Giant: The Allis-Chalmers Story – The American Business History Center
March 17, 1936
I finally bought my copy of The Labor Movement in Wisconsin: A History last summer. I have always wanted to get this book, but I had a hard time finding a book store that stocked it. I got my hands on it when I visited a small bookstore in Princeton,Wisconsin. I really enjoyed the book and learned a… Continue reading Book Review
I like to scour Ebay, Craigslist, antique stores, and classified ads to get my hands on Allis-Chalmers memorabilia. I happened to find this neat acquisition on Ebay. It is a short history about the company and the products that it made. I was glancing through it and found this letter in the back of it,… Continue reading My New AC Find
Allis-Chalmers introduced its "D" series tractors in 1957, starting with the D-14 and D-17. In 1959 the company added the D-10 and D-12 tractors to the line-up, essentially replacing the model "CA" and "B" tractors. The D-10 and D-12 were identical in size and horsepower (about 30 hp), the only difference was wheel spacing. The… Continue reading The III Series of the D10 & D12
I Found this article in the Milwaukee Journal that talks about the rebuilding of the Allis-Chalmers factory grounds. It seems demolition got underway shortly after the bankruptcy in 1987. The pictures below are more recent pictures of the former West Allis Works. The buildings that are left gives you an idea of just how big this place… Continue reading AC Complex Rebuilt
ALLIS-CHALMERS MANUFACTURING COMPANY Of the various products associated with the name of Allis-Chalmers and upon which the reputation of that company has been built, several of the principal lines of machinery owe their early development to the companies which united to form that organization. In the year 1901 the Allis-Chalmers Company was organized through a consolidation of the… Continue reading Allis-Chalmers in 1922
The Weekend Historian 